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All third-party Twitter apps will probably not die on August 16, 2018 [Updated]
Updated 5/16/2018 at 11:22PM EST: Apparently the API changes aren’t going to be as dramatic or awful as we first thought. We are reaching out to Luke Klinker, developer of Talon for Twitter, for more details. He was kind enough to tell us exactly what all of this means. You can read about it here.
Original Post:
- Twitter will remove access to its streaming services API starting on August 16, 2018.
- This change will likely force all third-party Twitter apps to shut down.
- There is still a chance that third-party Twitter apps could survive, but it looks bleak.
Back in April, we told you about Twitter’s plan to remove access to the “streaming services” portion of its API. This means that third-party apps that show you your Twitter feed in real time – like Plume, Talon, and every other app on this list – will no longer be able to provide that service.
With no ability for third-party apps to replicate the Twitter experience, it is highly likely that the apps would simply shut down, leaving the official Twitter app as your only option.
Twitter’s original date for the change of its API was June 19, 2018. However, the date was pushed back not long after Twitter announced the change. Now we know the new date, via Android Central – August 16, 2018. So Twitter gave us two whole extra months. Thanks, Twitter.
In a show of what some would consider “compromise,” Twitter will allow third-party apps to use the streaming services API for a fee. The use of the API would be limited to 250 users. The monthly charge for access would work out to about $10 per month per user, which would mean every single user of a third-party app would have to pay $10 a month just for the app developers to break even. And the app would only be allowed to have a max of 250 users.
Would you pay $10 per month just to access Twitter on your phone when you could just use the official app for free? Probably not.
It is possible that Twitter could change this policy before August 16, but it’s clear that the company wants to do away with third-party apps as much as it possibly can. While anything could happen during the next three months before it pulls the plug, you might want to start getting used to the official Twitter app.
Or, you know, stop using Twitter.
NEXT: If you have a Twitter account, do yourself a favor and change your password