[herodoturtle]

Came here to say this too.

From the article:

> A less obvious downside is that the contract for a database can be less strict than an API. One benefit to an API layer is that you can change the underlying database structure but still massage data to look the same to clients. When you’re shipping the raw database, that becomes more difficult. Fortunately, many database changes, such as adding columns to a table, are backwards compatible so clients don’t need to change their code. Database views are also a great way to reshape data so it stays consistent—even when the underlying tables change.

Neither solution is perfect (raw read replica vs API). Pros and Cons to both. Knowing when to use which comes down to one's needs.