If you have ever embedded Facebook or Instagram content in WordPress using the default oEmbed or Embed blocks feature, then you need to implement this fix immediately.
Starting October 24th, you will no longer be able to automatically embed Facebook and Instagram content in WordPress using the default methods due to a breaking change in the Facebook API.
But don’t worry, in this article, we will show you how to fix the Facebook and Instagram embed issue in WordPress, so your content embeds keep working, and you never lose any features.
Why will the Facebook & Instagram Embeds Stop Working?
That’s because Facebook recently announced that all oEmbed requests for Facebook and Instagram content will be deprecated on October 24th, 2020.
This API is fundamental to both Gutenberg and the WordPress Classic editor’s default embed feature that lets you easily embed videos, pictures, updates, and other content from Facebook and Instagram.
Instead, Facebook now requires each developer to register an app, and use a client token when getting data from their Graph API for oEmbed content.
This is not scalable for WordPress core team to implement in the WordPress project, so a decision has been made to remove Facebook and Instagram embed feature from WordPress core in favor of letting WordPress plugins solve the issue for users (core ticket #50861).
So basically if you have any Facebook embeds in your WordPress content, then they will break and look like this after October 24th:
If you have any Instagram embeds in your WordPress content, they will break and look like this after October 24th:
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading.
How to Fix the Facebook & Instagram oEmbed Issue (Restore Default Features)
The easiest and most beginner friendly way to fix the oEmbed issue is to use the Smash Balloon free Instagram Feed plugin, and custom Facebook Feed plugin. For more details, see our step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
These plugins are developed by our team at Awesome Motive, and they’re used by over 1.2 million users.
When we heard about this upcoming breaking change, we realized that we were in the best position to solve the problem for our users and the larger WordPress community.
Since Smash Balloon has to register an API key to create custom feeds for both Facebook and Instagram, we didn’t need any additional authentication to restore this functionality.
If you’re already using our Smash Balloon feed plugin, then you simply need to upgrade to the latest version, and the default oEmbed features will continue to work without any issues.
If you run into any troubles, or if you’re a new user who wants to restore the oEmbed functionality, then simply go to the oEmbed navigation menu under Smash Ballon’s Facebook / Instagram feed plugin, and then click on the Connect button.
The best part about using the Smash Balloon plugins is that you will NOT need to go through a complicated process of creating your own app.
We made the process easy for beginners, and as a bonus, you’ll now have all the powerful custom feed features of the Smash Ballon Instagram and Facebook feed plugins.
Alternate Method: Restore Default Facebook / Instagram oEmbed Features
If you’re a developer and would prefer to go through the complex process of registering a Facebook app for each client site to restore this functionality, then you can use the oEmbed Plus plugin.
It’s a new plugin created by one of the volunteer developers to restore the default oEmbed for Facebook and Instagram.
Act Fast and Spread the Word
There are only 12 days left before the Facebook and Instagram embeds in WordPress will stop working.
If you have ever embedded content from Facebook or Instagram on your site using the default embed features, then you need to act fast.
We strongly recommend that you install and activate the Smash Balloon free Instagram Feed plugin, and custom Facebook Feed plugin.
If you’re new in your WordPress journey and just started a blog, then we also recommend that you install the above plugins, so you have access to the easy embed blocks for Facebook and Instagram.
Last but not least, we need your help in spreading the word, so more people can fix this issue on their website before things start breaking. Please share this article in your network and help us spread the word.
We hope this article helped you learn how to fix the Facebook and Instagram oEmbed issue in WordPress. You may also want to see our expert pick of the must have WordPress plugins, and our guide on how to get a virtual business phone number app for your website.
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Any idea if this will impact the Facebook “Page Plugin” social plugin
It shouldn’t affect that as this is specifically a change for oEmbeds
To fix the issue, your article suggests two plugins by Smash Balloon.
Let’s say I install the Smash Balloon Facebook plugin (Smash Balloon Social Post Feed). Once I do that, will that *automatically* fix all current Facebook oEmbedded content on my site? Or will I have to manually remove all such embeds, and re-add them using the plugin?
Yes, it should automatically fix the issue for any current embeds without needing to recreate them.
So far I have not embedded anything from Facebook. However, our need to do so is coming up fast. And I need to find if there is a way we can embed the live feed into our website?
You would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-embed-a-facebook-video-in-wordpress/
Can this be fixed later by activating the plugin or must it be done before it breaks?
You can activate it after but if you are able to now, we would recommend activating the plugin before your embeds break.
Hi,
Do i need what to do if i copy a link from WordPress and paste it on Facebook?
This is for when you post a link from Facebook or Instagram on your site, you do not need this for sharing your site on one of those platforms.
thanks, for this
You’re welcome
What about using jetpack plugin to link Facebook and Instagram account to WordPress website?
You would want to reach out to the support for specific plugin for if they have something in place or if they would recommend our solution.
Hi,
Thanks for the info.
What about Elemetor IG and FB embedding. Will that also break?
You would want to reach out to the support for specific plugins for if they have something in place or if they would recommend our solution.
Does this change affect embeds made using Facebook’s Page Plugin?
You would want to reach out to the support for specific plugin for if they have something in place or if they would recommend our solution.
Will sharing on jetpack work still?
This article is for oEmbeds, sharing is not normally part of embedding on your site. We would recommend reaching out to the support for the plugin you are wondering about for specific questions like this.
Hi, thanks for this!
I’ve implemented instagram media in the past but using a HTML block with the code from Instagram rather than a link and embed. Am I correct in thinking that this will keep on working like before?
Thank you!
For safety, we would still recommend adding the plugin to prevent any future issues.
There is another issue with the Facebook API: they are not allowing to show the comments count. I use the AddThis plugin and they say they will have an alternative soon. Hope so.
Not at all techie so this may be a silly question. Does this have any impact on the simple SFP – Facebook Page Plugin widget that I have in the main sidebar of my front page?
This tutorial is for the default embeds, if you are using a plugin then you would want to reach out to the support for the plugin you are using for how it will handle this change.
Is the functionality free for every kind of media that was previously supported by oEmbed by default?
My understanding currently is that for Video oEmbeds the Smash Balloon plugin would have to be upgraded to Pro.
Yes all default oEmbed functionality is available for free in the free Smash Balloon plugins (including video oEmbeds).
I think you’re confusing the custom video feed feature that’s listed on the Smash Balloon Pro which is completely separate of oEmbed.
Hi! Great to know all of this, I was wondering…What if I just paste the link directly in my post? will it work? Or will it look like the examples on this post? Because you’re talking about embedding posts instead of copying the links and paste them :O it’ll be good to know!
By default, when you currently paste the link in your posts, WordPress oEmbed feature automatically converts it into a proper embed.
That feature will stop working, and for older content it will show the broken layout. For new content, it will just show the URL itself (not embedded content).