Using .htaccess to fix the Facebook like IE fb_xd_fragment bug

If you notice any hits to URLs on your website with a querystring variable that look like:

http://mywebsite.com/somepage?fb_xd_fragment


Then chances are you have the Facebook like button installed and you are experiencing the notorious fb_xd_fragment bug caused by Internet Explorer. There are lots of solutions but if you use a *nix host and have access to your .htaccess file, the easiest thing to do is strip querystring variables matching fb_xd fragment.

Add the following lines and it should fix the problem. (Make sure you replace example.com with your actual URL.):


# Fix facebook bug
RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^fb_xd_fragment
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://example.com/$1? [R=301,L]


Make sure you test on your website before just assuming this works!