How to Open a Facebook Link Using the Native App on an iPhone

Native Facebook App on iOS: Opening Links with the Built-in App

Opening links in native apps is a common requirement for many mobile applications. In this article, we’ll explore how to open a Facebook link using the native Facebook app on an iPhone.

Understanding URL Schemes

Before diving into the code, it’s essential to understand what URL schemes are. A URL scheme is a set of rules that defines how a specific URL should be handled by an application. In this case, we’ll focus on the Facebook app’s URL schemes.

URL schemes allow developers to open specific URLs within their own apps or other installed apps. By using these schemes, we can create a seamless experience for users when interacting with our apps.

Getting Started

To start, let’s assume that the native Facebook app is installed on the iPhone. We’ll explore how to open a Facebook link into this app from our own application.

Example Code

Here’s an example code snippet in Objective-C that demonstrates how to open a Facebook link using the fb://profile scheme:

{< highlight objective-c >}
NSURL *url = [NSURL URLWithString:@"fb://profile/<id>"];
[[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:url];
</code>

In this code, we create a new NSURL object with the URL scheme fb://profile followed by the user’s ID. We then use [UIApplication sharedApplication] to access the application’s shared instance and call the openURL: method.

Available Schemes

The Facebook app supports several URL schemes:

fb://profile: Opens the Facebook app to the user’s profile
fb://friends: Opens the Facebook app to the friends list
fb://notifications: Opens the Facebook app to the notifications list (Note: there appears to be a bug with this URL. The Notifications page opens, but it’s not possible to navigate to anywhere else in the Facebook app)
fb://feed: Opens the Facebook app to the News Feed
fb://events: Opens the Facebook app to the Events page
fb://requests: Opens the Facebook app to the Requests list
fb://notes: Opens the Facebook app to the Notes page
fb://albums: Opens the Facebook app to Photo Albums list

Checking if the App is Installed

Before opening a URL, it’s essential to check whether the user has installed the Facebook app. We can use the canOpenURL: method to do this:

{< highlight objective-c >}
if ([[UIApplication sharedApplication] canOpenURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"fb://profile/<id>"]]) {
    [[UIApplication sharedApplication] openURL:[NSURL URLWithString:@"fb://profile/<id>"]];
} else {
    // Open the URL as usual
}
</code>

In this code, we create a new NSURL object with the same URL scheme as before. We then use [UIApplication sharedApplication] to access the application’s shared instance and call the canOpenURL: method. If the app can be opened, we proceed with opening the URL using the openURL: method.

Conclusion

In this article, we explored how to open a Facebook link using the native Facebook app on an iPhone. We discussed the available URL schemes supported by the Facebook app and provided code examples for both checking if the app is installed and opening URLs using the built-in app.

By following these guidelines and implementing the code snippets outlined in this article, you can create seamless experiences for your users when interacting with your apps.

Last modified on 2025-01-25