Features Reference

Features are authorization mechanisms that allow apps to access specific types of data through our various APIs. In this way they are similar to Permissions, however Features cannot be granted to an app by an app user. Instead, Features are active or inactive depending on the app user's relationship to the app and the app's mode when it is being used.

For apps in Development Mode, all Features except for Page Public Content Access and Page Public Metadata Access are active for any app user who has a Role on the app or a Role in a Business that has claimed the app.

For apps in Live Mode, only Features approved through App Review are active for app users. This also applies to app users who have a Role on the app or Business.

For Business app types (which have access levels instead of modes), Features are active for any app users who have a Role on the app or in a Business that has claimed the app, unless access has been removed. In order for a Feature to be active for app users without a Role on the app or Business, it must first be approved through App Review.

Access to any Feature that is granted by default or through App Review can be used to request analytics insights to improve your app and for marketing or advertising purposes, through the use of aggregated and de-identified or anonymized information (provided such data cannot be re-identified).

Unlike Permissions, Features do not expire, their approval will not be revoked, if they are unused.

FeatureDescription
Ad Targeting Data Access The Ad Targeting Data Access feature allows access to ad targeting data within the Facebook Open Research and Transparency tool for election, political, and social issue ads that are run on Facebook from Meta and Instagram from Meta.

Allowed Usage

  • To conduct research about Meta's role in society
Business Asset User Profile Access The Business Asset User Profile Access feature allows your app to read the User Fields for users engaging with your business assets such as id, ids_for_business, name, and picture.

Allowed Usage

You can use this feature if your app uses one or more of the User Fields in its business app experience.
Ads Management Standard Access The Ads Management Standard Access feature allows your app to access the Marketing API.

Allowed Usage

  • Enable an unlimited number of ad accounts and lower rate limiting.
  • To read ads reports for ad accounts you own or have been granted access to by the ad account owner, request Ads Management Standard Access, along with the ads_read permission.
  • To read and manage ads for ad accounts you own or have been granted access to by the ad account owner, request Ads Management Standard Access, along with the ads_management permission.
  • To pull ads reports from a set of clients, and to read and manage ads from another set of clients, request Ads Management Standard Access, along with both ads_read and ads_management permissions.
Business Asset User Profile Access The Business Asset User Profile Access feature allows your app to read the User Fields for users engaging with your business assets such as id, ids_for_business, name, and picture.

Allowed Usage

You can use this feature if your app uses one or more of the User Fields in its business app experience.
Groups API

Deprecated for v19.0. Will be removed for all version April 22, 2024.


The Groups API feature allows your app to access content in a Facebook Group.

Allowed Usage

  • Help people manage the posts and content published to their Group.
  • Help people get information about content posted to their Group.
  • Let people publish content from your app to their Facebook Group.
  • Help people get aggregated insights about activity happening in their Group.
Human Agent The Human Agent feature allows your app to have a human agent respond to user messages using the human_agent tag within 7 days of a user's message.

Allowed Usage

  • Provide human agent support in cases where a user’s issue cannot be resolved in the standard messaging window.
Instagram Public Content Access The Instagram Public Content Access feature allows your app to access Instagram Graph API's Hashtag Search endpoints.

Allowed Usage

  • Discover content associated with its current campaign.
  • Provide customer support.
  • Identify entrants to its contests, competitions, or sweepstakes.
  • Understand public sentiment around brand.
  • Understand and manage their audience, develop their content strategy and obtain digital rights.
Live Video API The Live Video API feature allows an app to manage live videos to Pages, Groups and User timelines when combined with the correct matching permission.

Allowed Usage

  • App users can publish live video content from your app to Facebook.
oEmbed Read The oEmbed Read feature allows your app to get embed HTML and basic metadata for public Facebook and Instagram pages, posts, and videos.

Allowed Usage

  • Provide front-end views of Facebook and Instagram pages, posts, and videos.
Page Mentioning The Page Mentioning feature allows your app mention any Facebook Page when publishing posts on the Pages managed by your app.

Allowed Usage

  • Allow people to use your app to publish Page posts that mention other Pages.
  • Mention Pages relevant to the content in your page post.
Page Public Content Access The Page Public Content Access feature allows your app access to the Pages Search API and to read public data for Pages for which you lack the pages_read_engagement permission and the pages_read_user_content permission. Readable data includes business metadata, public comments and posts.

Allowed Usage

  • Analyze and/or display posts and engagement on Pages.
Page Public Metadata Access The Page Public Metadata Access feature allows your app access to the Pages Search API and to read public data for Pages for which you lack the public Page fields and the Pages Search API.

Allowed Usage

  • Analyze engagement with public Pages by viewing Like and follower counts.
  • Aggregate public-facing "about" Page information from multiple, disparate pages.
Threat Exchange The ThreatExchange feature allows your app to share threat data among a select group of vetted industry partners.

Allowed Usage

  • Share threat data with a specific group of partners to achieve their security goals.

Deprecated Features

FeatureDeprecation Date

All Mutual Friends API

October 24th, 2018

Profile Expression Kit

September 30th, 2018

Optimized Sharing to Messenger

August 1st, 2018

Taggable Friends

April 4th, 2018

Learn More

Learn more about developing with Meta with the following guides: