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Upcoming Twitter Changes to Disable Key Features in Third-Party Apps [Updated]

Does this surprise anyone? Twitter couldn't keep burning its funding forever so it has been moving to increase advertising income. It finally made a profit last year and it needs to keep going.

The only way they'll get there is by pushing users towards the web app and their first party apps so they can maximise advertiser tracking and analytics. Supporting monetisation on 3rd party platforms would be much more difficult than simply rolling back access.

The current climate gives them a great opportunity to do this under the banner of user 'privacy'.
 
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Swampthing said:
Thinking the same thing here. Aren't most of those ads "targeted" based on use?
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The particular ad I am talking about was some company using the image of a woman in bikini to promote something. Taste of the ad aside, the ad itself had nothing to do with my use of Twitter on iOS.

Again, I am completely unaware if apps on iOS can access browser cookies. Please tell if they can. And, to note, I do not consume porn on the phone.

Also, you are right. In MacRumors, I get ads for a variety of stuff I check out on Amazon.
 
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macintoshmac said:
I do not understand why can't people in this country be allowed to be truly "free" so long as no harm is done to anyone else!! Coming from the land of Kamasutra, this state of affairs is laughable.
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OOOOOH. Good context! hattip.jpg
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thisisnotmyname said:
Except you can't even use their first party app anymore on MacOS, they've killed it. That makes this even worse!
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I used the first party app there, too.
 
macduke said:
Twitter bought Loren Brichter's Tweetie and bastardized it into oblivion. I hate their first party app so much. After they ruined Tweetie I've been with Tweetbot and have purchased every update because it's worth every cent. That being said, Twitter isn't what it used to be. It's a dying platform mostly filled with hate and trolls. I mainly use it as a glorified RSS feed and post a lot less than I used to. I'd still rather use it than FaceBook, which I left back in 2010, but I really wish that there was a viable alternative that isn't for tweens.
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Man do I miss Tweetie. I absolutely loved that app before Twitter bought and destroyed it. I've been with Tweetbot ever since because it's such a quality app. It's one of the few apps that without hesitation I purchase when a new update is released.

Twitter used to be one of my favorite social media platforms, but over the years I think I've just grown tired of it. I still browse Twitter multiple times each day, but I don't tweet as often as I used to. The only reason I have the official Twitter app on my iPhone is because if I want to tweet a GIF, I can't do that natively on Tweetbot. Otherwise, I don't even bother with the official Twitter app.

I will certainly be taking to Twitter to voice my displeasure of this news. Because quite frankly, if I'm forced to use the official Twitter app on a daily basis, I'll most likely quit using Twitter.
 
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netwalker said:
One reason Twitter grew once was because of the open API and the possibility to integrate with them. They owe a lot to all those developers and companies that made Twitter popular. But seems to be the typical story. Startup grows thanks to community and developers, then they close the doors and try to cash in.
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Yeah but Twitter is a public company and Tweetbot, for example, shows zero advertisements. It makes obvious business sense for Twitter to get everyone off of third-party apps and move on to the mainline Twitter experience, so they can show Promoted tweets and other advertising.

Maybe this all ends when Twitter enables the API features that third-party clients need, in exchange for a method of exposing advertising to their users?
 
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joesegh said:
Yeah but Twitter is a public company and Tweetbot, for example, shows zero advertisements. It makes obvious business sense for Twitter to get everyone off of third-party apps and move on to the mainline Twitter experience, so they can show Promoted tweets and other advertising.

Maybe this all ends when Twitter enables the API features that third-party clients need, in exchange for a method of exposing advertising to their users?
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I'd consider going back to Tweetbot if it had all of Twitter's features, ads included.
 
nburwell said:
Man do I miss Tweetie. I absolutely loved that app before Twitter bought and destroyed it. I've been with Tweetbot ever since because it's such a quality app. It's one of the few apps that without hesitation I purchase when a new update is released.

Twitter used to be one of my favorite social media platforms, but over the years I think I've just grown tired of it. I still browse Twitter multiple times each day, but I don't tweet as often as I used to. The only reason I have the official Twitter app on my iPhone is because if I want to tweet a GIF, I can't do that natively on Tweetbot. Otherwise, I don't even bother with the official Twitter app.

I will certainly be taking to Twitter to voice my displeasure of this news. Because quite frankly, if I'm forced to use the official Twitter app on a daily basis, I'll most likely quit using Twitter.
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Yeah, I love all the regex mute filters and I buy every update too and sometimes gift the app to people who I think would also like it. I like the designer/developer pair behind the app and think they do good work for a small team that has stayed small. They're a good example to developers and designers everywhere of how to properly build a solid, well-designed app that is regularly maintained and sold at a fair price to compensate them for their work.
 
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I used TweetDeck before Twitter bought it, but I find no use for it anymore. I've tried all the Twitter clients and the official client is still the best.
 
Using Twitter since 2008. Once Twitter stop access to API for 3rd Party App like Tweetbot I’m out. I can’t stand the official app. Sorry Twitter.
 
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balderoine said:
How did they go from completely disabling the Mac app to now crippling THIRD PARTY APPS???????!
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That's been Twitter's approach to third party apps from the start. They used them to build popularity for the Twitter platform, but once they were established, they've been slowly killing off access to third party apps. It is truly a despicable approach, and one that will ultimately be the demise of Twitter.
 
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martyjmclean said:
I used TweetDeck before Twitter bought it, but I find no use for it anymore. I've tried all the Twitter clients and the official client is still the best.
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This would be fine if they offered official Twitter clients on all platforms.

I use Twitter for iPhone and Twitter for iPad, but I work at my Mac for 8-9 hours a day. Granted, I probably should be working lol, but I've got too many things going in my browser to use Twitter for web (not to mention Twitter for web is horribly cluttered). So, I guess I just won't use it.
 
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So they discontinue their native app for Mac OS and are now deprecating the APIs used by third-party clients leaving Mac users no choice but to use the overloaded, junk-infested Twitter website which is slow to load and poorly optimised?

These Twitter devs have lost the plot!
 
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Seems like they are digging their own grave.

Something new will be born out of the ashes.
We will see.
 
macintoshmac said:
Do you like the promoted ads and irrelevant tweets that come up in the first party app?

Ever since I took to Twitterific and TweetBot, I get ZERO ads, and only some of the stuff from people I follow. The timeline is better to follow. First party app, I would have a barrage in the timeline about all the likes and what not.
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This is one of the reasons I still have a few jailbroken devices. I have one mod called NoPromosTwitter that gets rid of the ads in the Twitter app as well as the in case you missed it sections. It actually makes the app somewhat useful.

I will miss being able to use Tweetbot on my Mac and phones.
 
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