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Twitter has yet to explain why third-party clients like Twitterific and Tweetbot stopped working late last week. However, new reports and tests by one app developer suggest that the outage and lack of communication are intentional.
An internal Twitter Slack chat message (subscription required) viewed by The Information shows a senior software engineer writing in the “Command Center” channel that “third-party app outages are intentional.” increase. Another employee asked about the talking points they use when dealing with outages with product partners, and was told by a product marketing manager that Twitter “started working on communications,” according to a report by The Information. However, the delivery date was unknown.
Some Tweetbot users appear to have temporarily regained access to their accounts early Sunday, unable to post, and later lost access again. This was the result of Tweetbot co-creator Paul Haddad swapping his API keys for the app, but all his keys were later revoked. The results “provide that this was intentional and that we and others were specifically targeted,” Haddad said Sunday evening at his office, as The Verge noted. wrote in Mastodon.
Haddad wrote, “If there had been even the slightest contact, we would not have exchanged the keys in the first place.” “I figured this would boost the problem if nothing else.
Neither Twitter nor owner Elon Musk mentioned that the third-party client failed to connect. Twitter Status on his page said as early as Monday that all systems were up and running, with no recorded past incidents dating back to January 2nd. “Enterprise” clients, such as business-oriented apps that monitor Twitter engagement and track topics, seem to work. Some versions of third-party clients such as Twitterific for Mac.
Twitter has long had third-party clients. This gives users and small teams the power to customize how Tweets are displayed, tracked, and engaged. Prior to Musk’s ownership, Twitter asked developers not to create them, limited its API, and eliminated push notifications and auto-updates for its clients.
Musk’s ownership, which began with massive layoffs, has consistently seen the company change policies so rapidly that its intentions are difficult to decipher, so some industry watchers and technology Critics said the shutdown of the third-party API was simply an infrastructure failure that the company could not fix quickly.
But the more likely explanation has to do with advertising revenue. Musk said in mid-December that Twitter was on track for a “$3 billion negative cash flow.” The funding shortfall is believed to be primarily due to Musk’s $1.5 billion debt repayment required for its acquisition debt, as well as a significant drop in advertising revenue after the acquisition. Twitter has been repeatedly sued by landlords for rent arrears.
Twitter recently changed its iOS app to a tab that defaults to an algorithm-based “For You” feed. This forces users to tap periodically to see a more chronological “following” feed. Third-party clients have traditionally had much more control over how users sort their feeds. And most notably, don’t show Twitter’s “promoted” Tweet Ads. The company recently offered a highly incentivized ad package following a significant drop in ad sales.
Twitter could not be reached for comment, as Twitter’s public relations and communications departments reportedly no longer exist. Musk’s latest tweet, shortly after midnight ET on Jan. 16, reads: Swipe lightly coded in media as quietly state-owned.
