Are Tech Companies Killing Innovation? Why Tech Giants Hoarding APIs Stifles Progress and the Untold Costs of AI.

With the recent advent of AI, most tech companies have decided to withdraw their APIs from third-party users. Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, and now recently WhatsApp come to mind.


In the past, companies allowed developers to use their APIs and create similar but different products. This was good for competition and innovation, as it allowed for a diverse range of offerings. No matter how big a firm you are, you can't be everything at once.

To put it plainly, as clients, we used to have access to better products. Didn't like Reddit's default app? No problem, alternatives like Relay and Sync were much better. Didn't like YouTube's UI? There was YouTube Vanced, which offered a superior experience. Not satisfied with WhatsApp? Well, WhatsApp GB had extra features to meet your needs.

This created a fast movement in innovation, leading to the discovery of new features and products that the original creators might have never thought of or might have missed.


But sadly, all that is now out the window. If you don't like Reddit's default app, tough luck, it's all you have. If WhatsApp's features are too limited for you, too bad, you have no choice. That's the world we live in.

The problem arises when we realize that these tech companies no longer have the need to innovate or go the extra mile to improve their apps or products. After all, why bother when users have no other options?


As a user of apps like WhatsApp, I've seen how the features provided by these third-party developers were amazing and ahead of their time. I have used these apps for years, and I can tell you that WhatsApp often copies those features and implements them years later. So without these third-party devs pushing the envelope, innovating, and challenging these companies, what will happen?


Moreover, as big as companies like Google and YouTube are, they can't think of or come up with everything. That's where these other developers came in, creating features that the owners would have never thought of because we all live in different environments and see the world differently.


"If you see the world through a blue lens and I see it through a green lens, together we see yellow." 

But with these companies hoarding their things, you and me will only see what they want us to see, one color.


The customer is always king, except in the tech industry. 

I don't know about you, but do you feel like you are in charge when it comes to the apps you use? Do you feel in control? Or do you, like me, feel that you are being forced to accept and use these things with no choice?

They have already taken our data and are making billions off that alone. But if that wasn't enough, now you will have no choice in how they take that data too. Before, it was somewhat acceptable if I was using a product or platform I liked. But now, I'm forced to use a subpar product with no choice, on top of them taking my data without consent. It's really sad.


So yes, we have AI and all that, but with every good thing comes a downside, and the downside to this, I feel, is a really bad one. Because ultimately, it's the clients who will lose.



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