Facebook Platform Application Guidelines
Date of Last Revision: May 25, 2007 The Facebook Platform is a set of APIs and tools that provides a way for external applications to access Facebook content on behalf of Facebook users. Our goal in creating Facebook Platform is to allow any developer to build an application that integrates with the Facebook site in all of the ways our own applications do. We are making this as open as possible: for example, applications can publish content into many features inside the Facebook site, access the social graph, gain distribution through their users, and even make money via advertisements or other features. We hope developers will build lots of cool, innovative applications that will enhance users' ability to interact with people in their lives in new and interesting ways. However, because the Facebook Platform is designed to be as open as possible, we also need to make sure that developers understand and respect the expectations that Facebook users have about their experiences on and through the Facebook site. We have created these Platform Application Guidelines to help developers understand what kinds of things are (and are not) appropriate for the Facebook Platform. All Applications that use the Facebook Platform are subject to these guidelines, in addition to any other guidelines and agreements applicable to a developer's use of the Facebook Platform (such as the Facebook Developer Terms of Service). I. Applications may not promote, or contain content (including any advertising content) referencing, facilitating, promoting or using, the following: 1. Adult content, including nudity, sexual terms and/or images of people in positions or activities that are excessively suggestive or sexual; 2. Obscene, defamatory, libelous, slanderous and/or unlawful content; 3. Content that infringes upon the rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity or other personal or proprietary right, or that is deceptive or fraudulent; 4. Sale of liquor, beer, wine, tobacco products, ammunition and/or firearms; 5. Gambling, including without limitation, any online casino, sports books, bingo or poker; 6. Inflammatory religious content; 7. Politically religious agendas and/or any known associations with hate, criminal and/or terrorist activities; 8. Political content that exploits political agendas or uses "hot button" political issues for commercial use regardless of whether the Developer has a political agenda;
9. Hate speech, whether directed at an individual or a group, and whether based upon the race, sex, creed, national origin, religious affiliation, marital status, sexual orientation or language of such individual or group; 10. Illegal activity and/or illegal contests, pyramid schemes or chain letters; 11. Content from uncertified pharmacies; 12. Sale or use of web cams or surveillance equipment for non-legitimate use; or 13. "Spam" or other advertising or marketing content that violates applicable laws, regulations or industry standards. II. Applications may not: 1. Contain functionality that requests or collects Facebook Site usernames or passwords from any user; 2. Contain functionality that proxies usernames or passwords for the purposes of automating logins to the Facebook Site; 3. Contain functionality that permits any person to impersonate a user of the Facebook Site or obtain access to the Facebook Site without authorization; 4. Disregard or circumvent any technical measures instituted by Facebook to ensure that the application only provides users with access to Facebook Site content that they would otherwise be able to view on the Facebook Site in accordance with any user privacy settings; 5. Contain or distribute any software that: (i) "sneaks" onto a user's system and performs activities hidden to the user; (ii) may alter, harm, disable or replace any hardware or software installed on user's computer without express permission from the user; (iii) is bundled as a hidden component of other software, whether free or for fee; (iv) automatically downloads without the user's express prior approval; or (v) presents any download dialog boxes without a user's express action (i.e., a click) to perform a download; 6. Use Facebook logos or trademarks, or expresss or imply any endorsement by or affiliation with Facebook; 7. Be designed or used for the primary purpose of facilitating unauthorized distribution of copyrighted content; or 8. Be promoted or marketed in any way as a means to distribute copyrighted content without authorization.
III. Applications that are designed or implemented to be presented in an "i-Frame" or otherwise framed by elements of the Facebook Site, or to be "embedded" into any page of the Facebook Site (e.g., via FBML) must comply with the following general functionality requirements: 1. Roll-Over expandables must state "roll over for more content" and the panel must retract when the mouse is removed from the content. 2. Click expandables must state "click here for more content" and the panel must retract when the mouse is removed from the content or when user clicks a second time. 3. Pop-ups and pop-under applications are not allowed. 4. Facebook does not allow content containing flashing, excessive animation, or fake functionality such as HTML "Drop Downs" or "Search Forms" 5. Developer must have intellectual property rights to any content displayed and be permitted to display such content on the Facebook Site Facebook reserves the right to modify or require developers to modify any content (e.g., to "flatten" any animated .gifs to remove the animation) displayed on any pages of the Facebook Site to conform to these Facebook Platform Application Guidelines. IV. Applications displayed on the Facebook Site Applications that may be displayed on "user profile" pages or other pages of the Facebook Site (i.e., as opposed to pages served by a developer or other third party) may not include advertisements or paid promotional content of any kind, or any web search functionality of any kind. However, these restrictions do not apply to any page primarily dedicated to a developer application (even if framed or hosted by Facebook). V. Video, Audio, and Flash and Other Animation Functionality and Editorial Requirements For Applications displayed on "user profile" pages of the Facebook Site: 1. Content displayed through any Application must remain within the dimensions of the Application's placement on the user profile page and cannot "float" or "break through" to other parts of the user profile page. 2. Animation, video, audio and any other interactive Application content (collectively, "Interactive Content") on the user profile page must be initiated only upon user click, unless the user has explicitly authorized the automatic initiation of such Interactive Content. VI. Marketing your Application Developers may only use Facebook trademarks (such as "Facebook") as permitted by the Facebook Developer Terms of Service. Developers must comply with all applicable laws and
regulations (including the CAN-SPAM Act and other laws related to spam or advertising), their own privacy policies, and expressed user preferences (e.g., any "opt-outs" or "opt-ins") when marketing or promoting their Applications, and may not market or promote their Applications in a way that would negatively reflect on Facebook. VII. Changes These Platform Application Guidelines are subject to change at any time at our sole discretion. If we do change them, we will post a notice of the change on the site.