Starting using Instagram oEmbed feature

Question

What is the correct way to start using Instagram oEmbed feature? Documentation (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/instagram/oembed/) claims that I have to pass App Review to start using the feature. And application form says Please provide a URL where we can test Oembed Read. Which I don't have because I have no access to the feature.

What I have tried with no success: I requested instagram_oembed resource with:

• app token of application in live mode
• app token of application in development mode
• passed URL to a post by official Instagram account (e.g. https://www.instagram.com/p/CQG4gZxMzzO/)
• passed URL to a post of a user who is Admin of the app

In all cases I receive (#10) To use 'Oembed Read', your use of this endpoint must be reviewed and approved by Facebook. To submit this 'Oembed Read' feature for review please read our documentation on reviewable features: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/apps/review.

Example of the request I do https://graph.facebook.com/v11.0/instagram_oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Fp%2FCQG4gZxMzzO%2F&access_token=appAccessToken

Answer 1

We're also suffering from this issue, but so far, we thought we already figured out how to do that.

Big picture

Facebook had not sorted this thing out correctly. Or at least, we don't know why they put such a restriction to this API.

The official document is not correct. (or at least not accurate for now, for some part)

Which part was not correct?

The access token part is not right. Or at least, it's the most confusion part.

How can we resolve this?

1. Use the Graph API Explorer
2. Adjust your token(App token, Client access token, user token) with the official URLs(see below) to see if you can get the result
   • most of us should be able to get the result with user access token, which means you have to access this API after login!

Integrate into your app for review

• The review page is also confusing:
• Please provide a URL where we can test Oembed Read. Include the URL of a page, post or video from our official Facebook or Instagram pages, or the pages themselves., it means you can only use links like https://www.facebook.com/instagram or https://www.facebook.com/facebook

With that in mind, so far, the only way to get approved is integrate your oembed usage into your normal UI with facebook user access token ready

Question to the big picture

So, we have to ask user to login with our facebook app, then we can provide this oembed read API returned embed HTML? I'm afraid that's what we have now.

• big companies might be able to apply for App Token, I guess in that scenario, facebook login is not necessary
• for small companies, indie developers, hmmm, I don't know any better solutions so far.

Answer 2

I have run into this too. I do not have an answer at this time, I just want to report on the frustrations of their 'app review' process. Which makes it feel like you are unlikely to get it to work any time soon.

We have a custom embed code for our weblog authors to use (a shortcode kind of thing) which does the oEmbed call. We just take the HTML from the resulting JSON, and insert it into the weblog article page, and that is it. It stopped working, presenting this same error - in live mode, and in development mode.

The kicker is, I then tried submitting it for app review. Filled out everything I could to the best of my knowledge. Provided them a test account and post on our weblog to show the shortcode editing and expected placement. We got rejected. Why? Your embedding resulted in an error, we can't see it in action to approve you.

Yes. The error I am getting is that I need my 'app' to be reviewed and approved.

This is an infuriating process. This is the only Facebook / Instagram API feature we use at this point. No user data. No attempt to make an Instagram clone app or anything like that. Just an embed.

And they are making this simple use case as impossible to use as they can. And the documentation also feels like an infinite loop. They say users of the old Instagram embed call have until September 7 2021 to get approved. But the call does not work at all because we are not approved. So we cannot get approved.

Answer 3

Same loop here. I've managed to report it to Facebook team and get answer "Just submit your Instagram post URL"! I can't believe it, its can't be so simple. I've confirmed it few times with Facebook team person and.... get rejected! Also, second form in App Review process will LOWERCASE all of your links and I've spent few days just to explain it to reviewers and support person. Still rejected after submitting proper url. This is insane.

My another attempt was about to build a test page where I can auth via Facebook account, parse connected Instagram accounts and GET embed endpoint with user access key in hope that reviewer HAS access to oembed feature - REJECTED. I can't even find what permission I need to add to auth URL to obtain oembed thing.

Will update my answer with new information later.

UPDATE: After reporting about the issue with lowercase URL in submission form they just APPROVED my app without APP REVIEW. Well... Facebook style...