Twitter is apparently doing widespread API suspensions without any notice. ManagerFlitter and StatusBrew are affected as well as many others.
StatusBrew has stated that moving forward it will not support any follow/unfollow actions of any magnitude so apparently Twitter is pulling the plug on all third party applications that allow following/unfollowing.
Services like socialoomph.com that permit purging of tweets but not follow/unfollow functions appear to be functional. Removing the follow/unfollow functions of these third party apps will render them virtually useless in my opinion.
Kevin Garber CEO of ManageFlitter stated that the suspension came as a complete surprise and that Twitter had not expressed any concerns to them prior to the suspension.
This pattern of Twitter pulling the plug on Users/API’s without notice is very alarming. Personally I think it’s a poor business decision to pull the plug without any kind of notice on a service that millions of users are using. Communication and warnings are always vital and important to maintain a good business reputation.
Update 1:00pm EST on 1/31/2019- The API has been restored on StatusBrew after they removed the follow/unfollow actions in the Audience section permanently to comply with the updated Twitter policies.
If you are like me, this is the main reason you use these types of services to unfollow people who are inactive or who unfollow you, so this is a huge setback. I’ve used them to follow people who are fans of shows I’ve acted in with great success, so this is a big setback for Twitter. Unfortunately many people abuse the follow/unfollow feature and don’t target a legitimate audience.
Update 2:00am EST 2/1/2019 from ManageFlitter- They have placed restrictions on the Follow Feature functionality: for now, users are able to perform account searches in Power Mode however users will not be able to perform any follow actions manually within ManageFlitter or via the Remote Account Managers.
Follow functionality on Remote Account Management has been removed.
Update 2/2/2019-
Both ManageFlitter and Statusbew are down again after Twitter once again revoked their API access. Not a good sign! Twitter told ManageFlitter ” that ManageFlitter “has been found in violation of the Developer Agreement and Policy” … “… specifically, your app facilitates bulk and aggressive follow behavior, such as “follow churn.”
Unfortunately, follow churn is what most of these services are used for based upon my experience, so I believe their future is very uncertain.
Twitter has permanently revoked ManageFlitter’s API access per a most today. It was fun while it lasted! RIP ManageFlitter. I strongly suggest StatusBrew will suffer the same fate.
Due to the severity of this violation, as well as prior spam violations by your app, this app is permanently suspended and will not be restored. While you are eligible to apply for a developer account and register a new, compliant app, any apps that substantially duplicate the functionality of app ID xxxx will also be suspended.
Update: 2/20/2019: Manage Flitter has acknowledged it’s demise, however 3 weeks after the initial API revocation , StatusBrew is still telling users they are communicating with Twitter to get services restored and “The review process is expected to be complete this week, and our services for Twitter shall resume shortly after.” Even if that is true, when the service returns following/unfollowing options will be removing making the app useless IMHO.
For now Unfollow Spy still works for following/unfollowing https://www.unfollowspy.com/