Be sure to use Facebook securely

If you’re subject to the EU GDPR, you’ll need to evaluate the compliance of Facebook separately from your Data Processing Agreement with us. Facebook is not an authorized GDPR subprocessor under our agreement with you.

ControlShift's Facebook integration allows your supporters to create accounts and log in via Facebook. The integration also allows for signatures via Facebook and is required to enable the Facebook Messenger share channel.

Please note: ControlShift's direct-to-Facebook integration is used for Facebook log in and sharing via Facebook Messenger only. It does not include an integration with Facebook Pixel for ads purposes. If you're interested in adding Facebook Pixel tracking, you'll need to integrate via Google Tag Manager or Segment.

Create a Facebook App

The Facebook integration requires a Facebook app. Facebook apps are free to create, and you can get started from Facebook's developer platform > My Apps.

Tip: While Facebook apps are managed from Facebook's developer platform, you don't need to be a developer to create the app. Anyone with a basic Facebook profile can create or be an admin on the app.

From this page, click Create App.

You'll be asked to choose the app type, click Consumer and then click Next. 

Then you'll be asked to enter a name for your app (usually the name of your organization or your ControlShift platform) and a contact email (usually your organization's tech contact). The name of the app will be shown to users during login and the contact email will be used when Facebook has communications about your app. When you're ready, click to Create App. 

Your app is now live, but additional action is needed before you're ready to integrate. First, click Basic under Settings. On this page, you'll need to enter various pieces of information: 

• Under App domains, enter all of the domains you're using for your ControlShift site. 
• The Privacy Policy URL and Terms of Service URL are required. You can use the policies on your ControlShift instance or link to the policies on your main site – whichever you'd prefer.
• Under User data deletion choose the Data deletion instructions URL and enter either your platform's My Account page (e.g. [action.yourorganization.org]/account) which allows users to delete accounts on their own or your privacy policy (if there are a data deletion instructions included).
• Choose an app Category. Generally organizations choose Community & Government or Education.
• Finally, set an App Icon, which is generally your organization's logo.

When you're done entering information, scroll to the bottom of the page and click to Save Changes.

Now, click Add Product in the left sidebar and click to Set up Facebook Login.

Click the WWW option and enter your site's URL. Click to Save and Continue, then click Settings in the Facebook log in sidebar (you don't need to complete the wizard). Under Valid OAuth Redirect URIs, you'll need to enter one or more URLs, depending on how your site is configured and whether you'll be using Facebook login, Facebook signatures, or both.

• For Facebook login, append /users/auth/facebook/callback to the end of your ControlShift site's URL. (e.g. for https://demo.controlshiftlabs.com we'd enter https://demo.controlshiftlabs.com/users/auth/facebook/callback. If your ControlShift site is accessible via more than one hostname, you'll need to enter separate URLs for each hostname.
• For Facebook Signatures, append /signatures/omniauth_callbacks/facebook to the end of your ControlShift site's URL. (e.g. for https://demo.controlshiftlabs.com we'd enter https://demo.controlshiftlabs.com/signatures/omniauth_callbacks/facebook. If your ControlShift site is accessible via more than one hostname, you'll need to enter separate URLs for each hostname.

  Tip: While you are, of course, welcome to use the Facebook signature option, previous testing showed that the Facebook signature option decreased signature conversions. Your organization's experience may vary.

When you're done entering URLs click to Save Changes.

Next, return to Basics under Settings. In the page's header click the toggle to switch the App Mode to Live. Keep this tab open as you go to the next step.

 Tip: You can invite other staff members to be admins on this app by going to Roles in the left sidebar. This can be useful to ensure that updates are made when necessary and that access to the app isn't lost with staff changes.

Connecting ControlShift and Facebook

To connect ControlShift with your new Facebook app, go to your ControlShift instance's org admin homepage > Settings > Integrations > Facebook.

Here you'll enter your app's Application ID and Application Secret, which are shown at the top of the app's Settings > Basic in the Facebook developer tools. Choose whether you'd like to enable Facebook login, Facebook signatures, or both. Then click to Save.

Your site should be ready for Facebook login and/or signatures! We recommend testing the login/signature flow to ensure that all is working as expected.