Why do I receive the message “Some Features Not Available” on Facebook Messenger and Instagram?
On December 16 Facebook officially placed restrictions regarding the use of Messenger API. The change is a must because of the European Union’s privacy guidelines.
As of today, the message appears at the top of Facebook Messenger and Instagram Messages. Even though it looks annoying, it’s a necessary public statement for European citizens.
Main messaging feautures that are affected:
- Organic Messaging features
- Messaging API features
What has changed in Facebook Messenger? Who is affected?
The message will be most likely a problem for European developers and European businesses that use Messenger API. It will bring a lot of challenges for customer support chatbots. So, If your favorite retailer is not answering you… that’s probably the reason why.
A list of some API Features that aren’t available anymore on Facebook Messenger and Instagram:
- Media/attachments on new messages won’t render in the thread. Media/attachments on existing messages will still be visible
- Templates won’t render in the message thread because API calls will fail. Templates in existing messages will still be visible, but users won’t be able to take any action on them
- Shops product template – Templates won’t render in the thread because API calls will fail.
- One Time Notification (OTN) – Templates won’t render in the thread because API calls will fail. Old templates will still be usable but users won’t be able to take any action on them
- Send API: Typing indicator won’t be visible
- Receive API (Webhooks): User can send attachments but will receive an error message letting them know the business may not have received the attachment
- Persona API: Persona details (name & profile pic) won’t show in the thread.
- Users are not offered the Chat Plugin Guest Mode Upgrade
- Web Plugins (Send to Messenger Checkbox plugin) won’t render
Read more: Messenger API Updates for Europe – Official Statement by Facebook
Read more: Facebook’s FAQ on changes in Messenger for Europeans
Read more: A list of Facebook Messenger and Instagram features affected by the restriction
What does this error message mean?
Who sees the error message on Facebook Messenger and Instagram?
All of the 30 European Economic Area (EEA) countries, which includes the 27 EU member states, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the UK.
What happened? Why does the message “Some Feature Not Available” appear?
The start of Facebook Dating most probably also got the platform into a lot of trouble. It turns out that an Irish data agency called DPC currently investigates whether Facebook violated the GDPR regulations. Now the legal team of the tech company has to do a lot of explaining before the problem is sorted out.
When will the message “Some Features Not Available” stop appearing on Facebook & Instagram?
In an official public statement, Facebook said: “We’re looking into ways to continue to support developers, partners, and businesses who use these features in the Messenger API. We’ll share more updates as information becomes available”.
Now you know why Some Features are Not Available – Facebook & Instagrams Users. The message will keep on showing for European users. Don’t worry you are not restricted or blocked. Perhaps that’s the reason why a few days ago Facebook Messenger and Instagram were down globally for a few hours.
Read more: Facebook’s statement “Some Messaging Campaigns and Performance Reporting Unavailable”
👉Want guest posting?🪙Subscribe to the @egorithms Telegram