Many social networks require credentials to be reauthorized after a certain period of time, so your social channels will become disconnected from time to time. While this can be frustrating, it’s good to keep in mind that this is normal behavior and usually the result of the social network making a change to keep your account safe and secure.
Connections between GaggleAMP and your social channels require access tokens, which can expire due to password changes and access token lifespans. Usually, social networks only require a simple reconnection to get back to sharing your content.
If you receive a notification that one of your social networks has become disconnected, follow these simple steps.
Why Did My Account Get Disconnected?
Your account can get disconnected from GaggleAMP for a multitude of reasons but the most common occurrence is when an access token is revoked (more on that below). With this in mind, the most common way to trigger that access token being disconnected is when you change your password on a social network.
While there is no good resource that explains this in totality across all networks, you an see a glimpse of the recommendation Facebook provides to developers (scenario #2) which indicates it is a common practice: How-To: Handle expired access tokens.
With this in mind, in addition to the platform policies listed below, we do have scenarios where we will invalidate a Member's authentication. Examples include:
1. If GaggleAMP gets any sort of Authentication or permission error from the platform's side when interacting with them, or
2. If GaggleAMP fails to update the Refresh Token
Reconnecting Your Social Channels
Desktop
From the Activities tab, scroll down until you see the ‘Social Accounts’ widget on the left-hand side.
To reconnect your social account, click ‘Reauthorize.’ This will redirect you to the social network’s login page to provide your credentials to authorize the account.
From here, you will need to verify your credentials with the social network before GaggleAMP can post on your behalf. Once you’re fully connected, your account status will show ‘Active’ and your username will appear under the network name.
Mobile
From your mobile device:
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Click the three stacked bars on the far right side of your screen. This will display a slide-over.
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On the slide-over, click on the cog on the far right of the screen.
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Choose the option ‘Social Networks.’
- Re-link any available networks.
From here you can identify which accounts are Active versus Disconnected, as well as add new networks to your Gaggle.
What are the Policies of Each Network?
Each network varies in its authorizations and it is up to the network’s discretion to make changes and adjustments to permissions on their network. For the most updated information, visit the social network’s policy page for current information.
The Facebook policy states that tokens last a maximum of 60 days and users must reauthorize apps for continued access. This policy applies to all Facebook app developers.
Facebook policy, Access Tokens:
User access tokens come in two forms: short-lived tokens and long-lived tokens. Short-lived tokens are valid for one hour, while long-lived tokens have a lifetime of 60 days. You should not depend on these lifetimes remaining the same - the lifetime may change without warning or expire early.
When you are due to reauthorize your Facebook account, the email you receive from us will look like this:
By default, LinkedIn access tokens are valid for 60 days and programmatic refresh tokens are valid for one year.
For more information, read the LinkedIn policy on oAuth tokens.
GaggleAMP does have processes in place to update the refresh token before it expires to help prevent the Gaggle Member from having to reauthorize their account so often.
| Note: LinkedIn does reserve the right to revoke refresh tokens and/or access tokens at any time due to technical or policy reasons. |
It is important to reauthorize a broken LinkedIn connection as soon as possible. If a user's connection expired or was revoked, it needs to be reauthorized within 30 days of the last date of connection in order to avoid potential data loss. If the user does not reactivate their account within 30 days, any data prior to the 30-day window of when it is reauthorized will be irretrievable by the API.
When you are due to reauthorize your LinkedIn account, the email you receive from us will look like this:
Twitter policy requires that all write actions using the Twitter API require access tokens. When a user grants permission, user tokens generated for that user are provided in API requests. So, in layman's terms, the Twitter Access Token does not expire but can be revoked by the Member at any time.
For more information, read the Twitter Account Access Tokens.
The Instagram policy states that tokens last a maximum of 60 days and users must reauthorize apps for continued access. This policy applies to all Instagram app developers.
Instagram policy, Access Tokens:
User access tokens come in two forms: short-lived tokens and long-lived tokens. Short-lived tokens are valid for one hour, while long-lived tokens have a lifetime of 60 days. You should not depend on these lifetimes remaining the same - the lifetime may change without warning or expire early.