Meta introduces a new API that makes it easier to create and publish Facebook Stories directly from third-party web or desktop apps.
Many developers, creators, and brands rely on third-party tools to create Facebook Stories, and Meta wants to make sharing content from third-party tools or apps easier.
In 2017, the company introduced the Stories feature for the first time in the Facebook application to emulate the feature that was added to Instagram in 2016 in addition to WhatsApp and Messenger.
These features are loosely adapted from Snapchat and serve as a short-term means of publishing video and photo content that does not remain in the user's account.
Facebook has more than 3 billion users and Meta doesn't generally disclose user numbers for its Stories feature, although CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in 2019 that it had surpassed 500 million users.
Meta previously enabled access to content shared in Stories from other mobile apps, but the new Facebook Stories API allows content-focused creators to embed their web or desktop apps directly into Facebook Stories.
The new API is aimed at the professional market, which helps Meta in some ways because the new product is an enterprise solution.
Apps integrated with the new API now allow users to post directly to Facebook Stories in as few steps as possible.
Companies like Adobe and Canva offer dedicated Facebook story creation tools that include image editing capabilities, templates, and other customizable features. However, users have to download and re-upload stories on Facebook.
Using the new API, developers can now integrate publishing functionality directly into applications. However, this requires app creators to implement Facebook login authentication to allow users to grant access to their personal or work accounts.
The new API allows developers, creators, and brands to create and publish Stories on public Facebook Pages using the desktop or web app of their choice.
Apps that have already gone through the approval process do not need to undergo further review to access the new API, as long as they have been approved with the appropriate access permission level.