NewImageFollowing the introduction of new Twitter API guidelines -- the rules by which third-party Twitter clients must abide -- Tweetbot has decided to end the pre-release testing program of TweetBot for Mac.

The public Alpha program began more than a month ago to help Tweetbot get feedback on the Mac Twitter client as the developers moved towards final release.

One of the API changes relates to how many "tokens" a particular Twitter app can have, limiting the total number of customers an app can serve without approval from Twitter. In order to protect their ability to sell the maximum number of copies of the app going forward, Tweetbot has discontinued the alpha program and ceased distribution of the app.

As some of you may have already noticed the download link for the Tweetbot for Mac alpha no longer works. Twitter’s latest API Changes means now we have a large but finite limit on the number of user tokens we can get for Tweetbot for Mac. We’ve been working with Twitter over the last few days to try to work around this limit for the duration of the beta but have been unable to come up with a solution that was acceptable to them. Because of this we’ve decided its best for us to pull the alpha.

More than a few pundits have expressed their displeasure with the situation, putting the blame squarely on Twitter. Even so, at this point, Tweetbot for Mac will be available for sale "in the near future" and the developers are merely stopping the public phase of prerelease testing.

Top Rated Comments

kirky29 Avatar
162 months ago
What makes/made Twitter great was the unique apps people made and how it could be built to look like anything...... why would/should people bother now that Twitter tells them what it's gotta look like right down to the fonts..

This could be the beginning of the end for Twitter...

Or maybe this will be forgotten about in a few months ;)
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rorschach Avatar
162 months ago
Twitter is shooing themselves in the foot imo. One of the major reasons for their success is the API and third party developers. Sure they say they'll "work with" individual clients that need more users, but you know this just means "licensing fees", which means only the big guys will get those exceptions.

And they claimed they want developers to create unique experiences and apps for Twitter rather than just recreating the official one. But now they're dictating exactly how every client has to look down to font size, pixel distance between the avatar and tweet, colors, linking, etc. It makes no sense.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daneoni Avatar
162 months ago
Thanks a lot Twitter :rolleyes:
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rorschach Avatar
162 months ago
Why should they? Twitter shouldn't be obligated to provide resources for beta testing their app.

This is just more developer whining.

Nobody says they HAVE to. Nobody is saying they are obligated. They can do whatever they want. But Twitter has been successful to no small degree because of its API and third party developers. So they are shooting themselves in the foot. Those developers will simply migrate to other platforms.

It's just like how Facebook is free to set whatever privacy policies it wants to; but that doesn't mean having one that pisses off users is a good idea.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FourCandles Avatar
162 months ago
Twitter has also now made it pretty impossible to see which are the popular client apps by removing the information from tweets on the website.

Mashable article here: http://mashable.com/2012/08/27/twitter-stops-showing-service-youre-using/
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rorschach Avatar
162 months ago
Twitter didn't do anything.

Why should they go out of their way to accommodate a beta test for Tweetbot? I would think that 100,000 users is more than enough considering developers don't have to pay anything to use Twitter's resources.

If it was really about money, Twitter would have set up a licensing program and allowed any client with over X users to pay.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Horizontal Single Feature

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Major Thermal Design Upgrade

Friday January 17, 2025 4:33 am PST by
The iPhone 17 lineup will feature a vapor chamber heatsink to improve thermal performance, according to a new report. The news comes from Chinese tech news site MyDrivers, which claims that the entire iPhone 17 lineup, consisting of the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max, will adopt the improved thermal heat spreader. Vapor chamber technology is already used...
iPad Pro vs iPhone 17 Air Feature

Here's How Thin the iPhone 17 Air Might Be

Friday January 17, 2025 3:38 pm PST by
For the last several months, we've been hearing rumors about a redesigned version of the iPhone 17 that Apple might call the iPhone 17 "Air," or something along those lines. It's going to replace the iPhone 17 Plus as Apple's fourth iPhone option, and it will be offered alongside the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. We know the iPhone 17 Air is going to be super slim, but...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple Expected to Launch 20+ Products This Year: Here's the Full List

Friday January 17, 2025 5:30 am PST by
2025 promises to be quite a big year for Apple, with the company rumored to be planning more than 20 product announcements this year. Apple's rumored smart home hub will be its second all-new product to launch in as many years, following the Apple Vision Pro headset last year. And of course, we will get several new iPhone and Apple Watch models, like every year. Beyond that, Apple could...
2024 App Store Awards

Apple Explains Why It Removed TikTok From the App Store in the U.S.

Sunday January 19, 2025 6:58 am PST by
Apple on late Saturday removed TikTok from the App Store in the U.S., and it has now explained why it was required to take this action. Last year, the U.S. passed a law that required Chinese company ByteDance to divest its ownership of TikTok due to potential national security risks, or else the platform would be banned. That law went into effect today, and companies like Apple and Google...