Twitter plans to discontinue free access to its API starting on February 9, ending support for both v1.1 and v2, and launch a “paid basic tier” instead
This week I spent too many minutes watching Nothing, Forever, which is a Twitch stream that runs 24/7. Mastodon: Kate Starbird / @katestarbird@mstdn.social : Looks like Twitter is eliminating free access to its APIs on Feb 9. I haven't seen information about pricing yet, but this could very well be the end of an era for platform transparency and social media research. … Molly White / @molly0xfff@hachyderm.io : anyway, i'm glad i didn't put effort into a few of the projects i was thinking about. — i was going to make a tool to do a better job of threading on both twitter and mastodon, but now i'm glad i never got around to it. … Charles Johnson / @Green_Footballs@mastodon.social : Putting Twitter's API behind a paywall has very real implications for national security and emergency services, who are already on tight budgets. Such a reckless action; Musk is a goddamn menace. David / @davidstalane@mastodon.social : @blaine Here are examples of compatibility shim mappings between the Twitter API and Mastodon API: — Tweet: Twitter API: ‘POST statuses/update’ Mastodon API: ‘POST /api/v1/statuses’ … Kevin Beaumont / @GossiTheDog@cyberplace.social : Twitter are locking down their APIs next week, if you still need access you can use the app keys. https://gist.github.com/... Mike Masnick / @mmasnick@mastodon.social : It truly is amazing how Elon can know so little about the site he massively overspent to buy. The scammers aren't using the official API, dude. Jeremy Burge / @jeremyburge@mastodon.world : movetodon buckling under the pressure today? Blaine / @blaine@mastodon.social : Not going to lie, Twitter killing off free API access hits me in the feels. I remember with great affection the flood of creativity that happened after we opened up the API, and it's heartbreaking to see that unceremoniously strangled. … Tweets: @twitterdev : 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 🧵 Elon Musk / @elonmusk : @BillyM2k @ericnakagawa Yeah, free API is being abused badly right now by bot scammers & opinion manipulators. There's no verification process or cost, so easy to spin up 100k bots to do bad things. Just ~$100/month for API access with ID verification will clean things up greatly. Luca Hammer / @luca : Next week, there won't be a free Twitter API anymore. As a result, I will stop any work on non-commercial projects that use the API and will have to re-evaluate which commercial projects are still feasible. This change will destroy research, activism and commercial projects. https://t.co/wI9a4m7EFl @twitterdev : Twitter data are among the world's most powerful data sets. We're committed to enabling fast & comprehensive access so you can continue to build with us. We'll be back with more details on what you can expect next week. Molly White / @molly0xfff : if you want to get a sense of some of the impact of this change, just look at the quote tweets 💔 https://twitter.com/... @get_alttext : This bot will probably stop working next week. It's been a long time coming at this point, but I'm still disappointed. Thanks to everyone who helped make this hellsite more accessible! ❤️ https://twitter.com/... @good_faces_bot : https://twitter.com/... Alex Goldman / @agoldmund : Twitter is going to start charging for access to its API, which means people will have to pay to make bots. So here's a thread of my favorite Twitter bots, as a lot of them will likely stop working. Let's start with good faces. It does what it says on the tin. https://twitter.com/... @enichan : so uh, you have ONE WEEK to set up your Mаstօԁοո account in a way where you can reconnect with people you knew on twitter, because i'm pretty sure this will kill services like movetodon, fedifinder, and debirdify which let you find your friends from twitter on Mаstօԁοո https://twitter.com/... Tom Redman / @redman : In contrast, Meta provides an API with 100x the surface area, with virtually no rate limits, entirely for free, to entrench their product across the internet. Beyond the free API, I've paid $30k PER MONTH to Twitter for barely-workable rate limits. https://twitter.com/... @chipfoxx : The tools to sync your Twitter to Mastodon will be gone soon https://twitter.com/... Christina Warren / @film_girl : $100/month for API access is a joke. I'll never pay that for personal projects. You know who will pay? Scammers. With stolen credit cards and IDs. https://twitter.com/... Jane Manchun Wong / @wongmjane : @elonmusk ... I feel like the bad actors will still get around by abusing Twitter's private API (the one the official apps use) Jane Manchun Wong / @wongmjane : @elonmusk ... They'll also go one step ahead by automating the browser / app interactions Might be worth considering doing reCaptchas on clients of low confident scores when they're trying to engage Max Kennerly / @maxkennerly : $100/month puts Twitter's API out of reach for government services, researchers, individual developers, and