WorkSpaces Secure Browser

OpenVPN access to Researcher Platform extended

Based on your feedback on our release of Amazon WorkSpaces Secure Browser, we are making improvements to ensure a smoother transition. You will continue to have access to Researcher Platform through OpenVPN. As we make these updates, please note that your current environments and data remain unaffected. We will communicate a revised timeline soon.

Researchers can access Meta research tools hosted in Researcher Platform through Amazon WorkSpaces Secure Browser. Researcher Platform runs a modified version of Jupyter within a WorkSpaces Secure Browser instance. This provides researchers access to multiple standard statistical packages including SQL, Python and R.

Getting started

When you navigate to a Meta research tool URL such as Meta Content Library API, Ad Targeting or URL Shares, you will see the option to redirect to the WorkSpaces Secure Browser URL for your product. Log in with your Facebook account to WorkSpaces Secure Browser to begin using it.

Ignore the option to redirect if you are already in the WorkSpaces Secure Browser environment. Just proceed with your login.

When you log in for the first time, you will see a prompt to install the WorkSpaces Secure Browser Chrome extension.



The Chrome extension is optional to install, but it can greatly improve your experience in WorkSpaces Secure Browser by reducing additional login prompts to your Facebook account. You can also install the extension directly from the Chrome webstore.

Once you begin your WorkSpaces Secure Browser session, you will land on the JupyterLab instance for your intended research tool. You will be prompted to sign into JupyterLab using your Facebook credentials, after which you can start your server and run code in Python or R to analyze the available data.

You will see the WorkSpaces Secure Browser toolbar at the top of your JupyterLab instance:

Working within WorkSpaces Secure Browser

Within WorkSpaces Secure Browser, Researcher Platform functions as a cleanroom in which certain activities are restricted. For example:

  • The only URLs accessible in WorkSpaces Secure Browser are Researcher Platform's and the user's Facebook login URL. You cannot access other internet sites.

  • You can copy and paste text into your JupyterLab notebook, but you cannot copy text from your notebook and paste it outside of the Researcher Platform environment. See Export notebooks for an alternative method of exporting a Jupyter notebook. This method keeps the code intact but scrubs the outputs in conformance with privacy rules.

Upload and download files in select environments

A few of the environments that you can access within Researcher Platform through WorkSpaces Secure Browser do allow files to be uploaded and downloaded. If your environment supports this functionality, you will see a Files option in the WorkSpaces Secure Browser toolbar:



For both uploading to and downloading from your local computer, you utilize the WorkSpaces share folder (TemporaryFiles) as a staging location. Click Files in the toolbar to open the TemporaryFiles window:

Upload a file


Step 1: Upload the file to TemporaryFiles

In the WorkSpaces Secure Browser toolbar, click Files, then Upload File(s). This opens a window showing the files on your local computer. Selecting the file you want to upload adds it to TemporaryFiles.

Step 2: Upload to Researcher Platform

In the Researcher Platform dashboard, click the upload button (up arrow).



In the file browser, select the file you previously added to TemporaryFiles. Click Open in the upper right corner of the window to open the file in the Jupyter environment.

Download a file


Step 1: Download the file to TemporaryFiles

In the Researcher Platform left navigation bar, right-click the file you want to download, and select Download. The file is added to TemporaryFiles.

Step 2: Download to your local computer

In the WorkSpaces Secure Browser toolbar, click Files to open the TemporaryFiles window where you will see the file you just added. Select the file you want to download. Click Actions, then Download. This makes the file available on your local computer.