Twitter Shares Pricing on New Account Activity APIs, Some Third-Party Apps in Jeopardy

So Twitter dropped their aging macOS app without a replacement and now they are potentially crippling or eliminating fantastic third-party app options. I'm really curious why Twitter execs think this is a good path to take. I am but one person, I know, but unless something changes come August I suppose I won't be using Twitter any longer.

Perhaps that's not such a bad thing.

The only reason I can browse Twitter now is that Tweetbot has a chronological timeline without the random inserted ads. I am sure this lowers their revenue and engagement on me, but I'd also leave twitter if I was forced back to the mess that is their native app.

What awful timing for Tweetbot. I feel so sorry for them, but the writing was on the wall.

If Twitter goes through with these changes and the app dies, so does Twitter for me.

I truly don’t understand how streaming is only used by 1% of apps. What Twitter app DOESN’T use streaming??

Third-party apps make money off these APIs. If your company provided something, wouldn't you want to be paid if others used it to make money for themselves?

I'm not sure developers want access for free, but $2,899 per month for only 250 accounts is absurd. Of course, as a non-developer of Twitter apps I am making the assumption that 250 accounts means 250 app customers actively connected at the same time. If I am right, then can you imagine what thousands of accounts would cost per month on the enterprise plans? I would not be surprised if apps like TweetBot or Twitterrific will be expected to pay tens of thousands per month just to keep working as they do today.

I believe that's why developers are saying this is not sustainable for third-party apps.

So Twitter dropped their aging macOS app without a replacement and now they are potentially crippling or eliminating fantastic third-party app options. I'm really curious why Twitter execs think this is a good path to take. I am but one person, I know, but unless something changes come August I suppose I won't be using Twitter any longer.

Perhaps that's not such a bad thing.

('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/16/twitter-account-activity-api-pricing/')



Twitter today unveiled new details on its upcoming activity API changes ('https://developer.twitter.com/en/products/accounts-and-users/account-activity-api.html'), which will affect how third-party apps are able to access Twitter APIs and provide services to Twitter users who prefer to use apps like Twitterrific and Tweetbot.

Third-party Twitter app developers will be required to purchase a Premium or Enterprise Account Activity API package to access a full set of activities related to a Twitter account including Tweets, @mentions, Replies, Retweets, Quote Tweets, Retweets of Quoted Tweets, Likes, Direct Messages Sent, Direct Messages Received, Follows, Blocks, Mutes, typing indicators, and read receipts.

Premium API access ('https://developer.twitter.com/en/pricing/aaa-all'), which provides access to up to 250 accounts, is priced at $2,899 per month, while enterprise access ('https://developer.twitter.com/en/enterprise') is more expensive, with pricing quotes available from Twitter following an application for an enterprise account.

At least some third-party apps have said they will not be able to afford access to the new Twitter APIs, including Twitterrific.



These APIs also will not include access to streaming connections, which Twitter says are used by only 1 percent of monthly active apps.



Twitter says it will be delaying the deprecation of its current APIs for three months to give developers time to transition over to the new platform. These APIs will be deprecated on Wednesday, August 16 instead of June 19, the original date Twitter planned to end support for the APIs.

It is not yet clear what impact all of these changes will have on major third-party Twitter apps, but we should hear updated details soon. Tapbots, the creators of Tweetbot for Mac and iOS, said on Tuesday ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/15/tapbots-launches-tweetbot-3-for-mac/') that its apps will continue to function, but a few features could be slower or removed.

Tapbots says the worse case scenario on Mac is that notifications for likes and retweets will not be displayed, and notifications for tweets, mentions, quotes, DMs, and Follows could be delayed by one to two minutes.

Article Link: Twitter Shares Pricing on New Account Activity APIs, Some Third-Party Apps in Jeopardy ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/05/16/twitter-account-activity-api-pricing/')

what a joke. third party twitter apps will have to be $30 for this to be viable, nobody is paying that.