# How Facebook's Share Button Works Across Different Websites

> A patent describing how a social network can pull content from an outside website and share it with friends based on specific user-selected settings.

- **Patent:** US 9602605
- **Original title:** Sharing digital content on a social network
- **Owner:** Facebook Inc
- **Granted:** 2017
- **Status:** Active
- **Times cited:** 4
- **Field:** consumer_electronics, software, ecommerce

## What it does

This patent explains the mechanism behind the 'Share' button found on third-party websites. When a user clicks a sharing control outside of a social network, the social network server receives a request and serves an interface back to the user. This interface allows the user to define 'sharing parameters,' such as which specific parts of a webpage to include, how the content should look, and which friends or channels (like a wall or private message) should receive it. The system then retrieves the content from the external site and distributes it within the social network based on those user-defined settings.

## What it does NOT cover

- Does not cover sharing content that is already hosted directly on the social network's own servers.
- Does not cover automated sharing that happens without an explicit interface for the user to select parameters.
- Does not cover the underlying technology of the web browser or the external website itself.
- Does not cover methods of sharing that do not involve a social networking system with established user connections.

## The clever bit

The system dynamically tracks the original external content; if the source material on the external website is modified, the system can update the shared version within the social network to reflect those changes.

## Real-world examples

1. Facebook Share buttons on news articles
2. Embedded social media widgets on blogs
3. Cross-platform content syndication tools

## Why it matters

This patent describes the plumbing for the 'social web' that emerged in the late 2000s. By standardizing how external content is pulled into a social feed, it enabled the viral spread of articles, images, and videos across platforms like Facebook, effectively turning the entire internet into an extension of the social network's ecosystem.

## Frequently asked questions

### What does How Facebook's Share Button Works Across Different Websites cover?

A patent describing how a social network can pull content from an outside website and share it with friends based on specific user-selected settings.

### Who owns patent US 9602605?

Facebook Inc owns this patent, granted in 2017.

### When does this patent expire?

This patent is expected to expire on March 21, 2037, when the invention enters the public domain.

### What is patent US 9602605 cited by?

This patent has been cited by 4 later patents that build on its ideas.

### What problem does this patent solve?

This patent describes the plumbing for the 'social web' that emerged in the late 2000s. By standardizing how external content is pulled into a social feed, it enabled the viral spread of articles, images, and videos across platforms like Facebook, effectively turning the entire internet into an extension of the social network's ecosystem.

### What does this patent NOT cover?

Does not cover sharing content that is already hosted directly on the social network's own servers.

**Full plain-English explainer:** https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/9602605/facebook-stories

**Original patent:** https://patents.google.com/patent/US9602605

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_Source: PatentBrief — https://patentbrief.org. Patent facts are from public records; the plain-English explanation is PatentBrief's._