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| Twitter officially decides to ban third-party apps at all levels |
Twitter on Thursday decided to block third-party apps across the board after shutting down the service for high-profile apps such as (Tweetbot) and (Twittererifi) last week.
Twitter has updated the "Restrictions" section of its developer agreement to now include a clause that restricts "the use of or access to the Licensed Material to create or attempt to create any service or product that is an alternative or similar feature to that represented by the Twitter app".
Earlier this week, the company said it had enforced longstanding API rules that external apps should not be allowed to access its platform, but did not specify which rules developers had broken.
It should be noted that third-party Twitter applications are an important part of the platform's history, and applications such as (Twitterific) existed in (iOS) long before Twitter launched system applications. The Apple exploit, which attracted the latter, has gained more users in recent years. This is thanks in part to the fact that no ads are shown.
Twitter has been so forgiving and even supportive of third-party apps that the company removed some of its developer terms that prevented developers from duplicating its core service.
But that appears to be changing under new CEO Elon Musk, who wants to do everything he can to recoup the price he's paid for the deal since buying the company for $44 billion in late October.
Among other things, Musk has cut Twitter's spending by laying off more than half of the company's workforce, cutting other costs and stopping payments to sellers. At the same time, he was trying to find new ways to make money when the company's advertising revenue declined.
These methods include: Launching a new version of Twitter Blue, a monthly subscription service that requires all subscribers to have a pre-saved blue verification badge for high-level users. The New York Times also reported that Twitter is considering selling usernames to generate new revenue.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that Twitter is offering advertisers new incentives to attract them to the platform after advertisers have halted spending since Musk acquired it.
The advertisers pulled out primarily over concerns about Musk's moderation methods and concerns that their ads would appear alongside controversial content.