On 31st March 2020, Facebook will deprecate the Instagram Social Login system. This means that all the applications that integrate with Instagram somehow, will have to do it with the new tools and APIs from Facebook. The old Instagram API will be shut down.

All Easypromos applications have already been migrated to the new Facebook system as of 20th February. This migration has been 100% transparent for the end-user and also for our clients. For application developers to integrate with Instagram, from now on it's mandatory to pass a review process and validation of the app by Facebook. This review process guarantees that the integration complies with the good practices proposed by Facebook. This allows applications created for Instagram to: 

1. Be of better quality and therefore more trusted by the end-user.
2. Guarantee the security and protection of the users' data.
3. Guarantee a better user experience.
4. Be scalable for the future.

Easypromos has been working with the new Facebook API since the change was announced on 15th October 2019. The change has involved the adaptation of the platform to the new API and the revision of the changes made by Facebook to ensure all guidelines are met. After the approval and validation of the application, on 20th February the change was applied to the platform.

What does this change mean for the Easypromos applications?

1. It's no longer possible to log in with Instagram

Facebook no longer accepts any application to have the option of social login with Instagram. The social login should now always be, mandatorily, with Facebook. Therefore, we've eliminated the option for users to identify in a promotion with their Instagram profile. 

• Does this affect the user participation in comment-based Instagram Giveaways? No, it doesn't affect because the users, when they participate in a comment-giveaway don't log in anywhere. They participate directly in their Instagram mobile app.
  
  
• Does this affect the level of participation in contests with registration? No, the Instagram social login was only used to maintain a session open during the participation process. Now the users can register with their email, or by logging in with Facebook or Google.

2. The new API is implemented in the Instagram photo contests

The Hashtag + Entry Form app allows the administrators to create a contest with Instagram photos that have the same hashtag. Users need to post a photo on their Instagram profile with the campaign hashtag and then register in the contest to participate. This contest now uses the new API and is working perfectly in all active contests. Using the new API already guarantees that the app will keep working normally after 30th March 2020.

3. The new API is applied in the 'Claim your prize' tool for Instagram Giveaways

The 'Claim your prize' tool gives the option of obtaining data from the winners of an Instagram comment-giveaway. How does it work? The winning user needs to identify with their Instagram profile and the system will detect if that person is, in fact, the winner. If that's the case, the winner will be taken to a form to fill in the data that the organizer needs to fulfill the prize and accept the privacy policy. Until now, the old Instagram social login was used for this. After the migration, the system uses the new Facebook API. Using the new API already guarantees that the app will keep working normally after 30th March 2020.

Which integrations with Instagram does Easypromos offer now?

Following the good practices of the platform, Easypromos is integrated with Instagram through the Facebook API. The features that we have available now are:

• Giveaway based on comments on one or more posts on Instagram Business profiles: The administrators can connect their Instagram Business profile to be able to import all the comments on their posts and use the Easypromos tool to pick a random winner.
• Claim your prize tool: A tool with a registration form that allows end-users to confirm that they are the winners of a comment-giveaway.
• App to retrieve mentions with a specific hashtag: We're integrated with Facebook so we can retrieve all the mentions of an Instagram Business profile that users publish on their public Instagram profiles. This option only applies to photos and videos published on the user profile, not Stories.
• Instagram photo contest app using the Hashtag + Entry Form app: With this, you can organize a photo contest where the participants publish a photo on Instagram with the campaign hashtag and register to enter the contest. This contest is compatible both with public and private accounts.