Twitter Explains API Changes to Employees as Limits for Third-Party Apps Go Live

[hobsgrg]

This sort of thing was exactly the sort of reason why I was hesitant with buying Tweetbot. I understand that it's a superior client to Twitter's own native client, but while I don't have a lot of issues with the native version, the fact that they killed off their macOS version is completed unreasonable (especially since the Windows version was recently relaunched). Also, Twitter's stance on developers has always been flaky, so this seems to be only a matter of time.

I don't know what will force them to change their mind, but I guess there's nothing anyone can do at this point.

Funnily enough I had the opposite reaction, this was the reason why I was even more determined to buy the latest version of TweetBot for Mac on day one even with this threat hanging over them. As Twitter attempts to squeeze 3rd parties into oblivion it is even more important to support them.

 

[___joshuaturner]

We're committed to understanding why people hire 3rd party clients over our own apps

No ads and chronological timelines you ****ing dolts

 

[clarkgoble]

No ads and chronological timelines you ****ing dolts

Of course the "no ads" is part of the problem since that's how they monetize.

 

[TaviDuprix]

Maybe if your own app wasn’t spam galore, people would be more satisfied with it. Just saying

You do realize that ads are what keeps the service running. They have to make money somehow else the service ceases to exist. This is why I have never used an adblocker.
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No ads and chronological timelines you ****ing dolts

I am for chronological timelines but how do you keep the service afloat without ads?

 

[MallardDuck]

The real reason is that they want to monetize users by being able to track them across devices more accurately. Third party integrated social media tools like Hootsuite allow a single post to be shared on multiple networks, and without having Twitter track the rest of your activity.

By creating friction and forcing users to a single platform app, many will simply drop Twitter completely.

1% of developers is a red herring. What percentage of users?

 

[Mr. Dee]

I am not that much of a Twitter pro user that these feature changes will affect me. The stock app does everything I need, but I can understand for major content creator; or business (that’s making serious money already), this might be an annoyance they can likely pay for.

Twitter PR needs to be more careful with its use of language in its press releases. ‘Kill’ is such a strong word to use. ‘Ending’ ‘Sunsetting’ or ‘Discontinuing’ can’t be that hard to find in your vocabulary.

 

[fairuz]

According to Twitter, only 1% of users use 3rd party applications, i that 1% of active users or 1% of the entire base? Most argue that the most active users that are engaged connected with 3rd party apps instead of the 1st party ones. I'd wager that's accurate which would mean 1% of all users but that could really be 50% of active.

They said 1% of developers, not users. I expect less than 1% of users since almost all users aren't tech-savvy MacRumors commenters.
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Funnily enough I had the opposite reaction, this was the reason why I was even more determined to buy the latest version of TweetBot for Mac on day one even with this threat hanging over them. As Twitter attempts to squeeze 3rd parties into oblivion it is even more important to support them.

They don't attempt, they just do it.

 

[EdT]

I use the stock Twitter app. Why pay for Tweetbot when it is crippled? I don’t like ads but I’m not going to use a product that doesn’t support real time tweets just to be ad free. Tweetbot and Twitterific were great before Twitter crippled the 3rd party API.

Twitter doesn’t support real time tweets. That was why I switched to Tweetbot in the first place. Kept coming across “new” tweets that were anywhere from a few minutes to an entire day old. I’ve quit face book and I can live without Twitter as well.

 

[Heineken]

Twitter was and is one convoluted mess. App is a complete mystery to me.

 

[ericg301]

Twitter has zero obligation to allow 3rd parties access to ANY APIs. Are there any 3rd party facebook apps at all? Just use the twitter app. I really dont understand the outrage.

the outrage is that twitter is trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, after years of 3rd party development.

 

[TaviDuprix]

the outrage is that twitter is trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube, after years of 3rd party development.

Using APIs is at your own risk unless you have a licensing agreement with the company. I agree with Grennis. However, the false outrage is ironic considering we are discussing Twitter the central forum for false outrage.

 

[AppleInLVX]

I wonder if Apple could sherlock twitter somehow with a public iMessage feed or something. I know that'd oust pretty much everyone who wasn't a part of the Apple ecosystem, but it'd also oust all the racists or bullies who use the service, assuming it would be subject to the same kind of standard as the App store. I'd be all over that. What I won't do is use the Twitter app.

