Today, Twitter suffered a brief service interruption stemming from a small API change. At approximately 2:30 pm Eastern Time, the Twitter API stopped returning content, resulting in several mobile apps, as well as web services, being unable to access tweets. The issue was quickly rectified after approximately one hour and Twitter services have now been restored.
This was the result of a small change to the Twitter API that Twitter has been test-driving over the past few weeks. It is not clear what the change exactly was, or why it caused such a widespread disruption.
What We Know
The exact details of the issue are still not known, but Twitter has released a statement to explain what happened:
• “At around 2:30 PM Eastern Time, we experienced an issue that resulted in a service interruption for some of our customers. We identified the root cause of the issue and were able to resolve it quickly. We apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.”
• Twitter also stated that the issue was related to a “small API change” and that they are now “actively monitoring” the situation to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
Impact On Users
The issue caused a widespread disruption to Twitter services, with several mobile apps, as well as web services, not able to access tweets. This meant that users were unable to view, post, or interact with tweets for an hour.
• The disruption left many users feeling frustrated and confused.
• Some users were left unable to access their accounts for an hour, while others experienced a delay in loading tweets.
• A number of users were also unable to login to their accounts.
Reaction from Twitter
Twitter has responded quickly to the issue and has been working to rectify the situation.
• They have identified the cause of the issue and deployed a fix.
• They have also stated that they are “actively monitoring” the situation to make sure the issue doesn’t happen again.
• Twitter has also apologized for any inconvenience the issue may have caused.
Conclusion
The issue was quickly resolved, and Twitter services have now been restored. It is unclear what the exact change was that caused the issue, and Twitter has not provided any further details. However, it appears that the issue was related to a “small API change” and that Twitter is now “actively monitoring” the situation to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. Despite the disruption, Twitter was quick to react to the issue and released a statement apologizing for any inconvenience caused.
