On June 19th Twitter will shutter its streaming API, causing issues for third-party app developers.
The API, or application programming interface, refreshes timelines and sends push notifications and core features to any Twitter service.
Twitter will provide a new Account Activity API to replace it, but little is known about the new API and time is running out for developers to be granted access. Without access, they can’t implement it in their apps fast enough to avoid an interruption in service.
Popular Twitter service Favstar, a service for discovering highly favourited tweets, has announced the changes have led to its impending shutdown. And while Favstar might be one of the bigger casualties, there will certainly be smaller ones.
Favstar also pointed to a site called Apps of a Feather, which contains a lengthy explanation of just how bad the loss of this API is for many in the Twitter app community.
The free version of the new Account Activity API limits push notifications to a maximum of 15 users. Additionally, Premium access costs $2899 USD per month to bring that up to 250 users. At that cost, the site estimates each third-party app would have to charge users $16 a month just to break even.
The problem is, Twitter achieved a lot of its success off the back of third-party apps. After getting big, Twitter slowly began breaking ties, introducing new limiting APIs and forcing third-party apps to conform or give up. Favstar is just the most recent victim.
Favstar Pro is no longer for sale and users with a Pro Membership after June 19th will receive a refund.
Also on June 19th: the death of many other third-party Twitter apps.
Source: Android Central
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