If you’re one of those third-party image services that works with Twitter, it might be time to start thinking about a pivot.

Having already circled its API wagons to the detriment of LinkedIn users, Instagram users, and angering many with its new developer ecosystem vision, Twitter appears set to drop the hammer next on companies like TwitPic, yFrog and other image services.

According to BuzzFeed, Twitter is about to drop support for third-party image services from its official apps — perhaps in the next round of app updates.

Noah Everett, founder of TwitPic, tells BuzzFeed that Twitter’s move is “one of those things we thought was coming,” and says “it might be a big death blow to smaller companies.”

The writing’s been on the wall for a while now, so even those smaller companies should be expecting Twitter to do something like this, and soon. The company has been clear in its desire to control the user experience as much as possible — the idea being that a consistent user experience is not only better for Twitter users, but also easier for Twitter to monetize.

BuzzFeed says that Twitter has already contacted image providers that will be affected.

A Twitter spokesperson gave us no comment when asked about the BuzzFeed article.

(Stock image via Shutterstock.com. Used under license.)

Related Topics: Channel: Industry | Top News | Twitter | Twitter: Business Issues

About The Author: Matt McGee is Editor-In-Chief of Marketing Land. His news career includes time spent in TV, radio, and print journalism. His web career continues to include a small number of SEO and social media consulting clients, as well as regular speaking engagements at marketing events around the US. He blogs at Small Business Search Marketing and can be found on Twitter at @MattMcGee and/or on Google Plus. You can read Matt's disclosures on his personal blog. See more articles by Matt McGee

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