Twitter Officially Bans All Third-Party Apps [Update]

[Zab the Fab]

And he says something about Apple walled garden?

The Walled Garden rhetoric is illogical at best. Mercedes do not sell BMWs in their store. A used car dealership might opt to not sell Honda on his lot. There is no business in the world where the owners do not themselves decide what goes on their shelves ...unless you go to far left countries like China.

 

[maflynn]

Twitterrific is asking subscribers not to request a refund from Apple as the loss of the Twitterrific revenue will have a notable impact on the business, and thousands of refunds could be devastating.

seriously? People can refund if they want to. Its their right.

That's wrong, while its not their fault, the consumer has a right to request a refund, since the application no longer works.

 

[maflynn]

Good move Elon. Make life hard for the (totalitarian) use of spam bots and strengthen freedom of speech and freedom for twitter users.

And yet his fans fall over themselves saying how great this move will be and will only make twitter better

 

[alchemistmuffin]

Hmmmmmmm

DOJ ANTI-TRUST INVESTIGATION TEAM ASSEMBLE!!!!!!!​

​

This is not going to end well for Musk in the end, because this is something DOJ’s been after Apple, Google and Meta for while.

I hope Mastodon instances servers are ready for another wave of Twitter user migration.

 

[Zab the Fab]

Imagine if this said "Apple Officially Bans All Third-Party Apps Stores"
Reactions would be completely different 😂

Exactly. If the MSM tells people to hate Elon, they will hate Elon. After that there's no reasoning with them. It's called brainwash.

 

[maflynn]

DOJ ANTI-TRUST INVESTIGATION TEAM ASSEMBLE!!!!!!!

Twitter is not a monopoly and there's plenty of other social platforms - its not an anti-trust thing

 

[alchemistmuffin]

Twitter is not a monopoly and there's plenty of other social platforms - its not an anti-trust thing

But not allowing competing apps by shutting off API with no notice solely for revenue purpose after years of allowing it, I think DOJ would love to take a look at it. That’s monopoly.

Just like how Apple not allowing third party app stores.

 

[Zab the Fab]

Twitter could and chose not to offer ads, and this isn’t instagram.

"this isn't instagram"? Do you understand why people draw comparisons to other similar examples? twitter and instagram are both social media companies that makes money on ads.

 

[Zab the Fab]

It won't whatsoever. The direct API is still open, where the majority of spam comes from, not dedicated apps for mobile phones..

Are you sure the API is still open? If it is, I would expect it to close very soon.

 

[Zab the Fab]

But not allowing competing apps by shutting off API with no notice solely for revenue purpose after years of allowing it, I think DOJ would love to take a look at it. That’s monopoly.

Just like how Apple not allowing third party app stores.

Shutting of an API without notice, is not a monopoly. A monopoly is when a company's market share is so big they can control that market.

 

[Zab the Fab]

Great angle!

now less people will use your platform.

This guy is a genius

Well, they will definitely rush to twitter to tell everyone, that they'll use the platform less . People want to express themselves.

 

[alchemistmuffin]

Shutting of an API without notice, is not a monopoly. A monopoly is when a company's market share is so big they can control that market.

Which is exactly what Musk just did. It’s like the same thing as if Apple totally banned all third party App Store or force all users merchants to use Apple Pay to pay for food or other service and goods in the app (and not allow user to enter their own credit card)

 

[maflynn]

But not allowing competing apps by shutting off API with no notice solely for revenue purpose after years of allowing it, I think DOJ would love to take a look at it. That’s monopoly.

Just like how Apple not allowing third party app stores.

Not really, its their product and they can control how people access it. Companies dictate access rights all of the time. Can you use a third party app to access One drive or Adobe's cloud?

Edit: The consumer has alternatives to that social media platform so in the end the consumer is not impacted with higher prices or inability to use it, and that's what the DOJ cares about

 

[Zab the Fab]

Which is exactly what Musk just did. It’s like the same thing as if Apple totally banned all third party App Store or force all users merchants to use Apple Pay to pay for food or other service and goods in the app (and not allow user to enter their own credit card)

Twitter does not have a controlling market share in the social media space. Apple does have the right to ban third party app stores inside their products, just like Target has a right to ban Shell from opening a gas station in their store. The EU is simply trying to remove this right, in their efforts to bring about an alt left Communist agenda in Europe.

 

[Mirachan_007]

RIP Twitterrific

 

[TopToffee]

Twitterrific is asking subscribers not to request a refund from Apple as the loss of the Twitterrific revenue will have a notable impact on the business, and thousands of refunds could be devastating.

seriously? People can refund if they want to. Its their right.

