Facebook continues the 3rd party app blocking spree
We can now add MessageMe to the list of Facebook’s somewhat adversarial relationships, at least, if you would call the blocking of a companies app a way to make an adversary. MessageMe used Facebook API to “Find Friends”. In so doing, MessageMe enabled users to find other friends that also used MessageMe. Apparently Facebook took issue with that and as of last Friday morning, the Find Friends feature was no longer functional. Some believe it’s due to the likeness between MessageMe and Facebook’s Messenger.
The issue is now almost completely transparent. Just as we wrote in late January, it certainly appears as though Facebook Graph Search: [Is] The Catalyst To A Facebook Blocking Frenzy.
There was a time when Facebook embraced openness and allowed developers to create apps that used the sites data to build helpful 3rd party applications that Facebook users could use to better navigate Facebook. It’s pretty obvious now though that Facebook now wants to be the only one with ability to make apps that could somehow pose a threat to the control of their social media landscape.
If an app contains similar features to anything that Facebook aspires to be, its’ X’d almost the moment its released with no opportunity for growth at all. Hence the recent trend of blocking of Facebook by companies such as, Yandex, Voxer and Vine as well. MessageMe was just launched last week and even shot up to astounding popularity in Apple’s App Store taking 2nd place within its category.
The is but one of the many reasons last week we wrote that Developers May Decide To Skip Facebook’s Upcoming Mobile DevCon. Developers seem to be more and more at risk of building apps that Facebook will immediately shut down, at least if they’re to helpful through the use Facebook information. Building an app that’s not dependent on Facebook seems to be the only [somewhat] sure way to have an app survive on Facebook and as Facebook further develops itself and reconstructs themselves into whatever they may want to be in the future, we’re sure to see more apps shutdown and locked out
MessageMe co-founder Arjun Sethi told Mashable that the company still expects to get an update on the situation on Tuesday morning.