What can cause Facebook ad accounts to disconnect?

Facebook accounts disconnect from ThoughtMetric when the access token that links them expires or becomes invalid. ThoughtMetric uses access tokens, which are provided by social networks, to connect to your social accounts. When a token expires or becomes invalid, reconnect your social account to ThoughtMetric (see Connect Facebook Ads). Doing this generates a new token.

Each social network has policies and security algorithms to keep its users' accounts and data secure. When a social network identifies certain actions on an account, it forces the account's token to expire, which disconnects the account from ThoughtMetric. ThoughtMetric is subject to these security measures, and they are often more stringent for third parties than what you experience when using the social network directly. Disconnections can be frustrating, but they occur to protect you.

Why tokens expire

Tokens expire for the following reasons.

Changes to account settings

Making certain changes on the social network itself, for example in Facebook, can disconnect your account from ThoughtMetric. These changes cause disconnections:

• You change the username or password of a social account connected to ThoughtMetric. For example, if you sign in to Facebook and change your password, your Facebook account disconnects from ThoughtMetric.
• You revoke ThoughtMetric's access to your social account. Social accounts have settings that list which apps have permission to connect to them. ThoughtMetric must be on that list if you want to publish to that social account from ThoughtMetric. If you manually revoke ThoughtMetric's access in the social account settings, your account disconnects from ThoughtMetric.
• The user who added a social account to ThoughtMetric loses their Admin status or their access to a Page or group.

Security measures

To keep your social account secure, a social network might disconnect the account from ThoughtMetric when it identifies certain behaviors. The following behaviors are likely to get flagged, and avoiding them is a best practice:

• Using alias usernames that don't appear to be real names.
• Logging in with the same account credentials from different IP addresses. In other words, sharing logins between users or devices.
• Publishing content that gets flagged for copyright violations or as otherwise inappropriate.

Token lifespans

Tokens from each social network can have built-in expiration dates so that they don't grant access to information forever. You can expect disconnections based on each social network's authentication policy:

• Meta: Meta issues tokens with a limit of 60 days. Access tokens generally expire if there has been no activity for the last 30 days.

Top disconnection reasons

These are the most common errors we receive from social networks, along with recommendations for avoiding them in the future.

Facebook password or security alert

This is the most common reason that Facebook or Instagram accounts get disconnected. We receive this message from Facebook when:

• Your Facebook account password gets updated.
• Facebook detects what it thinks is a suspicious login attempt to your account. This includes logging in from a device or web browser that Facebook doesn't recognize. To protect your account, Facebook disconnects any third-party tools, like ThoughtMetric.

To avoid suspicious login alerts in the future:

• Avoid using alias usernames for your Facebook accounts. Use the same name on Facebook that you use in everyday life, so people know who they're connecting with.
• Don't share your Facebook account credentials (username and password) with anyone else. Team members who manage Pages or groups should sign in with their own credentials.
• Try turning on Facebook alerts for unrecognized logins. If you start getting alerts, you can tell Facebook which devices and browsers to trust in the future.

Facebook access revoked

When you connect your Facebook account to ThoughtMetric, ThoughtMetric is added as an authorized connection in your Facebook account's Business Integrations. If ThoughtMetric is removed from the list of authorized connections, its access to your Facebook account is revoked, and your Facebook account, including all your Pages, groups, and associated Instagram business accounts, is disconnected from ThoughtMetric.

Revoking access to a social account can be a necessary troubleshooting step. It gives you a clean slate before you reconnect that account to ThoughtMetric. Make sure you and your team understand the consequences of revoking ThoughtMetric's access to a Facebook account.

Facebook security checkpoint

When Facebook thinks your account security may be compromised, it triggers a security check when you log in. Security checks are different ways of confirming your identity. For example, Facebook might ask you to identify friends in a tagged photo or provide your date of birth. The check must be completed before you or ThoughtMetric can access the account.

Things that can trigger security checks include:

• Compromised accounts
• Unrecognized logins
• Incomplete setup of two-factor authentication
• Reports of inappropriate content
• Copyright violations

To resolve the issue and unblock your account:

1. Clear the cookies and history from your browser.

2. Go to facebook.com and sign in to your Facebook account.

3. Follow the instructions to complete the security check.

4. Wait another 24 hours before signing in to your Facebook account.

If you run into an issue completing the security check, report it to Facebook.

To reduce the risk of triggering a security check in the future:

• Review your account's Security and Login settings and set up the extra security measures available.
• Make sure two-factor authentication is fully configured. An incomplete configuration can trigger security checks.
• For more ways to keep your account secure, see the Facebook help article What can I do to keep my Facebook account secure.

Facebook token expired

Facebook supplies tokens that allow ThoughtMetric to access and connect to your account. When a token expires, your Facebook account, including all your Pages, groups, and associated Instagram business accounts, disconnects from ThoughtMetric.

This happens when the user who connected the account to ThoughtMetric is no longer an Admin of the Facebook Page or group. To add a Facebook Page or group to ThoughtMetric, your Facebook user must be an Admin of the Page or group. If your Admin role is later removed, the Page or group disconnects from ThoughtMetric.

Unconfirmed Facebook account

This error means there's an issue with your account that needs to be resolved on Facebook before you can reconnect it to ThoughtMetric. Sign in to your Facebook account to see what Facebook needs you to do to resolve it.

Insufficient Page role

To add a Facebook Page to ThoughtMetric, your Facebook account must have a Page role of Admin or Editor. This disconnection occurs when the user who connected the account to ThoughtMetric is no longer an Admin or Editor of the Facebook Page. Their role may have changed or, more commonly, their account was removed from the Page because they left the company.

To learn more, see the Facebook help article Manage Page Settings.

ThoughtMetric lacks Page permissions

When you connect your Facebook account to ThoughtMetric, the ThoughtMetric app is authorized as a connected app in your Facebook account's Business Integrations. This is where you manage what information you share with ThoughtMetric and what ThoughtMetric can manage for you.

Verify that you have given ThoughtMetric full access to your Facebook Page. If some permissions were not granted during a previous connection with Facebook, or have since been removed, update those settings and grant all permissions to get full functionality.

To learn more, see the Facebook help article How do I edit the privacy and settings for my business integrations?

Page restriction settings

This error means that ThoughtMetric can't access some of the Page data it has requested from Facebook. The most common causes are country or age restrictions on the Page, or the Page itself not being published. Check your Page's settings to see whether any of these are restricting its visibility. If the Facebook account that was used to connect the Page to ThoughtMetric doesn't meet the Page's visibility requirements, ThoughtMetric won't be able to see the Page either.