Say Goodbye to Twitter's Free API: Developers Brace for New Paid Tier
Starting February 9th, Twitter API will no longer be free to access. The Twitter developer account made the announcement late Wednesday night. While Twitter hasn’t announced more details about the pricing, it said that it will introduce a paid basic tier.
What Is the Twitter API?
The Twitter API (Application Programming Interface) allows any third-party to retrieve public data and analyze it. This data from Twitter is used to create bots and apps that connect directly to the platform. Some examples include Pikaso and Thread Reader.
Currently, Twitter allows free access to its API. In addition, it also provides premium tiers for developers that need access to endpoints and unlock additional features. While Twitter did not disclose the price of its premium API tiers, it was reported in February 2022 that the fees started from $99 a month. This fee increased depending on the access level needed.
Who Does This Affect?
The decision to remove the free access to the API is a follow-up to the action taken by Twitter’s development team, when they banned third-party clients. This caused various apps like Tweetbot and Twitterrific to abandon their work on the platform.
In the past, various small developers have taken advantage of the free API access to create bots and tools for everyone’s benefit. This recent development will cause these bots and tools charging a fee or shutting down completely. Various scientists and students also use the free API to gather information for their research papers and study online behavior.
Why Did Twitter Do This?
After the announcement on Wednesday, Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted stating that various opinion manipulators and bot scammers have abused the free API. He claimed that charging a nominal fee of $100 a month with ID verification will clear up the mess.
What’s Next for Twitter?
This was just another step where Elon Musk is trying to make money and save his sinking ship. His goal is to clear the company’s loans as soon as possible. Some efforts in this direction included laying off about two third of their staff, charging $8 monthly subscription for user verification and the blue tick, and selling off various company assets after several offices were shut because of non-payment of rent.
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Uhh, this has already been possible – I am not sure how but remember my brother telling me about it. I’m not a whatsapp user so not sure of the specifics, but something about sending the image as a file and somehow bypassing the default compression settings that are applied to inbound photos.
He has also used this to share movies to whatsapp groups, and files 1Gb+.
Like I said, I never used whatsapp, but I know 100% this isn’t a “brand new feature”, my brother literally showed me him doing it, like… 5 months ago?
Martin, what happened to those: 12 Comments (https://www.ghacks.net/chatgpt-gets-schooled-by-princeton-university/#comments). Is there a specific justifiable reason why they were deleted?
Hmm, it looks like the gHacks website database is faulty, and not populating threads with their relevant cosponsoring posts.
The page on ghacks this is on represents the best of why it has become so worthless, fill of click-bait junk that it’s about to be deleted from my ‘daily reads’.
It’s really like “Press Release as re-written by some d*ck for clicks…poorly.” And the subjects are laughable. Can’t wait for “How to search for files on Windows”.
> The page on ghacks this is on represents the best of why it has become so worthless, fill of click-bait junk…
Sadly, I have to agree.
Only Martin and Ashwin are worth subscribing to.
Especially Emre Çitak and Shaun are the worst ones.
If ghacks.net intended “Clickbait”, it would mark the end of Ghacks Technology News.
Ghacks doesn’t need crappy clickbaits. Clearly separate articles from newer authors (perhaps AIs and external sales person or external advertising man) as just “Advertisements”!
We, the subscribers of Ghacks, urge Martin to make a decision.
because nevermore wants to “monetize” on every aspect of human life…
“Threads” is like the Walmart of Social Media.
How hard can it be to clone a twitter version of that as well? They’re slow.
Yes, why not mention how large the HD files can be?
Why, not mention what version of WhatsApp is needed?
These omissions make the article feel so bare. If not complete.
Sorry posted on the wrong page.
such a long article for such a simple matter. Worthless article ! waste of time
I already do this by attaching them via the ‘Document’ option.
I don’t know what’s going on here at Ghacks but it’s obvious that something is broken, comments are being mixed whatever the article, I am unable to find some of my later posts neither. :S
Quoting the article,
“As users gain popularity, the value of their tokens may increase, allowing investors to reap rewards.”
Besides, beyond the thrill and privacy risks or not, the point is to know how you gain popularity, be it on social sites as everywhere in life. Is it by being authentic, by remaining faithful to ourselves or is it to have this particular skill which is to understand what a majority likes, just like politicians, those who’d deny to the maximum extent compatible with their ideological partnership, in order to grab as many of the voters they can?
I see the very concept of this Friend.tech as unhealthy, propagating what is already an increasing flaw : the quest for fame. I won’t be the only one to count himself out, definitely.
@John G. is right : my comment was posted on [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/08/23/what-is-friend-tech/] and it appears there but as well here at [https://www.ghacks.net/2023/07/08/how-to-follow-everyone-on-threads/]
This has been lasting for several days. Fix it or at least provide some explanations if you don’t mind.
> Google Chrome is following in Safari’s footsteps by introducing a new feature that allows users to move the Chrome address bar to the bottom of the screen, enhancing user accessibility and interaction.
Firefox did this long before Safari.
Basically they’ll do anything except fair royalties.