Twitterrific developer The IconFactory has confirmed that the app has reached the end of the line after 16 years on the App Store.
Along with other third-party apps, Twitterrific found itself out in the cold last week when its Twitter API access it was revoked without explanation. it took days to Twitter to confirm the move was intentional, saying it was applying long-standing rules.
At the time, the developers, including The IconFactory, couldn’t figure out what rules they had allegedly broken. However, after following the addition of new rules to their developer documentation, it’s clear there’s no going back for apps like Twitterrific.
An application that defines the period
in a blog post (opens in a new tab) Confirming that Twitterrific is no more, developer Sean Heber reminded us that the app was Twitter’s first desktop offering, not to mention its first on mobile. It was also one of the first apps to hit the App Store and subsequently won an Apple Design Award.
But as much as Twitter may not admit it, the social network has a lot to thank the developers of its third-party apps. And Twitterrific more than most.
Twitterrific “helped redefine the word ‘tweet’ in the dictionary,” Heber says, adding that the Twitterrific icon was so popular that Twitter later borrowed the bluebird logo for itself.
Now that Twitter has cut off your access to the API it needs, Twitterrific no longer works. And that poses a potential problem for developers like The Iconfactory: refunds.
“Finally, if you were a Twitterrific for iOS subscriber, we would ask you to consider not requesting a refund from Apple,” Heber says, adding that requesting a refund means the money is coming out of the developer’s pocket and not Apple’s. “Simply put, thousands of refunds would be devastating for a small business like ours.”
Now, the official Twitter app is the only option for social media users who don’t want to resort to using the website. is far from the best twitter app for your iPhone, but it’s the only one that still works.
