Twitter third-party app suspensions are 'intentional', according to reports
Twitter third-party app suspensions are 'intentional', according to reports
It looks like Twitter has deliberately stopped third-party Twitter clients from working
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Twitter third-party apps
❗️ Twitter may have suspended third-party Twitter clients on purpose
😫 Users noticed that popular third-party apps were no longer working last week
🤫 Twitter hasn’t released a statement on the issue
🤔 But sources inside the company indicate the move was indeed deliberate
You may have noticed that some third-party Twitter apps are no longer functioning correctly, including popular clients like Tweetbot.
Twitterbot and Twitterrific went down on January 13, with many users speculating that the platform had intentionally banned the platforms.
Others assumed the problem may have been a bug on Twitter’s end, but it now appears to be a deliberate decision by the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.
According to The Information, one of Twitter’s senior engineers told employees that “Third-party app suspensions are intentional”, though Twitter has so far been silent on the issue.
It’s suggested that Twitter is working on “approved talking points” for partners, as it seemingly wants to shake up how third-party apps can work with the platform.
That wouldn’t be too surprising considering Elon Musk has seen fit to overhaul almost every aspect of Twitter since purchasing the company for $44 billion.
Since taking ownership, Musk announced that he wants Twitter users to pay $8 for verification, and changed how companies and officials were identified on the platform.
The South African billionaire also reinstated Donald Trump and Kanye West, though the latter was suspended from Twitter again shortly after returning. Trump is still yet to tweet.
More recently, Twitter’s latest change mimics TikTok and pushes algorithmic content first. The update was first rolled out to iOS devices but is now available on the web and Android.
It’s unclear whether Twitter will go back on its decision to block third-party clients, but it seems unlikely. Musk seemingly wants people to stick with the official Twitter apps, something that will likely be key to monetizing the platform effectively.
Even though Twitter has been a bit of a rollercoaster ride in recent months, competitors like Mastodon haven’t been able to retain new users. The Twitter alternative recently lost 30% of its active users.
Meanwhile, Musk has frequently shared that Twitter’s active users have reached all-time highs, likely because people can’t look away from some of the car crash decisions that have been made.
Musk’s ongoing “Twitter files” series has also proved popular, exposing how Twitter worked with government officials and the FBI to regulate the platform under its previous ownership.