#“Got a Facebook App? Now you have to go get an SSL Cert.”
I got very confused on Friday when our old App which displays reviews on a Facebook Page Tab just disappeared from all the Pages it is on. Then I realised that most of those Pages were only showing the default Facebook Tabs. Where the hell did all the others go? I assumed the old tab needed an upgrade but wasn't bothered as our new tab was ready.
Today I was deploying our new Tab and ran into exactly the same problem. Then I remembered seeing a new field when setting the app up called "Secure Canvas URL". And suddenly the reason dawned on me.
I had turned on https as my default access method for Facebook earlier in the week. It helps avoid a lot of the security issues people have run into. But if you do that, then every app you interact with on Facebook now has to be accessible via https too!
So if you have an App and you haven't turned on https access, do so now, or watch your usage stats fall off a cliff over the coming months.
And if you are a user wondering where the hell your favourite apps have disappeared to, now you know.
Off to GoDaddy I go to get another cert.