As an application becomes more successful, it tends to become more controlling. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS followed this path. Many technologists view the phenomenon as the natural arc of a for-profit technology business—as it accumulates users, developers, data, revenue, and so on, it uses its growing might to actively lock in developers and users. This is why it’s difficult to export your account from Instagram and re-create it elsewhere. It’s also why many applications close their APIs as they scale or face competition.