hobbyists, while still being cost-effective for scammers, propagandists, and data harvesters. https://twitter.com/... Matt Binder / @mattbinder : scammers will: A) pay for the API as scamming is a moneymaking endeavor & if it wasn't they wouldn't do it B) continue to use workarounds that don't require the API like they've always done all this will do is kill creative free apps & automated accounts https://twitter.com/... @orchestrative : no free access for Twitter API means that third party apps like poipiku and privatter would have to pay up in order to stay functioning, two of which are often used by small content creators to publish their work & gain bigger audience twitter is no longer artist/writer-friendly https://twitter.com/... @mulligan : Happy to pay for this API. I think many devs should/will. Announcing this change a week ahead of time with no actual details is nonsensical. https://twitter.com/... Rat King / @mikeisaac : i dont really understand the logic of milking every red cent out of Twitter's API if you're going to kill the random stupid bots that make the service fun to scroll through just feels like a bad strategic move imo https://www.semafor.com/... @thepacketrat : This is the end for both the bots you love and the bots you hate. https://twitter.com/... Alex Kirshner / @alex_kirshner : Boy oh boy do I think this misunderstands a power dynamic here https://twitter.com/... @ninstatusbot : [Note] We regret to inform you that due to upcoming Twitter API changes, we may no longer post to this account in the near future. We will make a Mastodon account for those who are on the Fediverse. We are also working on a website that will list the latest maintenance info. https://twitter.com/... @josephpolitano : At least @DeItaone survives because they're not automated and literally copy-pasting Bloomberg headlines into Twitter lol @josephpolitano : Twitter is closing down the free version of its API, which is going to end up killing a bunch of popular automated accounts in exchange for what is probably some trivial amount of overall revenue. https://twitter.com/... Dare Obasanjo / @carnage4life : What Twitter is doing is like a farmer eating their seed corn due to high food prices. Making Twitter less useful by shutting down 3rd party clients and the ecosystem of tools built on the API to chase after pennies in API usage fees hurts more than it helps. https://t.co/wsgFIyYboi Laurence / @functi0nzer0 : “Going forward there will be a vote on major policy changes” API users learning that they're not a substantive audience in shambles https://twitter.com/... Russell Heimlich / @kingkool68 : I hope there is an exception to accessing your own tweets. It's what powers my Twitter archive https://tweets.kingkool68.com/ https://twitter.com/... Jordan Sparks / @supersparkplugs : OH FUCK Musk, you absolute dumbass... Do you have any idea how many applications, social media, marketing jobs, organizations, and other shit run off the Twitter API? If Twitter had an advertiser problem before, it's about to get much worse. https://twitter.com/... Matthew Garrett / @mjg59 : Removing free API access removes a whole bunch of interesting automated accounts and integrations and tooling, and does nothing to stop abuse. Fucking good work. @anythingbott : Context: The Twitter API is the thing that bots use to tweet do all the other automated shit They are going to make it as a paid API instead of a free one I might have to pay a bunch of dollars every month just to run the bot🫠 Not sure if it affects 3rd party stuff like CBDQ Matthew Garrett / @mjg59 : If you want to fuck shit up, you pretend to be the Android or iOS Twitter app in order to make it look like you're human. Doing so allows you to use the API for free even if API access is nominally charged for. This is not something that stops bad things. Oliver Alexander / @oalexanderdk : So much for this statement then. Locking the API behind a paywall is going to negatively effect a lot of free products and projects. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... @0xabad1dea : very thoughtful of twitter to provide no clarity whatsoever about whether oauth is considered “the API” when providing their very generous one week notice that they're cutting everyone off from the API @anythingbott : Welp. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... @halomancer1 : posted 6 minutes apart, same one-week time frame. what in the god damn fuck did he “discover” that made him decide to charge for api access?! https://twitter.com/... @pookleblinky : It's interesting seeing the split between people seeing twitter's api news and immediately thinking about its effect on bots, and people seeing it and thinking about community/mass blocklists going down. Jen Bartel / @heyjenbartel : So for those asking, basically this means any 3rd party app that uses the twitter API, such as independent artist/small creator mainstays like privatter or poipiku all the way to wholesome hourly bots are now going to have to pay fees to keep functioning: https://twitter.com/... Tony Webster / @webster : Twitter gives developers and hobbyists eight days notice that their API projects including bots people love will have to pay, and they don't even say how much. They say they'll have more info “next week,” i.e. possibly only a couple days before Feb. 9. Terrible leadership. https://twitter.com/... @shitpostbotmin : charging me for providing content for the platform? hahaha nah not happening https://twitter.com/... @mylesborins : 7 days is totally a reasonable amount of time to onboard a new vendor if you are a large business that has built something with the twitter API https://twitter.com/... @pkmnframes : The api access change will cause harmless bots like these to leave the platform while nefarious bots will gladly pay for access to try to scam people. https://twitter.com/... Casey Johnston / @caseyjohnston : Feel like not enough people are saying Elon is shutting down the twitter API to prevent people from using things like this to move to Mastodon https://www.movetodon.org/ @rabbit_ebooks : The regular “every three hours” tweets you have come to know on this account rely on web service Twitter's freely available OAuth/API tools... if they are locking those functions behind a payment plan, I am afraid the majority of my presence here will be disabled. @markpopham : Twitter shutting down free access to the API on February 9 is going to effectively kill off services like debirdify which help you find the people you follow on other social media sites. I am begging you, in the next week, set up an account SOMEWHERE and migrate your follow list @win98tech : oh shit realtalk, have Twitter discussed if the API monetization will affect services like Nintendo or Playstation media sharing? because that will be a fucking hilarious nail in the coffin for this site @kottke : Since Twitter is cutting off free access to their API on Feb 9 (with little notice and no pricing details), it's likely that posts from https://kottke.org/ will cease to show up here in a week. https://twitter.com/... @sweetpavement : This Twitter API shutdown is one of the reasons I still sign up for most things with a string of characters I have to enter (a username) and a string of secret characters I have to enter (a password). This API shutdown will probably break anything you use Twitter to log into. Steve Luvender / @steveluvender : if the twitter api pricing is similar to this, and random fantasy racing uses about 7,500 requests/month, I would, uh, probably not continue to offer this free game if it cost me $2,500/month https://developer.twitter.com/ ... https://twitter.com/... Josh Gee / @jgee : So they announced we have to start paying for the API and then they announced a change freeze. A lot of people have been snarking “wasn't Twitter supposed to collapse”. Collapse coes slowly, then all at once. https://twitter.com/... Matthew Sheffield / @mattsheffield : There are tens of thousands of incredibly useful Twitter bot accounts that people love. While Elon Musk's desperate greed is going to end the joy & utility they bring to others here, his announcement will likely make many of them #JoinMastodon where the API will always be free. Keith Kurson / @keithkurson : THIS! All of the bad bots & scammers are using scrapers and tools like puppeteer to do their damage, not the official API where twitter can inspect every request. Bad bots are going to take up MORE of your feed when possum every day is gone https://twitter.com/... Madoka Frames / @madokaframes : I'm afraid that if Twitter refuses to add a free limited tier to this disgusting update then many bots, including all of mine, will no longer be able to continue. Many people like myself cannot afford these new api access prices. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... @atomicthumbs : oh so maybe this is intentionally designed to kill *everything* using the API. your hobby bot makers don't really have an option here even if they wanted to shell out $5 twitter really is killing the hourly animals bots and ca-dmv-bot, AND all OSINT and research tools https://twitter.com/... Dax Raad / @thdxr : if your API is facilitating a money making operation you can charge for (eg Stripe) otherwise your API users are actually making your platform more valuable and you shouldn't charge them (Slack) very few companies really fall into the first category twitter does not https://twitter.com/... Molly White / @molly0xfff : i love it when people assume that requiring people to pay for a twitter feature will magically fix the scam/spam problem as though all good actors are willing/able to pay and no scammers/spammers are Liora / @liora_ : Right as I'm in the middle of a passion project 😭 https://twitter.com/... @twitterdev : Over the years, hundreds of millions of people have sent over a trillion Tweets, with billions more every week. Zoe Kleinman / @zsk : I first wrote about Twitter's API 2 weeks ago, when we weren't quite sure what was going on - but some prescient comment from @katebevan https://www.bbc.com/... Tom Coates / @tomcoates : For the people following me who