news.ycombinator.com• Nov 7, 2025• 1 min read
Meta's Broken API: How Facebook Is Killing Small Developer InnovationMeta's Broken API is Killing Small Developers I built Socialync, a social media scheduler. Meta approved my app for Advanced Access with all needed permissions. Ready to launch? Not quite. The Problem When users connect Facebook Pages: {"data": []} Zero pages. Every time. 100% failure rate. But it works perfectly when I test it. My pages show up, posts schedule successfully. The catch? Meta gives app admins privileged access without telling them. Users and I have identical setups - same Business Portfolio, same permissions, same OAuth flow. Yet the API only works for me (the admin), not actual users. Why Users See "Connected" But It Doesn't Work When users authorize Socialync: - Facebook shows "Connected" - All permissions "Granted" - OAuth completes successfully But the API returns empty: {"data": []} Meta blocks it at the API level. The connection exists but Business Portfolio pages need business_management permission that isn't mentioned upfront. Like having a concert ticket but the