Facebook launched its platform for third-party apps in 2007. The Facebook Platform officially launched on May 24, 2007, giving outside developers tools to build applications that could interact with Facebook features and user connections.
This marked a major shift from Facebook creating features internally to allowing an external developer ecosystem. Developers could use Facebook services and Facebook Markup Language to create applications hosted on the site, including games, social utilities, and virtual-gift experiences.
The platform helped drive Facebook’s rapid growth and influenced later integrations with external websites and devices. It is sometimes confused with the newer version of Facebook Platform launched in 2010, which expanded the system around Facebook’s open social graph. The original third-party app platform, however, began in 2007.