Twitter’s third-party app ‘suspension is intentional’,

A third-party Twitter client stopped working Thursday night. Many conclude that this is intentional. There are now reports confirming this was the case.

According to The Information today, a senior Twitter engineer internally communicated this week that “the suspension of third-party apps is intentional.” Other internal (Slack) communications seen by this publication reveal that Twitter is working on an “approved topic” for partners, though it’s not clear when it will be ready. That “third-party client has revoked access” exchange occurred Friday morning, though it’s unclear if the information was directed to the affected third-party developer or advertiser.

Since then, Twitter has not announced any third-party app removals, including the typically vocal Elon Musk. The company doesn’t have a PR team, and the developers of these clients are likewise kept secret, relying on their own messaging to explain the situation.

The Information says that “most of Twitter’s employees, including most of Twitter’s developer platform,” have been laid off.

For a while, third-party Twitter clients were considered a “playground for UI design,” coinciding with the rise of smartphones. After that period, Twitter locked down and limited the number of users a client could have, so the new app went cold. The purpose of allowing users to experience her Twitter through the official app was the same then as it is now, but Twitter never completely blocked access. Prior to the Elon Musk acquisition, Twitter’s relationship with third-party developers improved with new API features.

It’s unclear if the adoption of third-party apps will return revenue in the future, and advertising is a major driver of the Musk-owned Twitter. The CEO is said to have personally approved the changes and announced a series of changes. Upcoming changes For experiences meant to drive engagement. The tweaks make sense from a UX perspective, but we still don’t know if it’s enough to keep people on the social network considering other things, such as increased advertising.

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