https://github.com/jarred-sumner/email2face
Email2Face is a little library that lets you search Facebook profile pictures by email
https://github.com/jarred-sumner/email2face
Last synced: 4 months ago
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Email2Face is a little library that lets you search Facebook profile pictures by email
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/jarred-sumner/email2face
- Owner: Jarred-Sumner
- License: mit
- Created: 2012-05-05T23:47:36.000Z (about 13 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2012-05-08T06:17:58.000Z (about 13 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-02-23T08:12:01.671Z (4 months ago)
- Language: Ruby
- Homepage: http://email2face.net
- Size: 207 KB
- Stars: 1
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE.txt
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README
# Email2Face
Email2Face is a simple library for getting the person's face behind an email address. At [Lockitron](https://lockitron.com), we wanted faces next to names. It's a lot easier to remember who someone is when you can see their face. But, that's difficult to implement when all you have is an email address and a name.
After thinking about it for a few days, we came up with a good solution. Facebook has lots of faces, so why not use that? But, Facebook does not have an API for searching for profile pictures by email. So, we made one.
## Dependencies
It needs a Facebook account to work. I *do not* recommend using your own Facebook because I'm not sure if this plays well with Facebook's TOS. So, make a fake Facebook for it. I've included a default one, but it'll probably be banned by the time you get to it.
### Before jumping in
You need to have Xvfb and QTWebkit installed in order to use this.
#### Install it on Mac OS X:
```bash
$ brew install qt
```
Then, download and install [XQuartz](http://xquartz.macosforge.org/downloads/SL/XQuartz-2.7.1.dmg).
#### Install it on Arch Linux:
```bash
$ sudo pacman -S xorg-server-xvfb qtwebkit
```
#### Install it on Ubuntu:
```bash
$ sudo apt-get install xvfb libqtwebkit4 libqtwebkit4-dev
```
## Using it
Start off by installing the gem:
```ruby
gem install 'email2face'
```
Then, we just give Email2Face the email we want a face for:
```ruby
require 'email2face'
Email2Face.face("[email protected]")
```
It should return something like:
```ruby
http://graph.facebook.com/jarred.sumner/picture
```
However, if you get something like this:
```ruby
"I couldn't find a face for that email :(. It's also possible that Facebook has asked for a security check on that account, which means that you should sign in and perform the security check."
```
That might mean that Facebook is redirecting all requests to their [checkpoint](https://facebook.com/checkpoint). If it's an account you made, sign in and perform the security check. Otherwise, change it to an account that you know works.
### Changing the Facebook Account
It's unlikely the included Facebook account will work for long. So, you may need to make a fake Facebook for it. Do not use your own because it's possible that Facebook may ban it.
#### With Ruby on Rails:
1.Create a new file in `config/initializers` called `facebook.rb`
2.Open that file in a text editor, and drop in the following:
```ruby
Email2Face.username = "MY_FAKE_FACEBOOK_USERNAME"
Email2Face.password = "MY_FAKE_FACEBOOK_PASSWORD"
```
You'll need to restart your application server for it to have any affect.
#### Without Ruby on Rails:
The code above wasn't specific to Ruby on Rails. Just set ```Email2Face.username``` and ```Email2Face.password``` to what you want.