Facebook has updated its multi-friend selector invite tool for applications and games, now allowing users to import and choose from their email contacts when asking those not on Facebook to join them on an app or game.

This contact importer replaces the previous option to manually input email addresses when inviting non-members, which was located beneath the friend selector. The importer displays in a pop-up screen after a user skips or selects to invite existing Facebook friends, creating a 2-step flow out of what was previously a single screen. On the Platform Live Status site for developers, Facebook explains that the change, “removes friction from the [invite] process”.

The applications and games invite flow now utilizes the more advanced importer offered to those signing up for new Facebook accounts or to those who click “Who’s not on Facebook? Invite them now” on the home page’s right sidebar.

Facebook apps and games employing the default inviter settings will see this new invite flow in action. Once users confirm that they want their email’s contacts searched for people not on Facebook and hit “Find Friends”, an importer loading screen shows for a few seconds. All the email contacts without Facebook accounts associated with them are displayed with their “Send Invitation” check boxes checked by default. If a user chooses to send invitations, those they’ve selected receive an email with the prompt, “Hi, I have started using [name of game or app], an application on Facebook, and I think you would like it too.”

The link provided brings the recipient through the express registration which bookmarks the game or app from which the invite was sent in the bottom of the home page’s left navigation sidebar once they’ve created their account.

This change to the app and game invite flow makes it much easier for users to mass invite contacts who aren’t on Facebook, especially since all found contacts are selected for invites by default. Developers should note that the change is causing some of them to receive duplicate notifications of which users were selected via the multi-friend selector in the first step of the flow.

However, developers can distinguish between the duplicates based on the parameter the requests contain.  We’ll be here to keep you informed on how this new invite flow influences app traffic and new account sign-ups.