Twitter comes down heavily on third party developers

According to an official announcement, the company has decided to come down hard on the third party applications that aim at being a replacement for the official applications of Twitter.

Ryan Sarver, Twitter's platform lead said that the company would be the primary interface for the users and so they have changed the ‘Terms of Services’ for third-party application developers.

"Developers have told us that they'd like more guidance from us about the best opportunities to build on Twitter. More specifically, developers ask us if they should build client apps that mimic or reproduce the mainstream Twitter consumer client experience. The answer is no,” said Sarver.

Existing developers to continue serving user base

The new rules would not require existing client application developers from discontinuing their services, but they would have to ensure that the conditions employed by the company are met by them and that they do not invade the customer’s privacy.

“We have spoken with the major client applications in the Twitter ecosystem about these needs on an ongoing basis, and will continue to ensure a high bar is maintained,” Sarver informed.

Move aimed at creating less fragmented world

The company had removed some UberMedia applications from its website in Feb. due to copyright infringement and later after the issue was resolved it reinstalled the services.

And, on coming heavily on third party developers, the company said that it aims at creating a less fragmented world.

Some Twitter applications that are most commonly used, including Klout and Gnip; SocialFlow, Social CRM, HootSuite, CoTweet, Radian6, Seesmic, Crimson Hexagon, Instagram, Foursquare, Quora, and Formspring, were listed by the company, as most thriving.

The move is also aimed at widening the ambit of the Twitter applications as the company feels that third-party applications have become more popular with the site users.