US-based anti-harassment service Block Party, designed to combat abusive content on Twitter, has become the latest third-party app to leave the platform in light of Elon Musk-run Twitter locking most of its API (Application Programming Interface) access behind a paywall.
“Block Party’s anti-harassment tools for Twitter will be on indefinite hiatus as of May 31,” the company said in a blogpost on Tuesday.
The developers claimed that the changes to Twitter’s API pricing (which starts from $100 per month) have “made it impossible for Block Party’s Twitter product to continue in its current form”.
Moreover, the company stated that everything from its Twitter service, including free and premium account features, will stop working from May 31, and users will be able to access a read-only archive of their Lockout Folder and block lists until June 30.
The company also shared the development on Twitter, saying: “Block Party’s Twitter product is going on indefinite hiatus starting tomorrow. We fought hard to stay here, but recent changes have made it impossible for now. We’re so sorry it’s come to this.”
In a follow-up tweet, Block Party said: “This isn’t the end of Block Party the company! We’re just pausing our Twitter product. And we’ve been hard at work on something new.”
The company has developed a new safety product Privacy Party, a browser extension that reduces users’ risk of harassment, cyberstalking, impersonation, fraud, spam, and other online attacks with automated privacy playbooks for their social media accounts.
Privacy Party is now available in alpha for existing Block Party users.
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