Twitter is blocking third-party apps like Tweetbot | Digit

Earlier this week, users noticed that third-party apps like Tweetbot and Twitterific had stopped working. At the time of reporting, Twitter had not commented on the matter, leaving its stance on third-party apps that help users browse the platform a little ambiguous. Now, the company has confirmed that it is intentionally blocking these apps. It has said that it will be “enforcing its long-standing API rules,” and that these “may result in some apps not working.”

Twitter offers a vague response to third-party apps being blocked

Twitter’s statement does little more than confirm that it has purposefully ensured that users cannot use their third-party Twitter apps. The statement does not explain the rules that the company is talking about, and doesn’t reveal more about what is going on. This is the first time the company has acknowledged that it is blocking these apps. 

Confusion amongst third-party apps, as some work, and others don’t

There are other Twitter clients like the iOS version of Fenix and Albatroll that are working properly, so, it is unclear what the rules actually are. Twitter has not revealed what these apps are doing differently from Twitterific and Tweetbot and has also not spoken to the developers who made these apps. 

“We have still heard nothing from anyone at Twitter on any level,” Tweetbot co-creator Paul Haddad informed The Verge. “If there’s some long-standing rule that we’ve been unknowingly breaking for the last 10+ years, we’d love to know what it is so that, if possible, we can comply with it.”

For more
technology news,
product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading
Digit.in or head to our
Google News page.