Twitter’s policy changes (and rollbacks, and further changes, and rollbacks again, and finally accepting the original change) since it went completely private have been controversial to say the least. But despite making world headlines, few have had a measurable direct impact on the social media experience. That’s about to change a lot: recently changed terms for developers effectively make third-party Twitter apps on all platforms against the rules.
As of late, Twitter actually made the change before letting anyone know and before actually committing it to the 5,000-word developer terms. Large Twitter customers suddenly found themselves cut off from the API last week, long before yesterday’s change in terms. Engadget reports that Twitter said it was “enforcing long-standing API rules”, which appears to be incorrect – it simply disabled access before retroactively changing the rules to restrict access to apps not published by the company itself.
While other platforms and smaller tools may retain access to the Twitter API, developers are now not allowed to “build or attempt to build a replacement or similar service or product for the Twitter apps.” This makes the official Twitter website and apps the only permitted way to access the core tweeting and viewing features. Fenix, the popular Twitter app for Android and iOS, hasn’t shown any new tweets since January 12th.
Twitter has been around since 2006, when users were more likely to tweet through text messages than through a dedicated mobile app. But with the advent of smartphones, third-party Twitter clients have become an important part of the platform, giving users access to powerful features on the go. Twitter’s own extended web interface, TweetDeck, started out as a third-party desktop application. Third-party app developers, many of whom have earned businesses and livelihoods by supporting the social network, have not been contacted. Twitter has had a rocky relationship with app developers in the past, but it seems to have come to terms with the need for them over the past few years.
Twitter’s strategy appears to be to direct users to its own apps and websites, where it can tightly control the experience (and generate the most ad revenue). With the company recently privatized by sensational investor Elon Musk, Twitter is no longer required to release its financial data. But analysts estimate that its revenue has shrunk by 40 percent as advertisers leave the platform due to stability and content concerns.