Twitter Officially Bans All Third-Party Apps [Update]

[rileyes]

IMAP and POP3 are API to access mailboxes.

SMTP is an API to send mail.


They may still sue for damages, if their contract allows for it. Unfortunately in the meantime, Twitter has destroyed their ability to operate their products for their users, revoking their agreements without warning under literal cover of night.

No, IMAP, POP3, and SMTP are not APIs.

I agree that the communication was terribly mismanaged. But I think it was the right business decision long term.

I doubt these other companies have any grounds to sue, considering by using Twitter's API to begin with they had to agree to Twitter's terms of service, of which I have zero doubt included language that says Twitter has the right to change their terms of service at any time and without notice.

 

[cansuds]

It's like you just repeated yourself without reading my post that you responded to.


You said they were "counterfeit". They were not.

I meant imitation.

Which does a similar task using the actual app's api.

Example: Reddit /Apollo.

 

[cansuds]

No, IMAP, POP3, and SMTP are not APIs.

I agree that the communication was terribly mismanaged. But I think it was the right business decision long term.

I doubt these other companies have any grounds to sue, considering by using Twitter's API to begin with they had to agree to Twitter's terms of service, of which I have zero doubt included language that says Twitter has the right to change their terms of service at any time and without notice.

I agree with you. If they have the right, they can sue. Twitter's decision is completely correct. Payers think it's unfair without knowing it.

 

[BaldiMac]

I meant imitation.

Which does a similar task using the actual app's api.

Example: Reddit /Apollo.

Okay, so why do app developers that create unique user interfaces to display data that they pay to use via a publicly available API not deserve to get paid?

 

[darkpaw]

Elon Musk himself is on record stating that he never introduced the electric car to "save the planet" or as a "green alternative" - he stated the reason he created Tesla is because...

He didn't introduce the electric car.

And he didn't create Tesla. Tesla Motors Inc. was incorporated on 1st July 2003 by Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning. Musk didn't appear on the scene until he put $6.5m in in February 2004. And then he went to court so he could be called a founder of Tesla.

 

[cansuds]

Okay, so why do app developers that create unique user interfaces to display data that they pay to use via a publicly available API not deserve to get paid?

ask this on twitter, it's their decision.

If Reddit closes its api, Apollo users will have the same reaction. The important thing is that the company that chooses to use APi has written this in its contract.

If this is in their contract, they can sue. But instead of filing a lawsuit, they closed the app. Who is more professional?

 

[BaldiMac]

ask this on twitter, it's their decision.

I'm asking you, since you're the one that said it. Twitter never made that claim.

 

[darkpaw]

I disagree with their decision to kill the API, especially without warning and leaving so many businesses completely on ice. But unless they had some seriously binding contracts with the third parties, it was their right to kill the API.

In order to gain access to the Twitter API v2 you had to agree to terms & conditions, and you had to pay for that access, so there was definitely a contract there. You had to pay Twitter, to a specific account, or agree to let Twitter debit from your own account. Without a contract, who would agree to that?

My best guess is they want to serve ads in their own app and third parties wouldn't. So instead of charging them for API use (which is totally doable, like Google Maps API does) they decided to axe the whole thing.

As above, you had to pay to use the API. And... bad guess. Third party clients weren't blocking ads, or refusing to display them in their apps; the API did not return ads in the responses. If Twitter never put ads in the API it's not the third-party app developers' fault for not displaying them; they weren't there to display!

Space Karen's company said they were simply enforcing longstanding rules, but they changed the third-party developer agreement after breaking the API.

Don't blame third-party developers for any of this. Don't blame them for writing apps that accessed Twitter. The company had an API specifically for third-party developers. They had a developer agreement. They allowed third-party apps. They didn't give those apps ads to display. They decided to lie, and changed the terms of their agreement.

This is all on Twitter.

 

[bradl]

If this Ars Technica article is accurate, it wasn't even true the developer agreement had a long-standing ban on third-party Twitter apps. Apparently he quietly just changed the agreement after shutting down the API:

Twitter retroactively changes developer agreement to ban third-party clients

A single line, changed days after a vague statement, ends a foundational era.

arstechnica.com

If this is indeed true, then developers should look at the original contract and see if there is any clause in there for automatically agreeing to any changes being made to that contract with or without notice, and with or without consent. If there isn't, lawsuit should be impending, unless there is a clause for going directly to arbitration.

IMAP and POP3 are API to access mailboxes.

SMTP is an API to send mail.

Umm.. no. IMAP, POP3, and SMTP are protocols, not APIs.

They may still sue for damages, if their contract allows for it. Unfortunately in the meantime, Twitter has destroyed their ability to operate their products for their users, revoking their agreements without warning under literal cover of night.

Agreed. See the above on the contract.

BL.

 

[Surf Monkey]

I didn't say it was fake. I wrote that it does not provide a different service than Twitter.

