Twitterrific Outlines Changes to Push Notifications and Live Streaming Ahead of Twitter API Updates

Twitterrific today updated its Twitter clients for iOS and Mac devices to implement some changes to the way the service works ahead of upcoming API changes that will go live on August 16, 2018.

Starting on that date, Twitterrific says that its iOS app will no longer be able to receive and display native notifications. Users will not be notified when someone likes their tweet, quotes a tweet, replies to their tweet, sends a direct message, retweets, or follows them.

As a result, Twitterrific's Today center widget and Apple Watch app, which rely on these features, are being retired.

Users will continue to receive push notifications until August 16, but after that date, the feature will vanish. Twitterrific is removing the Push Notification in-app purchase for new users.

Twitter's upcoming changes also remove live streaming for third-party apps on both iOS and Mac, which will impact how Twitterrific works. Once the API is dismantled, tweets and direct messages will be delayed by a minute or two.

As of today's update, Twitterrific says the apps will still attempt to live stream tweets, but will revert to refreshing every two minutes if it is unable to connect to a live stream. Live streaming will also continue to be available until August 2018.

In most use cases you probably won't notice the difference, except in cases like live events or with popular searches that update frequently. On the plus side, this change means that Lists can finally auto-refresh themselves like other timelines - something that had been sorely missing for a long time.

For users who want to continue to get push notifications, Twitterrific recommends installing the official Twitter client for notifications while continuing to use Twitterrific for everything else.

Twitter shared full details on its upcoming API changes back in May. Twitter is offering premium and enterprise API access to developers, but prices are prohibitively high. There is no replacement for the current live streaming API, which Twitter says is only used by 1 percent of monthly active apps.

Tags: Twitter, Twitteriffic

Top Rated Comments

Dave-Z

68 months ago

I keep reading that Twitter is struggling to grow their user base and having difficulty solidifying who/what they want to be; yet they shoot themselves in the foot by intentionally alienating themselves from the very people who helped them get this far.

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

whyamihere

Twitter has crapped all over the developers that made their platform popular for a while now. Here's the final twist of the knife. :(

Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

hobsgrg

No, Twitterrific would have had to pay higher fees to Twitter for access to the API that allows Twitterrific to display push notifications.

Technically Twitter still offers developers the functionality, but they repriced it so high that it's impossible for any 3rd party developer to afford. From what I read, the least expensive licensing option Twitter offers developers now is $2899/month for up to 250 users, or $11.59 per user per month.

It's priced for corporate users who use a 3rd party client to run and analyse company Twitter account(s) who use Twitter for marketing or support and can afford those sort of prices if it gives them tools and information they need. Unfortunately there is no pricing for just running alternative client for regular users.

Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

DaveOP

I suspect this will heavily decrease my engagement with Twitter. I use it mostly for news and close friends now, and it sounds like the notifications being removed will kill the latter.

GizmoDVD

They killed their MAC App so now what...I'm supposed to use a webpage to get live streaming?

Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

MhzDoesMatter

Twitter has had 3 party clients a lot longer than I thought it would. Outside apps definitely built the platform but there's no way a modern social network can let 3rd parties control and monetize access to the service. What seems unbecoming to me is dragging this out and making it seem like they're not explicitly trying to end 3rd party support.

Here's to Twitteriffic, Tweetbot, Echofon, Tweetie, Tweetdeck and the other clients I used back in the day.

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