Not the same thing: but EventSub has a Websocket interface now which can be used to get these events, even with a client-only application without a client-secret.

I personally completely moved from PubSub to EventSub with no complaints.

Personally, I'd prefer some follower-related improvements to the IRC system, such as adding a 'follower=1'/'follower=0' tag to users' PRIVMSG, USERNOTICE, and USERSTATE events and a USERNOTICE event when a follow/unfollow occurs, but this PubSub event would also work in a pinch.

Not having either of these features requires constantly requesting the API's "/helix/users/follows" endpoint, which is resource-expensive and not great for the API server, plus it runs the risk of potential failure to detect new follows in rare circumstances.

I'm developing lightweight, simple to deploy, client-side alert notifications.
Using intermediary external webservers adds both network overhead as well as extra complexity.

This would be super helpful! I'm also developing a new tool where it will listen to some events and the follower event is such an important one!

I also have this request, as I am developing a desktop app and have no great way to get push events for new followers. PubSub supports topics for new cheers and new subs, but not new follows.

I realize there is a webhook for new followers, but it is not helpful in this circumstance. I have no public server in my design, and creating one just to act as an intermediary between webhooks and a desktop app seems excessive.