That's wrong, while its not their fault, the consumer has a right to request a refund, since the application no longer works.

Of course they can, and of course it’s their right.

Twitterrific are also entirely within their right to request their customers do them that kindness. Especially given the circumstances. They’re not asking them not to CANCEL their subscriptions going forward. Not something to get remotely upset about. They’re not forcing anyone to do anything.

Won’t be asking for a refund on my Tweetbot sub personally. They are more than welcome to the portion of my annual sub that is outstanding (a whole £3), after years of quality product before falling foul of Space Karen. If it helps soften the blow, then it’s money well spent.

 

[Kevrani]

Is it possible that Twitter can't maintain the APIs anymore, as they've fired the relevant staff? So the APIs have been canned?

 

[maflynn]

Is it possible that Twitter can't maintain the APIs anymore, as they've fired the relevant staff? So the APIs have been canned?

They've been rolling out new features, and its not like the APIs are changing drastically. This is a business decision not a technical issue

 

[TopToffee]

Many of these users are likely also midway into their subscriptions. I don't think Twitterific is able to provide partial refunds, and (I think) Apple pulls the full 100% of the fee from developers even as they keep 30% of revenue.

For example, if an app costs $10, Apple keeps $3, Dev gets $7. User requests a refund. Apple will take the full $10 from the Dev, resulting in a net loss for the dev.

Such a move could literally bankrupt small time developers like this. I might be mistaken in my understanding of how App Store payments work, but this is why I never request for an app refund, even when I purchase apps that end up being flat out useless to me.

I agree it's their right to do so. I am also making a plea to any Twitterific user here to simply let their subscription lapse naturally and treat this as your way of supporting the dev.

Perfect post. Mass refunds will do far more damage to the devs than those refunds will do to benefit the individual subscribers receiving them.

 

[Marco Klobas]

Twitterrific user here.

Twitter can decide whatever it wants regarding API. The way this change was handled is disappointing, though. Actually, many things (too many) have been rushed and badly managed since Musk stepped in at Twitter. That's a fact.

Thrown announcements, steps back, subscription names/features/prices changes like wind, etc. It's ironic that a company whose service belongs in the communication field can't properly communicate.

I get that Twitter is in a messy situation (company reorganization, financial issues, spotting priorities/goals...). Still, a clearer and soberer communication would be welcome.

All in all, I don't consider Twitter as the worst social network available. Hate speech, cesspool threads, offensive posts, fake news, whatever bad you can get on Twitter is mainly due to one responsible: the users. Let's be honest: human beings become easily evil – with or without Twitter.

Sure, Twitter still has a responsibility. The main issue, though, is that people sometimes ruins a civil conversation in a matter of minutes.

Ideally a social network – being social – should identify any user. Technically and theoretically is possible (like, say, Amazon Seller Central identifies the merchants via an ID, Passport, etc.). Practically it's a huge task. Checking millions of users from all over the world is time consuming to say the least.

What I'm saying is that the anonymity leads too easily to misbehavior. That happens to some extent even here on MacRumors.

I'm not saying that with a proper user registration Twitter will turn into an Eden. It will be an improvement, though.

Money: running a giant service like Twitter costs a lot of money. Users can't pretend to have everything free. This is another main issue with internet nowadays. A subscription isn't a crazy idea at all. Granted, paid users shouldn't get ads in their timeline, or at least it should be a lot reduced. All others will get ads – advertising as an income is probably still unavoidable at this business level.

Personal rant: how on Earth a multi billion company like Twitter can't implement a synced reading position like Twitterrific offered is beyond me.

 

[Pasqualem]

He just continues digging the grave of twitter deeper and deeper

 

[Zab the Fab]

Perfect post. Mass refunds will do far more damage to the devs than those refunds will do to benefit the individual subscribers receiving them.

We could also consider all the developers who are already out of work around the world. Perhaps we could set up a donation campaign.

 

[krspkbl]

Nothing of value is lost. Tried them all and still preferred the official app.

 

[cgs1xx]

The official Twitter app doesn’t even keep tweets synced…

 

[E.Lizardo]

Twitter today confirmed that it is no longer permitting third-party developers to create Twitter clients, with the information quietly shared in an updated developer agreement that was spotted by Engadget. A new clause under Restrictions says that developers are not able to "create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications."

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"We are sorry to say that the app’s sudden and undignified demise is due to an unannounced and undocumented policy change by an increasingly capricious Twitter – a Twitter that we no longer recognize as trustworthy nor want to work with any longer."

"Now that you have fired me I shan't be coming to work any longer, as I find the office atmosphere no longer conducive to productivity" LOL.