Facebook to begin offering a Limited Login Mode that only collects basic user data within apps on iOS


After several attempts at opposing Apple for its decision to implement App Tracking Transparency within iOS 14, Facebook has now come to grips with the fact that it will have to submit to the changes and adapt accordingly.

Part of the company’s effort is encapsulated within Facebook’s latest Limited Login Mode that the social media giant is rolling out to developers asking them to implement it in their apps. Limited Login Mode is a part of version 9.0 of Facebook’s iOS SDK (Software Development Kit). Developers who intend to implement the new login system are required to update to the latest SDK.

As per Facebook’s blog post that it published yesterday, “Facebook Login now offers a Limited Login mode that implements safeguards designed to prevent the fact that a person used Facebook to log into your iOS app from being used to target advertising or measure advertising effectiveness.”

In other words, Facebook’s new login system, which can be implemented within apps as a popular login option, lets users opt out of sharing information that can be linked to their identity online. Based on the OpenID Connect standard, it allows users to create new accounts or log into existing accounts while only sharing their name, profile pic, and email address (which is optional).

Facebook’s Classic Login mode will still prevail and will be offered alongside the new Limited Login Mode, thereby offering users a clear choice.

“You can choose either mode uniformly for all of your users, or choose one of the two modes conditionally. For example, you may choose to leverage Classic Login mode for users who consent to sharing data for ads personalization, and Limited Login mode for those who decline.

The modes are interoperable, meaning that you can update a user’s mode at any time. For example, if you initially choose Limited Login mode for a user who’s declined sharing data for ads personalization, but the user later consents to sharing data for ads personalization to improve their experience in your app, you may choose Classic Login mode in a separate session later.”

Facebook, in a different blog post, also shared updated guidelines for developers in order to prepare them for the changes created by Apple’s iOS 14 requirements.

Facebook has been vocally critical of Apple’s privacy changes in iOS 14 ever since the iPhone maker introduced them at its June World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC) in 2020. The social media giant even issued a series of full-page newspaper ads criticizing Apple’s decision, stating that it would badly affect the advertising industry.

Meanwhile, Apple has stuck to its promise of offering users more privacy in the form of the new App Tracking Transparency prompts and App Privacy health reports within the App Store. App Tracking Transparency prompts, in particular, were supposed to debut in late 2020. However, Apple pushed back their release until the beginning of 2021 to give more time for everyone in the ad industry to adjust to the changes.

Users who prefer logging into their favorite apps using Facebook because of its ease can now use the new Limited Login Mode to further protect their privacy online.

Let us know if you’ve spotted any apps that offer the new login mode yet in the comments section below.