Issues with Meta permissions for Facebook ad automation in n8n

Questions
1

Title: Issues with Meta Permissions for Facebook Ad Automation in n8n

Hi,

I’m developing an automation in n8n to retrieve information from conversations started through Facebook Click-to-Messenger ads and save attribution data to Google Sheets.

The idea is to receive events like messages and messaging_referrals via webhooks to identify which campaign, ad set, and ad generated each conversation.

We’re currently setting up a Meta application of type Pages and need to use the following permissions:

  • pages_messaging
  • pages_manage_metadata
  • business_management
  • pages_show_list

We’re also preparing the App Review process to request Advanced Access, since without approval the automation only works with app administrator users and not with real customers writing from the ads.

The planned flow would be:

  1. The user clicks on a Click-to-Messenger ad.
  2. Sends a message to the Facebook page.
  3. Meta sends the event to the webhook configured in n8n.
  4. n8n retrieves the ad attribution data.
  5. The data is saved to Google Sheets.

I wanted to know if anyone has implemented a similar flow in n8n and encountered any of these issues:

  • Events work with administrators, but not with real users.
  • The messaging_referrals events are not arriving.
  • Problems subscribing the page through the subscribed_apps endpoint.
  • Errors related to pages_manage_metadata or business_management.
  • Difficulties generating or renewing the Page Access Token.
  • Issues during Meta’s App Review.
  • Loss of campaign, ad set, or ad data when receiving the webhook.
  • Limitations or special configurations needed in n8n’s Webhook node.

The automation is being built in n8n and the results will be saved to Google Sheets.

Has anyone successfully implemented this type of integration between Meta Messenger, Click-to-Messenger Ads, and n8n?

Any recommendations regarding permissions, webhook configuration, tokens, or workflow structure would be very helpful.

Thank you very much.

Describe the problem/error/question

What is the error message (if any)?

Please share your workflow

(Select the nodes on your canvas and use the keyboard shortcuts CMD+C/CTRL+C and CMD+V/CTRL+V to copy and paste the workflow.)

Share the output returned by the last node

Information on your n8n setup

  • n8n version:
  • Database (default: SQLite):
  • n8n EXECUTIONS_PROCESS setting (default: own, main):
  • Running n8n via (Docker, npm, n8n cloud, desktop app):
  • Operating system:
2

Again, “works with admins, but not with real users” fits the standard without Advanced Access: in Development/Standard mode, Meta only presents you with events for users who have a role in the app (admin/dev/tester). Without approved app review, you won’t have access to your app’s users.

Consider the following:

Subscribe the page to the messages and messaging_referrals fields in the subscribed_apps interface (it’s not enough for them to be in the webhook configuration).

pages_manage_metadata is the permission you need to subscribe the page to the app through the API.

The long-term Page Access Token is obtained by exchanging the User token (with business_management) if you don’t renew it properly the subscription will drop.

Campaign/ad data in messaging_referrals may arrive incomplete if the ad is not correctly linked to the Business Manager that manages the page.

Without approved Advanced Access, there’s no going back — it’s the non-negotiable requirement for production with real users.

3

Hello Stanleyy, yes I’ve verified that with META’s official documentation and I’ve already requested Advanced Access through the app review. But I’m still waiting. I submitted it a couple of days ago but still haven’t heard from META. I suppose it will take a while…

4

That makes sense, Meta’s review can take a while. While you wait, you can keep testing everything with your own account (as an admin/tester of the app) to have the flow ready and just switch the mode once they approve your Advanced Access.

5

The admin vs real users thing is always the wall hit with Meta integrations. Before you go through App Review, double-check you’ve got the right token scope and that your webhook is actually set to receive from the live app, not test mode. Sometimes it’s just a token issue masquerading as a permissions problem.

6

The truth is I’ve been waiting for 14 days and haven’t heard anything from META, and I’m not really sure what to do.

7

Hey, the flow is already set up. But it’s true that I’ve been waiting 14 days for META to say something but nothing.

8

Hi, Meta has been reviewing automation for more than 20 days. Is that possible?