Eh. I left Facebook for good earlier this year, and I survived that. I could survive this too. I feel like after all these years of social media, I'm over it. It's all going to pot anyway.

 

[thisisnotmyname]

Investing in Twitter client experiences

discontinued native Twitter app for MacOS then neutered all third party clients. Good Job!

We're committed to understanding why people hire 3rd party clients over our own apps

it's simple, because YOU DON'T HAVE ONE!!

 

[keith57]

Why use a 3rd party versus stock? Because the stock app is terrible, and every change that they've made has NOT improved it.

For me, the question now is: why do I continue to use Twitter in the first place? Methinks it's time to quit.

Yep, same here. Twitter can’t seem to deliver a user friendly app / interface. A native Twitter feed is appalling, full of ads and re-tweets I don’t want.

Tweetbot is great. Just a simple timeline, list management and no ads. If it deteriorates anymore then it will be time to leave. If the people I follow start to migrate elsewhere then Twitter will slowly die.

 

[Westside guy]

I've always just gone to twitter.com in my web browser. But, each time Twitter makes a change, I find myself going there less and less - they never make changes that benefit me as a user, only changes which make the platform less usable.

Over the past 6-12 months, I seem to be at a point where I only visit Twitter a couple times a month. It pretty much defeats the purpose of using the platform at all.

Twitter was a great idea... it's too bad they never figured out how to implement it. RIP.

 

[robertcoogan]

Goodbye, Twitter.

 

[drumcat]

Costs a lot of money to keep an API going. Seems most here don't understand this. Lots of crying going on. Twitter won't miss those that stop using it because of this move. You were just a leech on their system anyways with your 3rd party app and lack of ads.

It's hard to be a leech when you're the product. If something is free, you are the product!

That's why this is baffling. Yes, APIs cost money, but the stability allows for an ecosystem, and that is what brings popularity. Imagine if Twitter had been blocked from sending group-texts in the early days, where the phone companies "closed their APIs"? Twitter doesn't happen.

I'm not suggesting that they aren't within their rights to do this, but time and again, the strategy is proven poor.

 

[ComRadMac]

And here is where everyone who doesn't care about Twitter wins! Ahh, it's really nice that this doesn't affect me in any way. Sweet, sweet disinterest has come through again!

 

[robertcoogan]

It's hard to be a leech when you're the product. If something is free, you are the product!

That's why this is baffling. Yes, APIs cost money, but the stability allows for an ecosystem, and that is what brings popularity. Imagine if Twitter had been blocked from sending group-texts in the early days, where the phone companies "closed their APIs"? Twitter doesn't happen.

I'm not suggesting that they aren't within their rights to do this, but time and again, the strategy is proven poor.

Exactly right. It isn’t much of a business model.

 

[thadoggfather]

If the point wasn’t to kill 3rd party clients, they would have developed new APIs that were based on “newer” technologies Twitter “supports” to replicate the functionality of the APIs being retired. Removing functionality critical to 3rd party clients and offering no replacement can only be seen as an effort to cripple those clients. Twitter can protest all they want but that’s the reality.

The pricing of new api’s per users is prohibitive to having a business make money

They definitely crippled 3rd party apps

 

[poorcody]

I could have written their company memo more concisely:

Dear Employees,

We are killing third party apps to make more money.

Tweet on!

Mr. Jack

 

[Greymacuser]

This is actually the Tweetbot for Mac logo.

Well that explains it. (¬‿¬)

 

[itsmilo]

You do realize that ads are what keeps the service running. They have to make money somehow else the service ceases to exist. This is why I have never used an adblocker.
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I am for chronological timelines but how do you keep the service afloat without ads?

Not talking about the ads even tho I get rid of those ANYWHERE too but the whole „might have missed“ crap

 

[Greymacuser]

I could have written their company memo more concisely:

Dear Employees,

We are killing third party apps to make more money.

Tweet on!

Mr. Jack

Honestly, at this point, I'm not surprised that this is happening. It's been Apples current business model towards 3rd party software/hardware developers for years now. I'm still baffled how their customers still just sit and take it day in and day out.

 

[NIKKG]

People, quit all social media! FB, Instagram, Twitter and so on. These are all CIA/NSA operations to spy on people and to brain wash you.