Chrome extension or cloud service: which is safer for your Facebook account

The two approaches, briefly

A cloud service posts from the provider's servers. To do that, it needs access to your Facebook account: a username and password, or an active session stored on its side. The posting runs there, even when you are away from your computer.

A browser extension runs inside your own Chrome. It uses the Facebook session that is already open on your machine, and opens the group, fills in the post and publishes it, just as you would. The provider's server manages the queue and the pace, and the extension does the work.

What each approach needs from you

• Cloud: handing over a password or connecting the account. Sometimes also a two-factor code, and dealing with verification requests Facebook sends when it sees an unfamiliar login.
• Extension: installing from the extension store, connecting it to your account with the provider, and a computer that is on with the browser open while posting runs.

What Facebook sees in each case

Facebook knows your habits: which computer you log in from, which network address, which region and at what hours. Any sharp change in these is a signal that gets checked.

With the cloud, posts come from a data centre address, from a device the account has never used before, and sometimes from another region. Sometimes it happens at an hour when you are asleep. That looks a lot like the pattern of an account someone else has logged into, and it can lead to a verification request or a restriction.

With an extension, posts come from your computer, your address and the session that already exists. In terms of location and device, nothing is new. That does not mean there is no risk: a fast pace or identical text will look suspicious from your own computer too.

The risk of handing over your password

• Your password is stored by someone else. If the provider is breached, or someone there makes a mistake, your account is exposed.
• The password opens everything. Not just posting to groups, but also messages, business pages and ad accounts connected to the same profile.
• Facebook's terms of service. They prohibit sharing your password or giving others access to your account. Read the current wording before handing it to any tool.
• Changing your password breaks the tool. And if you do not change it after you stop using the service, the access may stay open.

An extension's limits, honestly

An extension has a real cost, and it is worth knowing in advance:

• The computer must be on and the browser open while posting runs. If you close the browser, posting waits.
• It depends on the browser. Most extensions are built for Chrome and Chromium-based browsers, not for every browser.
• One active computer. Two computers posting from the same account at the same time cause confusion and may post twice.
• You trust an extension too. An extension running in your browser can see what happens on the pages it works on. Install only from the official extension store, read which permissions it asks for, and check what the provider says the extension does and does not do.

How to choose: a quick comparison

A cloud service fits better if: it matters to you that posting runs even when your computer is off, you are willing to hand over access to the account, and you accept the risk of logins from an unfamiliar place.

An extension fits better if: the account is an asset that is hard to replace, you do not want your password held by anyone, and you can schedule posting for hours when your computer is on anyway.

With either approach, check the same things: is there a daily cap, does the pace vary, is the wording varied between groups, and does the tool stop when Facebook signals a restriction.

What POSTEMA chose, and why

POSTEMA works as a Chrome extension. It never asks for your Facebook password and does not store it, and posts go out from your own browser and your own address. The extension works in Chrome, and also in Edge and Brave.

The cost of this choice is the one described above: the browser has to be open when a post goes out. If you close it in the middle of a campaign, the campaign waits, then continues from the group where it stopped without posting twice to the same group. And here too, there is no promise the account will not be restricted. Every automation carries some risk, which is why the system adds a daily cap based on account age, varied spacing and an automatic pause.

Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

• A Chrome extension for Facebook posting
• How to choose a group posting tool
• Automated posting to Facebook groups