Twitter is no stranger to controversial decisions, and it has earned a reputation for hurting third-party app developers that rely on its service. A few years ago, the company introduced a token system that limits how many users a third-party app can have, which eventually led to some of those apps shutting down.
Today, the company used its own service to say it"s "excited" to announce the new Account Activity API, which will replace the existing Streaming API on August 16. It"s unlikely that users and developers will share the company"s excitement, as the new API discontinues features, such as live streaming of content, which will make it impossible for apps to update with new tweets in real time.
The new API also introduces new pricing for apps to get Twitter activity updates, which might make them very hard to sustain. The Premium package will cost nearly $2,900/month to access the Account Activity API for a maximum of 250 users.
There"s the possibility that enterprise packages may offer a cheaper solution for developers of third-party apps, but considering the company"s history with those developers, it might be best to keep expectations low.
This isn"t the first controversial announcement Twitter made this week either. The new behavioral analysis tools announced on Tuesday wasn"t very well received by our readers.
Source: Twitter via Windows Central