Facebook Messenger bot rejected because it doesn't respond to non-tester profiles

Question

...But this is what it needs to be reviewed for.

My Messenger app approval keeps being rejected with this:

pages_messaging This item was not approved. Click Edit Details for information.

Facebook then states that the app does not respond when messaged - however, Facebook appears to be testing the app using a non-tester profile, which the system cannot respond to because that's what it needs approval to be able to do in the first place.

They also provide a screenshot of the messages sent, but these never show up in our page's Messenger inbox or in our database.

Facebook has also tested using tester profiles, but the app has always responded to them. The app also obviously responds to myself, the admin and my own test profiles.

Am I missing something? Why would Facebook review my app for public use, whilst using a non-tester profile?

Unclench

The page that my bot is linked with is also published and I have set the App Review to 'live and available to public' – Unclench

Did you fix this? Because, I have the same problem – Botfly

Currently struggling with this same issue - is there a solution? – Chessy

@Unclench , tell me you fiound the solution, I have the exact same problem. – Whitfield

@Chessy did you found a solution? – Whitfield

In my case I was providing a facebook page linked to a test facebook app (a duplicate of my main app, not the main app that was being sent to review). I believe that's why the reviewer couldn't get any response. When I provided another facebook page this time linked to my main facebook app they were able to get answers from my bot. I didn't need to add any reviewer or other person as tester for my app. – Underestimate

Answer 1

Now in 2023, I also encountered a similar issue with my chatbot. It was only responding to my messages (admin) but not to messages from others. Below are all the steps I took to resolve it, hoping it will be helpful to you (make sure the chatbot functions smoothly and without any errors):

I found out that we need "pages_messaging" permission in Permissions and Features. We need Advanced access!

• If your "Request advanced access" button is not clickable (it's grayed out), when you hover your cursor over the button, you will receive the following message: "To request advanced access to this permission, you need to make a successful test API call. It may take up to 24 hours after the first API call for this button to become active. Learn about testing."

• Access: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/get-started/ https://developers.facebook.com/tools/explorer
• Follow the instructions and send the first API request.
• After you send the first API request as instructed, it may take up to 24 hours for the "Request advanced access" button to work. It might be quicker if you are lucky :))

• Once the "Request advanced access" button is active, click on it. Then follow these instructions (I found them on YouTube :v)

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC6tzNkgFLw&t=117s

• Basically, after these steps and waiting, your chatbot will go public if it gets approved, which is great. However, there might be a significant issue here that could cause the chatbot not to be approved. You will receive feedback like this: "Not Approved: pages_messaging pages_messaging feedback App rejected - Bot not responding to the first command We did not receive an automated response when we attempted to message your bot. Bots should respond to all inputs within 30 seconds to prevent a poor experience. To resolve this issue, please ensure that your bot experience is functional before you re-submit for review. For more information, please visit our App Review Rejection Guide to learn more. Notes from your reviewer: Hi Team! During our review, we did not receive an automated response when we attempted to message your bot. Bots should respond to all inputs within 30 seconds to prevent a poor experience. To resolve this issue, please ensure that your bot experience is functional before you resubmit for review. You may also provide a Facebook test credential that can interact with your BOT. For more information, read our (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/messenger-platform). Please re-submit accordingly, and we will re-review your application. Thank you."

• The reason for this message is that Facebook did not use a tester account to check our chatbot, so chatbot didn't respond to the Facebook message :)))

• The solution to this is to create a Tester account and include it with your submission or explicitly state this issue to them.

• I have prepared a template for the submission form, which you can refer to here: https://github.com/pvbang/save-public/blob/main/pages_messaging-permission.md

• After doing all these steps, Facebook finally approved: pages_messaging. Then, I switched to "App mode: Development," and the chatbot became public and accessible to everyone. I hope this information helps you, thanks :))

P/S: I noticed that publicizing a chatbot through Facebook might not be as convenient, so I have a piece of advice to consider switching to other services, for example, Zapier,... I am using it and finding it more user-friendly, which could be an alternative option for you :)))

Ostrom

still not working to me, facebook review always choose their account to test, then so we only get "Bot not response... " message – Lashley

@Lashley resolved? same here – Walachia

@Walachia I have to create new fb, request business again, then all worked – Lashley

Answer 2

In this conversation you can find the answer,

https://github.com/Microsoft/BotBuilder/issues/1465

It's not responding because your page has not yet been approved and not public, once they approve it any user can use the bot.

As they have said in the conversation to get your app approved you may have to add facebook app reviewer as a friend and review the app again.

Clegg