“Counterfeit” = “fake”

 

[RemedyRabbit]

Seems like a smart move.

Musk can do what he wants. Im sure the insults from all the crybabies here are not going to effect him one bit.

I’m not sure it’s all that smart really. Shows a complete lack of common courtesy and further exposes his arrogance. Folk will be watching how he treats others and taking mental notes to avoid him at all costs in every aspect of what he does. Treating people like dirt from a position of power is neither smart or tough, and in the long run it will only serve to weaken his influence. He has very openly treated a huge amount of people awfully since buying twitter.

“Yeah but he’s really rich” well sure, and given how the world works nothing he will ever do can possibly change that now. But whilst some people will never not be hopeless enamoured by the ultra rich no matter how they behave, around 5 years ago he was in a position to use his wealth and power to do tremendous good and stamp his name in history as a great man. After his behaviour this past year he’ll forever be seen as just another stroppy self obsessed attention seeking man-child. What a wasted opportunity.

 

[alfonsog]

will this kill bots?

 

[DFP1989]

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

Of course it would be different as Apple has never allowed other app stores. This is not new, and nobody has the rug pulled from under them without warning.

The situation with Twitter is a change in policy.

That said, I’m surprised Twitter didn’t do this sooner, since these alternative apps would have denied Twitter revenues they could have expected had people been using the official client or website.

 

[arkmannj]

If twitter didn’t want to put ads in the API feed, then why not just charge for API access?

 

[BaldiMac]

If twitter didn’t want to put ads in the API feed, then why not just charge for API access?

They did charge for API access.

 

[DocMultimedia]

Alas, the Elon beast continues his onslaught. Fenix is now gone/dead.

 

[Skyscraperfan]

I never saw an ad on Twitter. Not sure how that website makes money.

 

[yustas]

It seems the furniture sale didn't go well.

 

[cflem]

I truly hate Elon for what he’s done to all these people…

I used to think he was so cool… but even Tesla leaves a bad taste in my mouth… I can’t wait for Space X to somehow screw up the moon landing.

 

[Abazigal]

This article says it best.

In Elon's Twitter, the Cruelty is the Point

Ben Schoon: Twitter Officially Bans Third-Party Clients in New Developer Agreement This comes a week after Twitter clients unexpectedly shut down across Android, iOS, and other platforms without notice. Twitter and its new owner, Elon Musk, were silent on the issue for several days until...

birchtree.me

Twitter could have very easily updated their terms, given developers of these apps 30 day's warning, and disabled them after those 30 days. the fact they did it out of the blue and without communication is just being a dick.

And a final salute to Tweetbot. 🫡

Tweetbot. April 2011 - January 2023

An award-winning Twitter Client for iOS.

tapbots.com

 

[CarlJ]

All popular Twitter clients such as Tweetbot and Twitterrific are no longer working, and the Twitter users that depended on these apps will now need to use the official Twitter app on iOS or Android or the Twitter experiences on the web.

Or they could just join the exodus from Twitter. I don't think this latest move by Elon (people have started calling him "Space Karen", I'm starting to find that appropriate) is going to play out the way he thinks it will.

 

[RumorUser12]

Unpopular opinion but I think shutting down API access is a good thing if that reduces the number of bots on the platform. If that means no more 3rd party clients, then so be it.

 

[sergekills]

I agree. Don't delete it, I won't.
It might come back. Nobody knows how long Elon will own Twitter? 😂

I will sitt back and enjoying the show from a safe distance. No plans to use Twitter for awhile.
Life is better without it. What future holds awe never know though.

Wish he blasts off soon

 

[Premium1]

You miss the point. In the world of "free speech" (© Elon Musk), he is perfectly within his own right to do what he wants with his own private company. No one is arguing that.

What everyone IS arguing is that in the world of "free speech" (© Elon Musk), the complaining about Musk and his actions meet his own criteria of "free speech" (© Elon Musk). In short, he can have all of the free speech he wants; however he does not have the right to be offended when someone uses his free speech to complain about him. You can call it "being wound up", but it is free speech.

For the record, I have never used Twitter, and never intend to use Twitter.

BL.

How does him not allowing 3rd party apps (which bring in no revenue) have anything to do with free speech? I agree he doesn't have a right to get offended but him ending 3rd party app support has nothing to do with your response...

 

[NYCValkyrie]

How does him not allowing 3rd party apps (which bring in no revenue) have anything to do with free speech? I agree he doesn't have a right to get offended but him ending 3rd party app support has nothing to do with your response...

Devs have to pay to use the API, which is revenue. Why do so many of you not know this if you're going to talk about it? I thought you guys did your own research?

Musk could have also easily just updated the API to include ads but he chose scorched earth instead. At the very least, it should have been a wind down of the service and giving the apps & Devs like a day or two notice. That's it. All this could have been avoided but he either really has no clue about business or this is his plan to get to bankruptcy. Can't wait for the Saudi's to call in their chips.