From February 9, anyone who wishes to use the Twitter application programming interface (API) will have to pay.
Twitter Scraps Free API Access
In an announcement on February 2, Twitter, one of the world’s largest social media platforms, said they will no longer support free access to their v2 and v1.1 APIs. Instead, anyone interested must have to subscribe to the basic paid tier.
Starting February 9, we will no longer support free access to the Twitter API, both v2 and v1.1. A paid basic tier will be available instead 🧵
— Developers (@XDevelopers) February 2, 2023
The Twitter API platform provides access to data sets generated and posted by millions of Twitter users. Only registered applications can access Twitter APIs and, by default, would access public data transmitted from any of the five endpoints, which include access to accounts and users, and tweets and replies.
The social media giant pointed to the quality of its data, saying that over the years, trillions of user-generated tweets have been sent by millions of users across the world. Billions of tweets continue to be sent every week.
The social media platform said its data sets are powerful considering their diversity and depth. Even with the new requirement, they will continue “enabling fast and comprehensive access” so developers can continue building using their data.
In the development world, APIs are critical for developers and businesses. With APIs, it is easier for developers to collaborate. Data flows through APIs to ensure products are continuously improved. Most importantly, new applications can be integrated into existing architecture using APIs.
APIs are also important in the crypto world, considering the fast-paced nature of the industry. Through APIs, developers can create complex functionalities more quickly and securely, eliminating the need to incur costs in software conversions.
Crypto Development Using APIs
The social media giant is used by over 368 million people every month across the globe. Therefore, the diversity of data means there is density, a quality that developers use to integrate or improve their products.
Crypto developers have created different tools, including real-time trackers for gauging prevailing sentiment on top crypto assets, including Bitcoin, using the platform’s APIs.
By tapping into the social media’s Developer Portal and using their APIs, bots can be deployed to serve different functions according to the needs of the creators. Above all, it should be noted that bots cannot function without these APIs.
It is not immediately clear why the Elon Musk-owned company is scrapping free access to its APIs. The goal could be to manage and eliminate Twitter bots accused of impersonation and scamming users, including those in crypto.
It may also be because of ChatGPT, which may be further tuned using data sets from Twitter users.
Last month, a user found that some were using ChatGPT to reply to tweets.
I had a gut feeling but now I proved it:
People now have A.I. bots running that use ChatGPT to automatically reply to people's tweets 🤯 https://t.co/N7nzCTGGmS pic.twitter.com/au2EVE3QMB
— @levelsio (@levelsio) December 19, 2022