How do I open and play a Facebook video inside an OutSystems mobile app?

Edward James

Question

I am building a small OutSystems mobile app for a video-related project, and users can share Facebook video links inside it.

The problem: when someone taps a Facebook video link, it either leaves the app or does not play properly inside it. I am not sure which approach is correct — the official Facebook embed, an in-app browser, or opening the Facebook app if it is installed.

For example, in my own video-related project work (fdown.media), users often work with Facebook video links, and I want those videos to open smoothly inside the app instead of sending people away.

What is the recommended approach in OutSystems Mobile — an embedded player, the InAppBrowser plugin, or checking with something like AppAvailability and deep-linking to the Facebook app? Is there a Forge component that handles this well?

Thanks for any guidance.

10 Oct

Akshay Deshpande

AI Generated

Hello Edward, James

For this requirement, I would recommend using the InAppBrowser Plugin and opening Facebook video links with OpenInSystemBrowser.

Recommended approach:

InAppBrowser Plugin: Use OpenInSystemBrowser to open the Facebook video in Android Custom Tabs or iOS SafariViewController. This provides a smoother experience than opening the external browser separately.
Embedded player: If you need to display the video directly on your screen, consider Facebook's official Embedded Video Player for videos that are publicly accessible and eligible for embedding. However, playback inside a mobile WebView is not guaranteed.
Open the Facebook app: If launching the Facebook app is a strict requirement, investigate supported deep links and use an appropriate fallback. AppAvailability can help check whether an app is installed, but it does not itself open the video or guarantee that a particular link will work.
Forge components: Start with the official InAppBrowser Plugin. I am not aware of a dedicated, officially supported OutSystems component that guarantees playback of arbitrary Facebook video URLs inside a native mobile screen.

References:

My recommendation: Start with OpenInSystemBrowser. If an embedded experience is mandatory, test the official Facebook embed on both Android and iOS using public and restricted videos before committing to that approach. Facebook controls the actual playback behavior, so a successful test with one video does not guarantee that every shared link will work.

Thanks and Regards,
Akshay Deshpande

12 Oct

This answer was AI-generated. Please read it carefully and use the forums for clarifications

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