Facebook SDK bug again causing iOS apps such as Spotify to crash [u]

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2020
For the second time in three months, some apps that rely on Facebook's developer tools to log users in to their accounts are crashing on launch. Update: Facebook claims to have resolved the issue.

Many iOS apps that use the Facebook login SDK are reportedly crashing
Many iOS apps that use the Facebook login SDK are reportedly crashing


Developers are reporting that multiple apps have again been affected by a problem in the Facebook SDK which they use to streamline the process of logging users in or allow sharing of content. Reports vary, but the problem appears to have begun around 6:20 a.m. ET.

This is the same process that has previously proved controversial because of user's data being sent to Facebook, but the apps affected now appear to solely be using the SDK's login process. Reportedly, the apps affected include high-profile ones such as Spotify, SoundCloud, Waze, Imgur, and TikTok.

"We are aware and investigating an increase in errors on the iOS SDK which is causing some apps to crash," said Facebook in a statement posted to the company's developer forums. The problem appears to have begun affecting apps around

The crashes are not consistent, with other users reporting no problems. However, developer Alex Karimov is among those filing bug reports with Facebook and says many users are affected. "Currently we have 2K+ crashes on all products that use Facebook SDK and application is still crashing," he said in the forum.

In the same discussion thread, developer Hellen Smith reports that "it seems to have spiked and receded, with a few 'aftershocks'." Smith and Karimov are among many developers asking Facebook to roll back its software to a point before the crashes began.

A previous, and seemingly similar, bug in May 2020 was resolved by Facebook within around two hours, and saw the majority of affected apps restored soon after.

Using Facebook's SDK is generally an easier process for developers than each implementing their own login and user authentication process. It's similar to the newer "Sign in With Apple," although Facebook's SDK is dramatically wider used than that.

Update 10:31 ET: Facebook has labelled the bug as "Resolved" after some eight hours.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,212member
    The secret to fixing it for now is to block apps from accessing the Facebook domain.

    "There are a number of ways of doing this, but (another publication) spotted a really easy one.

    Lockdown Apps, a firewall and privacy protection app on iOS, uses a VPN to block trackers and things like Facebook’s iOS SDK from loading in third-party apps. It will allow apps like Spotify, Pinterest, and Tinder to launch during a Facebook iOS SDK outage, and it’s completely free to use.

    It takes just a couple of minutes to set up, most of which is simply tapping through the app walkthrough.

    • Install Lockdown Apps
    • Launch it, and tap through the tutorial
    • Decline any trials offered – these aren’t needed for our purposes
    • Tap the big Firewall button
    • Agree to install a VPN profile

    As soon as this is done, you should be able to once again open apps like Spotify."


    longpath
  • Reply 2 of 11
    pslicepslice Posts: 151member
    The app “WIZ” started crashing today. Open it and it immediately crashes. 
  • Reply 3 of 11
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Sure, the technorati and nerd herds know the problem is Facebook but the general public, the common user, the normals, they will place the blame on Apple for their apps crashing. You know it, I know it, it's always Apple that takes the slap in the face for the sins of others. 
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 4 of 11
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    lkrupp said:
    Sure, the technorati and nerd herds know the problem is Facebook but the general public, the common user, the normals, they will place the blame on Apple for their apps crashing. You know it, I know it, it's always Apple that takes the slap in the face for the sins of others. 
    My Dog man; get a hobby that doesn’t compel you to constantly post preemptively defensive commentary in support of a corporation that doesn’t need your PR assistance. You’re not going to manipulate your stock prices. Go for a walk or something.
    neilm
  • Reply 5 of 11
    GG1GG1 Posts: 483member
    Facebook SDK = today's Adobe Flash ?
    longpathlightvox88watto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 11
    Rayz2016Rayz2016 Posts: 6,957member
    dysamoria said:
    lkrupp said:
    Sure, the technorati and nerd herds know the problem is Facebook but the general public, the common user, the normals, they will place the blame on Apple for their apps crashing. You know it, I know it, it's always Apple that takes the slap in the face for the sins of others. 
    My Dog man; get a hobby that doesn’t compel you to constantly post preemptively defensive commentary in support of a corporation that doesn’t need your PR assistance. You’re not going to manipulate your stock prices. Go for a walk or something.
    This? coming from you? 🙄
    mike1lamboaudi4bestkeptsecretwatto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 11
    InspiredCodeInspiredCode Posts: 403member
    Unfortunately they just fixed it server side instead of going to the root problem in the iOS SDK that is crashing the apps...

    FaceBook needs to update their ancient iOS SDK to follow modern practices. If a field in the JSON response is missing it will crash the program. Almost every other major service from large tech companies has either moved to OpenAPI or at least modernized their SDK to something that is more difficult for their developers to mess up. At a minimum they at least need to go through all their code and check for null in all json responses and handle them properly instead of blindly calling methods on a null pointer.
    edited July 2020 longpathFileMakerFellerwatto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 11
    longpathlongpath Posts: 393member
    Am I the only one that finds it horrifying that Barclay Card US is using a FaceBook SDK for a banking app?
    headfull0winelightvox88watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 11
    lightvox88lightvox88 Posts: 29member
    longpath said:
    Am I the only one that finds it horrifying that Barclay Card US is using a FaceBook SDK for a banking app?

    No, that is ridiculous. Is there a list of all of the apps using the Facebook SDK.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 11
    dysamoriadysamoria Posts: 3,430member
    Rayz2016 said:
    dysamoria said:
    lkrupp said:
    Sure, the technorati and nerd herds know the problem is Facebook but the general public, the common user, the normals, they will place the blame on Apple for their apps crashing. You know it, I know it, it's always Apple that takes the slap in the face for the sins of others. 
    My Dog man; get a hobby that doesn’t compel you to constantly post preemptively defensive commentary in support of a corporation that doesn’t need your PR assistance. You’re not going to manipulate your stock prices. Go for a walk or something.
    This? coming from you? 🙄
    Obviously. My user name is on there. Why?
  • Reply 11 of 11
    kimberlykimberly Posts: 429member
    dysamoria said:
    lkrupp said:
    Sure, the technorati and nerd herds know the problem is Facebook but the general public, the common user, the normals, they will place the blame on Apple for their apps crashing. You know it, I know it, it's always Apple that takes the slap in the face for the sins of others. 
    My Dog man; get a hobby that doesn’t compel you to constantly post preemptively defensive commentary in support of a corporation that doesn’t need your PR assistance. You’re not going to manipulate your stock prices. Go for a walk or something.
    Exactly
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