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Facebook apologises for app breakdown

Facebook has apologised to developers whose accounts and apps were accidentally disabled this week during a security crackdown.

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Source: AAP


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Facebook has apologised to app developers who were locked out when a security crackdown backfired.

Numerous developer accounts and apps were accidentally disabled on Tuesday as Facebook tried to neutralise a particularly malicious app.

Usually, Facebook identifies malicious patterns, finds all apps that match the pattern, and disables them.

This time, however, the pattern matched "many of your high quality apps", according to a message posted on the Facebook developer blog.

Restoring the disabled apps and accounts "took longer than expected" because of the "number of apps affected", it said.

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Facebook announced it would work to fine-tune which patterns it cracks down on in order "to verify that all apps matched are indeed malicious".

It didn't say how many people were affected, and a local representative couldn't confirm a number.


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