Sad day in the Twitterverse as tapbots shuts down Tweetbot

It’s really a bit of a bummer, but Tapbots has officially announced that they’re shutting down Tweetbot — one of the most popular 3rd-party Twitter clients. It’s been a while since they’ve released an update and ever since Twitter started adding restrictions to their API, the wheels have been in motion.

So why is Tapbots shutting down Tweetbot? Well, the official reason is that Tapbots is pivoting and focusing their efforts on Mastodon, a decentralized and open-source Twitter alternative. The funny thing is, Tapbots is also the developer behind a popular Mastodon client, which is called Tweetbot for Mastodon.

What happened between Twitter and Tapbots?

Even though Tapbots started off as a Twitter-focused development team, the relationship between the two companies didn’t last forever. Many Twitter users found themselves frustrated when their favorite Twitter client began to go downhill in terms of features and performance. As the tight restrictions from Twitter began to make development increasingly difficult, Tapbots had no choice but to move on.

What’s next?

So, what’s the plan for Tapbots? Well, they’re obviously making the move to Mastodon and they’re going to be investing a lot more time and effort into their Mastodon client. It looks to be the same app, but under a different name.

In their announcement, Tapbots also made it clear that they’ll still be supporting some of their existing customers. So, if you’re a Tweetbot user and are in need of help, don’t worry — there is still some level of customer service available.

At the end of the day, it’s a bit sad that such a great Twitter client is shutting its doors. But, you can’t blame Tapbots for jumping on the Mastodon bandwagon — the open-source alternative is growing rapidly and has some very passionate users.

Why You Should Try Mastodon

If you’re an ex-Tweetbot user, now is a good time to give Mastodon a try. Here are just a few of the advantages of the platform:

• It’s decentralized. Mastodon doesn’t rely on any single company or service, so it can’t be easily shut down.
• It’s open-source. Because it’s open-source, anyone can contribute to the project — which helps keep it up to date and secure.
• It’s extremely customizable. You can tweak settings and themes, change layout options, and even run your own social network.

So, if you’re looking for a new home for your social media life, definitely give Mastodon a try! You can thank us (and Tapbots) later.