Recently, third-party Twitter apps such as Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Aviary, Echofan, and others suddenly stopped working after Twitter stopped their access its API without giving an explanation.
Now, the company has confirmed that it no longer supports third-party developers to create Twitter clients. This means popular clients like Tweetbot and Twitterrific are no longer available or would be returning. So users can only enjoy the microblogging experience through Twitter’s official iOS, Android, and web apps.
Twitter quietly updated its developer terms to ban third-party clients altogether
Third-party Twitter apps were a popular choice for users who did not like the platform’s default interface and had been around for more than a decade. Users have complained about the app’s own mobile and web experiences and third-party clients were able to offer a much more pleasing experience to many. But that has changed now.
Spotted by Engadget, the restriction section of Twitter’s over 5000 words developer agreement was updated with a clause proscribing “use or access the Licensed Materials to create or attempt to create a substitute or similar service or product to the Twitter Applications. Twitter successfully banned all third-party apps such as Tweetbot, Twitterrific, Aviary, and others, and clarifies that its third-party apps are not coming back.
However, the company did not inform developers of its decision or notify them prior to deploying the changes and shutting down their services.
Twitterrific developers confirmed that its app had been removed from the iOS App store. Twitterrific iOS users’ subscriptions have been canceled and asking subscribers to not request a refund from Apple as the loss of Twitterrific revenue will have an “impact on the business and thousands of refunds could be devastating”.
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.
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