Third-party apps for Twitter, such as Tweetbot, Talon, Twitterific, and Tweetings, may soon stop working due to a planned change to the social network's API.
The update was initially scheduled to be rolled out in June, but Twitter has decided to delay the launch. There is still no assurance that third-party apps will continue working after the release of the new API, though, so it might be a good time to start getting used to life without them.
Twitter Third-Party Apps Will Be Affected By New API
The developers of Tweetbot, Talon, Twitterific, and Tweetings are warning Twitter users that third-party apps for the social network may soon stop working due to the pending removal of several streaming services API.
According to the developers, if these APIs are disabled, third-party Twitter apps will lose functions such as push notifications and automatically refreshing timelines, basically rendering them useless.
Twitter will be replacing the streaming services API with Account Activity API. This new API, the price for which has not yet been revealed to developers, is currently in beta testing. It will allow third-party apps to enable push notifications, but only up to 35 Twitter accounts on the standard level when these apps deliver notifications to hundreds of thousands of users. Meanwhile, it appears that the automatic refreshing of timelines is set to be entirely disabled for apps outside of the official Twitter app.
Another problem is that Twitter has not yet even reached out to the developers of the third-apps to grant access to the new Account Activity API and to discuss the upcoming change.
Twitter has always said that they do not want third-party apps to simply copy what the official app does. However, third-party apps have not listened. These apps may also be affecting the income of Twitter, which could be one of the reasons why the company is moving forward with the new API even if it disables the third-party apps.
Twitter Delays Release Of New API
The replacement of the streaming services API with the Account Activity API was supposed to happen on June 19. However, it appears that Twitter is pushing back the launch to a later, unspecified date, and that it will provide developers a 90-day notice to work with the API after it becomes generally available.
The delay was likely due to complaints from users who clamored against the API, as they do not want their favorite third-party apps to get shut down. The extra time before the API is released may also lead to further discussions between Twitter and developers.
