Amazon Cripples Mobile Apps With New API Restrictions
Amazon has changed the terms of service surrounding its popular data APIs such that its no longer possible to access Amazon data from mobile devices. As a result, one of our favorite mobile apps, Delicious Library, has been forced to shut down.
The mobile version of Delicious Library, an application that tracks and stores books, music, movies and more, has been removed from the iPhone App Store.
Perhaps the strangest element of new TOS is that not only can mobile apps not access the APIs, they can’t use data from the APIs even if, as in the case of Delicious Library, the actual access is done via a desktop app. For example the iPhone version of Delicious Library doesn’t actually connect to Amazon at all, but it did display information synced from the desktop version, which violates the TOS.
The relevant line of the TOS, section 4e, reads: “You will not, without our express prior written approval requested via this link, use any Product Advertising Content on or in connection with any site or application designed or intended for use with a mobile phone or other handheld device.”
It’s a curious restriction, especially the fact that even synced data is off limits, but at first glance it would seem there’s an easy workaround — just contact Amazon and ask for permission.
Unfortunately for Delicious Library fans Shipley did that and was informed that, currently, no exceptions are being made.
It would seem that, for now anyway, mobile apps that want to access Amazon’s APIs are quite simply dead in the water.
However there is a notable exception, another excellent iPhone app called SnapTell. SnapTell lets you take pictures of products with the iPhone, for example a book cover, and then uses image recognition tools to look up the product on Amazon and other online retailers.
Perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, SnapTell was recently acquired by Amazon. Daring Fireball’s John Gruber suggests that the new API restrictions are Amazon’s effort to kill SnapTell’s competition.
We contacted Amazon to ask about the new API restrictions. Although it was given ample time to respond, at the time this article was published, the company had not yet responded.
So is it an anti-competitive measure, or is there another explanation? So far Amazon isn’t saying, but there are plenty of upset developers and Amazon does have a history of questionable behavior — the company once tried to claimed it had “invented” one-click purchasing.
While the short term effects of the new TOS restrictions are felt by developers, the long term damage may well be to Amazon, which is looking increasingly less appealing as a data source. Developers working with Amazon data in desktop apps are essentially out of luck if they want to port their apps to a mobile platform. Given that restriction, developers may simply turn to another service from the very beginning — why use restricted data when there’s free data?
For his part, Shipley says Delicious Library will return using another set of APIs from another, as yet undetermined, provider. For now, the mobile version of Delicious Library is gone.
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