Ahead of Twitter API changes coming on August 16, Tapbots removes several features from Tweetbot for iOS, following similar moves by Twitterrific and others
Juli Clover / MacRumors :
Context & Ripple Effects
This is the endgame of a squeeze Twitter began telegraphing in April, when it delayed an API change that threatened push notifications and auto-refreshing timelines on third-party clients like Tweetbot, promising 90 days' notice. In May it pushed the legacy API shutdown to August 16, opened the Account Activity API generally, and cut free Premium Sandbox subscriptions to 15.
The Iconfactory moved first: in early July, Twitterrific removed notifications and live streaming for new customers on iOS and macOS rather than absorb the paid-API costs. Tapbots now does the same for Tweetbot for iOS, confirming this is a coordinated retreat by every major independent client, not one developer's choice.
First-order effects
- Tweetbot users lose several features immediately as Tapbots strips them ahead of the August 16 deadline, with notifications and live streaming the likely casualties given what Twitterrific already cut for its own customers.
Second-order effects
- With both flagship third-party clients degraded, holdout users face a forced migration to Twitter's official apps, and any remaining indie client must either pay for the Account Activity API tiers or follow the same feature-removal path.
Third-order effects
- The pattern establishes that platform owners can reprice or revoke the interfaces independent clients depend on at will — a dependency that ended five years later when Twitter cut off API access entirely and Tapbots and The Iconfactory asked subscribers to consider declining prorated refunds.
The trend: Platform-controlled APIs are letting social networks squeeze out independent clients, first by repricing access and ultimately by revoking it altogether.