After offloading “Tweetbot,” Tapbot has now launched “Ivory,” its new Mastodon client. Founded in 2008, Tapbots quickly established itself as a leading Twitter client developer with the launch of Tapbots.
According to Haddad, Mastodon offers several benefits that Twitter doesn’t, including greater control over data and community moderation.
The company’s flagship app, Tweetbot, became known for its sleek design, powerful features, and high level of customization. Over the years, it gained a loyal following among Twitter users who appreciated its ability to enhance their Twitter experience.
But recently, Tapbots announced that it would shut down its flagship app, Tweetbot. The company also revealed that it would pivot to Mastodon, an open-source, decentralized alternative to Twitter.
Tapbots CEO, Paul Haddad, said that Mastodon is an excellent platform for building a community and believes it has much potential.
He also added that his team is excited to be working on a Mastodon client that will offer many of the same features as Tweetbot but with the added benefits of Mastodon.
Ivory Aims to Capitalize on the Tweetbot Experience
Ivory, the new Mastodon client, offers a layout similar to Tweetbot, with tabs for the home timeline view, mentions, notifications, profiles, lists, and more. The app also includes:
- Multiple account support
- Content warnings
- Muting options and polls
- Bookmarks and trending posts
- Post statistics and gif access
Plus, the ability to view local and federated timelines. Users will find the interface familiar and easy to navigate.
Tapbots’ shutdown of Tweetbot and pivot to Mastodon has been met with mixed reactions from users and industry experts.
With Tapbots now solely focusing on Ivory, the app will see rapid improvements and new features added in the future. Ivory also includes different themes and app icons, like Tweetbot.
While the app may have only some features of Tweetbot, the company has provided a development roadmap for users to keep track of upcoming updates.
Many Tweetbot users are disappointed by the news but excited about the potential of Mastodon. Twitteratis have been using Tweetbot for years and are sad to see it go. But they also look forward to seeing what Tapbots can do with Mastodon.
Twitter has tightened its API restrictions, making it harder for third-party developers to maintain their apps.
Industry experts also see the pivot as an intelligent move for Tapbots in the current climate. As per the experts, the market for Twitter clients is becoming increasingly crowded, and the limitations of the Twitter API make it difficult for third-party developers to compete.
Mastodon, on the other hand, offers a lot of growth potential, which makes Tapbots sit in a good position to take advantage of that. Tapbots also announced that they’d continue developing and supporting their other apps, such as Pastebot and Calcbot.
Tapbot CEO Says Offloading Tweetbot Was a Tough Decision
According to Haddad, the decision to shut down Tweetbot wasn’t easy. He added that they had been developing and maintaining the Twitter client for over a decade.
He mentioned that it was a labor of love for his team. Haddad also said in a statement that the challenges of being a third-party Twitter client have significantly increased recently.
Additionally, the market for Twitter clients has become increasingly crowded, with many competing apps struggling for user attention. With the above challenges with Twitter and the rising popularity of Mastodon, Tapbots has decided to pivot to Mastodon.
