The creators of Twitterrific are making an app to read (almost) anything on the web

After nearly 16 years in operation, Twitterrific was abruptly deactivated last year during Twitter’s unceremonious purging of third-party apps. Now, the app’s developer Iconfactory is raising funds on Kickstarter to create Project Tapestry, a new internet reader for the publicly accessible web. The iOS app will serve as a “universal, chronological timeline,” pulling from federated social media networks like Mastodon and Bluesky, as well as Tumblr, Micro.blog, and any RSS feed. It’ll also be able to access governmental data sources, such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) satellite imagery and US Geological Survey (USGS) earthquake data.

Because Tapestry (which will be the app’s official name) will let anyone create their own data source plug-in, the options are almost endless: “We started experimenting with ways to accommodate all these new sources of information and landed on API that is based on JavaScript. It can work with anything that has an IP address and data that’s accessible with HTTP,” wrote lead developer Craig Hockenberry in an email to The Verge. Project Tapestry has also created tools that let developers make their own plug-ins, and Hockenberry says the team is confident the app can work for a number of different purposes.

It might not always look pretty, he noted. “The hard part is to put it all into a product that’s intuitive and beautiful where the plumbing isn’t a focus.”

But there is one big part of the internet that Tapestry won’t be able to access, and this is the locked-in world of centralized platforms like Meta, Instagram, X, and even Threads (which is still working on ActivityPub integration). Moreover, the app is truly meant to be an internet reader — so while users can view posts, they won’t be able to create or reply to them.

Project Tapestry’s Kickstarter has already raised over $70,000, and the developers hope to reach their goal of $100,000 to start building. At $150,000, Iconfactory will be able to add additional features like muting, bookmarking, filtering, and search.

Iconfactory notes it will take anywhere between nine to 12 months to complete the app after it hits its fundraising goal. But it also warns in its Kickstarter description that Apple may pose an additional hurdle. “The primary risk to the project is Apple’s app review process. Since this is an iOS app, it will be subject to their review and approval, and it will be their decision whether or not to allow it in the App Store.”