Twitter ends third-party client access after new rules for developers

Twitter has updated its Developer Agreement, essentially locking out third-party clients for good. Platforms like Twitterriffic and Fenix ​​are now virtually unusable, as they no longer have access to the API and were shut down earlier this week.

The new rules state that it is not permitted to “create or attempt to create any service or product that substitutes for or is similar to the Twitter Applications”. The developers of these applications were simply informed that their platforms were now “suspended”.

Twitter enforces its longstanding API rules. This may cause some applications to malfunction.

– Twitter Dev (@TwitterDev) January 17, 2023

The Twitter API can now only be used to embed Twitter content, i.e. embed tweets. However, developers are no longer allowed to change the way the information appears to the reader, or modify the visual elements.

Since that’s exactly what third-party platforms do, Twitter used that as an excuse to block them all. Some features of Twitter Blue were available in third-party apps, and obviously social media wants to consolidate all revenue, given Musk and co’s upcoming financial turmoil. There’s also the fact that Twitter doesn’t serve ads through the API, which limits the ability to monetize users using these clients.

Source | Via