O Twitter will no longer provide free access to its APIsApplication programming interfaceor application programming interface.”>1 (both v2 and v1.1) from February 9thas announced by the official developer-focused account of the social network.
Twitter did not provide any pricing information, but said it will provide a “basic paid plan” and that more details will be released next week.
The Twitter API allows third parties to retrieve and analyze public network data — which can be used to create bots programmable and independent applications that connect to the platform.
Currently, Twitter offers limited free access to the API, with premium tiers for developers who need to unlock additional corporate restrictions and features — the amounts of which are not publicly disclosed, although fees are reported to start at $99 per month and increase depending on the user. required access level.
Many small developers use free access to the Twitter API to create tools and bots useful features such as weather trackers, reminders and video downloads — which are not intended to generate income or make a profit.
As a result, it is likely that many bots and tools will charge a fee or even be disabled once billing begins. The change might also affect students and scientists who use the platform to study online behavior and gather information for research work.
The removal of free access to the Twitter API follows a platform change that updates its rules to ban third-party clients, causing popular apps such as Twitterrific and Tweetbot to abandon development for the network.
via TechCrunch