Twitter’s Newest API Rules Kill Windows 8 App Tweetro

Twitter’s API rule changes from August are having a lasting effect on apps, including killing the Windows 8 app Tweetro. Until August, there were several third-party applications that provided a similar user interface to Twitter’s own app.

The changes in August, however, made it so that all applications that replicated “the core Twitter experience” were capped to 100,000 user tokens (number of Twitter accounts able to access the app).

Twitter clients like Twitteriffic and Osfoora who built up large user bases before the API changes were allowed to double in size before the micro blogging site announced it would pull the plug.

Unfortunately, Twitter’s clients that saw sizable audiences after the new rules were put in place were not so lucky. Tweetro for Windows 8 was one that both tried to give users the best Twitter experience while still following along with the Windows 8 design guidelines.

The app was free and quickly became one of the most popular downloads in the Windows Store. It was also one of the best apps on Windows 8 until Twitter brings its official app to the new market.

But it was not meant to be for Tweetro, which became a victim of its own popularity. The app rocketed past the limit of 100,000 user tokens, ultimately making Twitter pull the plug on offering access to it. Lazyworm Applications, the maker of Tweetro, was forced to pull the application from the Windows Store, because they were unable to service their users.

There was hope that Twitter and Tweetro would be able to work something out, but Twitter responded on Friday, saying in part:

“Unfortunately, it does not appear that your service addresses an area that our current or future products do not already have. As such, it does not qualify for an exception.”

Essentially, the microblogging site responded by saying that, since they have a Windows 8 client in the works, they don’t see why a third-party needs to use its API — though the decision will leave thousands of Windows 8 users without a Twitter application until the site can finish working on its official one.

While Tweetro will continue to be an app for Windows 8, they will charge for it in an attempt to stem the amount of users on it.