In case you are wondering what Meerkat actually did via Twitter's API:
- Auto-follow @appmeerkat on twitter when you sign up
- Auto-enable push notifications for @appmeerkat's tweets when you sign up
- Auto-tweet when you schedule a stream
- Auto-tweet when you start streaming
- Auto-tweet when you comment on a stream
This is the entire disclosure they offered: "Everything that happens on Meerkat happens on Twitter"
At first I thought this was a bad move and would make developers wary. But Meerkat's use of Twitter was pretty bad. Not only all of the above but their tweets are completely useless within seconds or minutes and just litter tweet streams. I don't even see why all the tweeting is that necessary. I get all my Meerkat cues via notifications (which I'm about to turn off for useless-ness).
Yeah the real question is why they got a phone call with any heads-up, instead of immediate account revocation.
I don't know, maybe because warning a company / person that they're doing something you don't like and giving them the chance to fix it is decent behavior?
Or did we remove the concept of decency from our business vocabularies already?
Warning spammers or deliberate ToS violators is now a matter of decency? The company admitted they knew they were in the wrong and that Twitter would eventually shut it down. I'm not sure how it's remotely a matter of decency when it comes to intentionally malicious actors.
On reflection, it's almost certainly because the app was getting some press and Twitter wanted to make it clear what the situation was. Versus allowing the offender to pretend it was another issue or spin it against Twitter (though they seem to be trying!)
How did they manage to do this? Aren't there proper permissions requests like Facebook?
Twitter has two primary methods of authenticating API access:
1. Web version - typical Facebook style, describes specific permissions but there are only 2 options that devs can use: read or read/write (plus read/write + direct messages but that will be gone this year)
2. iOS version - menu slides in with all of your system authorized twitter accounts, you tap the one you want
I'm pretty positive #2 does not give you any real authorization messages or screens. I just logged out of Meerkat to find out but that screen doesn't work anymore because their keys are broken
I think they prompt you follow, not auto-follow. At least I don't see @appmeerkat in my followed.
Pretty sure they set it to autofollow by default.
100% sure it's auto follow - I went searching for their twitter to see if they had any news, and was surprised to find out I'm already following them.
I guess I was wrong. I must have immediately looked at my settings after signup and turned that off.