No more via stamp for Twitter web client

If you use a third-party client like Tweetbot or Twitterfic then your tweets are about to start looking a little different. Well on the web at any rate.

Twitter has removed all tags showing when a tweet has been sent from a third-party app. According to The Next Web, the feature had already been removed from the iPhone version of the social network.

Interestingly the change was first noticed by John Sheehan on App.net.

The removal feature is essentially a bid by Twitter to put its first-party apps front and centre. It’s understandable too. Why should it provide free advertising for businesses that give it any direct benefit?

That said, the move isn’t going to win it any fans among the third-party app developers themselves. Then again Twitter’s not exactly trying to curry favour with any developers at the moment.

Taking off the client stamp is just part of its bid to completely control your Twitter reading experience.

The API changes in particular have driven the development of services such as app.net, a subscription-based social network that aims to put developers and users first. The service was founded by Mixed Media Lab CEO Dalton Caldwell, who wants the platform to be “open” and ad free.