App.net is closing its microblogging service for good

App.net has finally pulled the plug on its service, which started out as a Twitter alternative that would remain “more friendly” to developers and users. The service has been in maintenance mode since 2014.

The service will close permanently on March 14. As of May 2014, App.net still existed, but no new features were added. All staff were also fired. The goal was to save money and see if the service could be made profitable, but every dollar went to hosting and other services. These were necessary to keep App.net running, the team behind the Twitter alternative announced.

At the time of setting sleep mode, App.net had about 200,000 users. The intent of App.net was to provide a microblogging service whose revenue would come from paid subscriptions rather than advertising. It is not known how many users are left, but the team behind the service does say that turnover has continuously decreased over the past two years, so it has been decided to put an end to it.

The project was set up out of dissatisfaction with Twitter, which would focus mainly on advertisers and alienated developers. Among other things, the makers wanted to distinguish themselves by releasing a powerful api for developers.