Well here’s something to annoy all those Blackberry users out there – Twitter has today suspended the platform’s most popular Twitter client, UberTwitter, as well as Android client Twidroyd and iPhone App UberCurrent.
All three of these piece of software are owned by the same company – UberMedia, which would seem to indicate some sort of company-wide change has attracted Twitter’s ire.
Twitter made the suspensions public, which it doesn’t usually do – however due to the large amount of users being affected, it felt a warning would be prudent, publishing a blog post titled “I’m Having Problems Logging In to UberTwitter or twidroyd” –
“Every day, we suspend hundreds of applications that are in violation of our policies. Generally, these apps are used by a small number of users. We are taking the unusual step of sharing this with you because today’s suspension may affect a larger number of users.”
No details as to why the suspensions took place are detailed, however in response to a request for more information made by TechCrunch, Twitter said that the problems with UberMedia’s software included “a privacy issue with private Direct Messages longer than 140 characters, trademark infringement, and changing the content of users’ Tweets in order to make money.”
At this point even UberMedia themselves seem to be baffled as to why the ban has been put in place, a representative telling Business Insider they “haven’t a clue”, however if Twitter’s last accusation is true – altering Tweets to make money – then UberMedia will likely see a sizeable backlash from users.
UberMedia itself has been growing rapidly in the last few months, buying out popular desktop social media client TweetDeck to complement the company’s already vast suite of Twitter software, and some are seeing this move as a sign Twitter is getting nervous that UberMedia is threatening to become a larger entity than the platform it is built on – or even spin off into a completely separate Twitter competitor.
UPDATE: UberMedia has apparently already implemented the changes Twitter is asking for, and is currently waiting for their updated Apps to go live in their various stores. UberTwitter has been renamed UberSocial – presumably to keep Twitter’s Copyright lawyers happy.
