I’m working with the Facebook Graph API and running into an issue where I can only retrieve data for some of my friends, not the complete list. When I make API calls to get friend information, the response only includes a subset of my actual friends. I’ve checked my permissions and API setup, but I’m still not getting the full friend list that I expected. Has anyone experienced this before? I’m wondering if there are specific settings or permissions I might be missing, or if Facebook has changed how friend data is accessed through their API. Any help would be appreciated since I need to get information for all friends, not just a partial list.
Yeah, this caught me off guard too when I first hit it a few years back building a social connector.
Facebook’s friend data is basically useless now. You get maybe 5-10 friends max, and only if they’ve already installed your app. Everything else is locked down.
I wasted weeks trying different permissions and API versions. Nothing worked because it’s by design. Facebook wants you using their sharing buttons instead of custom integrations.
I ended up ditching friend data entirely and went with:
- Let users invite friends through Facebook’s native sharing
- Track accepted invites in your own database
- Use Facebook login to match users who join on their own
- Build your social graph from actual app usage
Took longer but way better data quality. You get real connections instead of random friend lists where half the people haven’t touched Facebook in years.
If you absolutely need friend data, try other platforms. Twitter and LinkedIn APIs are more dev-friendly, though they’ve got their own limits.
Hit this exact wall last year building a networking app. Facebook gutted their friend API back in 2014 and kept making it worse. What you’re getting isn’t broken data - that’s literally all they give you now. The API only shows mutual friends who’ve also installed your app AND approved friend permissions. Most users skip right past those permission screens, so you end up with nothing. I wasted months thinking my code was busted before figuring out Facebook does this on purpose. They want you using their social plugins and share buttons instead of grabbing friend data. Here’s what actually worked: ditch the friend lists entirely. Let users search and invite people themselves through email/phone contacts. Yeah, it’s more work for users, but you get people who actually want to connect instead of dormant Facebook friends they haven’t talked to in years. Stop trying different API versions or permission tricks. Build features that get people inviting friends organically instead.
facebook broke this on purpose. they changed their friend api around 2014 - now you only get friends who already use your app. it’s not your code, that’s just how facebook works now. most devs don’t realize this until they go live and wonder why their friend features are empty. just ditch friend imports and let users add people manually.
This limitation destroyed our team during a social app migration. That partial friend data? That’s all Facebook gives you now - they gutted this feature in 2014-2015 and never looked back. Here’s the kicker: your app works great in testing when you and your test users all have it installed, but completely breaks with real users. The friend permissions dialog converts terribly because people don’t get why apps need friend access. I wasted tons of time trying workarounds with page data and group APIs, but they’re just as restricted. Facebook wants total control over social connections in their ecosystem. We ended up with a hybrid approach that actually worked: use Facebook login for auth and basic profile stuff, then build your own connection system. Focus on features that naturally help users find and connect with people they actually want to talk to instead of importing dead social graphs.
Facebook locked down friend data years ago after privacy issues. The Graph API only returns friends who use your app AND gave it permissions. It’s not a bug - they did this on purpose.
Even with perfect permissions, you won’t get complete friend lists like before. Facebook killed that after Cambridge Analytica.
I’ve hit this wall multiple times building social features. The fix is changing how you collect data.
Don’t try pulling all friend data at once. Set up automated workflows that:
- Watch for friends interacting with your app
- Collect data when users take actions
- Build your network slowly over time
- Cache whatever data you can access
This beats the old bulk methods anyway. You get better data from users who actually engage.
Latenode nails this kind of API automation. Build workflows that handle Facebook API calls, work with partial responses, and gradually build your dataset without doing it manually.