aren't massively well informed about APIs, I wrote a thread here that should help explain them: https://twitter.com/... @penamerica : Twitter to end free API access, a move that will impact students and scientists who use the platform to study online behavior and gather information for research papers. “This change will destroy research, activism and commercial projects,” tweeted @luca. https://www.theverge.com/... Neville Hobson / @jangles : Surely inevitable, a move by Elon Musk's #Twitter that will drive developers to develop their apps for alt social networks like #Mastodon. But, will non-developer #API users be left out in the cold? https://twitter.com/... Ryan Sarver / @rsarver : End of an era So many memories tied to the Twitter API and its vibrant dev community. While we made many missteps along the way all those years ago, I have nothing but fond memories from it and the people I got to meet. Sad to see it go down this way https://techcrunch.com/... Dan Nguyen / @dancow : Incredible incompetence. Developers have created so many quality of life improvements and entertaining reasons to use twitter for years, e.g. @AltTextUtil, animal-everyhour bots, @AceAttorney_Bot), and twitter gives them a 7-day notice for shutdown? https://twitter.com/... Amir Shevat / @ashevat : Step 1: Bully and fire the Twitter Developer Platform team. Step 2: Bully and fire the Twitter developer community members. Step 3: Go to Mars? Maybe just go to Mars first? we will join you.. in a bit.. we promise.. just go. https://twitter.com/... Alex Howard / @digiphile : Epilogue: @Twitter will end free access to its API. Coda: “It remains to be seen whether a company that captures more value than it creates will inevitably stagnate. But if so, Twitter will be an unfortunate lesson.”-@mikeloukides, 2011 https://radar.oreilly.com/... https://twitter.com/... Dr. Guy McHendry / @acaguy : Condolences to academics with long-running research using the Twitter API. https://www.theverge.com/... Mx. Tiffany Leigh / @tiffanyleigh : Have been waiting for this shoe to drop since Musk took over. If this shutters 3rd party safety tools (Red Block, Likers Blocker, Twemex) working on thin margins to operate, it's pulling the goalie against trolls, grifters, & every flavor of fascist https://www.theverge.com/... M.G. Siegler / @mgsiegler : Will the price be fixed to the interest payment rate? https://t.co/ZbPumCiOqz @frogandtoadbot : (😔 It's been a lovely ride, all. - 🐸) https://twitter.com/... @pkmnframes : The api access change will cause harmless bots like these to leave the platform while nefarious bots will gladly pay for access to try to scam people. https://twitter.com/... @sbframesinorder : The bots you follow on this platform will leave starting February 9th Including, but not limited to: @ShitpostBot5000 @SBMovieBot @SBShowBot @quagmiretoilet @efgfio @GarfieldBot5000 @breaking_frames and many, many more. https://twitter.com/... Russell Brandom / @russellbrandom : Not really sure why Twitter would announce this one week before implementation with no detail on how much anything will cost https://twitter.com/... Alejandra Caraballo / @esqueer_ : An easy way to destroy this site and make it unusable. The API allows for easy access to blocklists, automated bot accounts that provide important information, and crucial research. No one is going to to pay for access. https://twitter.com/... Brian Flynn / @flynnjamm : Despite Twitter putting their API behind a paywall, developers will pay for it, the same way people paid for verified blue checks when they said they wouldn't https://twitter.com/... @emojimashupbot : Starting February 9, all the bots and tools like @EmojiMashupBot will stop working, unless their creators start paying a bill. Thousands of bots will shut down. Everything that made Twitter interesting for small developpers like me, will be gone. https://twitter.com/... @frosunliberal : While I understand charging for an API, it's rather telling that they are only giving a week's notice. This doesn't impact this app of course but any apps that interact with Twitter are fucked. So if you use something like FindUnfollow or TweetDeck to have to change. https://twitter.com/... @mubashariqbal : Devil in the details here, but on the surface this could be a net positive move (if it ensure API access for users & devs) Twitter to end free access to its API in Elon Musk's latest monetization push https://techcrunch.com/... via @techcrunch Nick Cicero / @nickcicero : Having built products on the Twitter API for more than a decade now I can say they have had a more open API than anyone else, despite its many flaws. Devs should be open to licensing data but comms could be better > > Twitter to end free access to its API https://techcrunch.com/... James Connolly / @connollyebooks : Due to this decision, as this account operates on Cheap Bots Done Quick, it is likely this account will cease functioning on February 9th. The tweets posted will remain up as an archive, and the account will continue posting for as long as it is able to. https://twitter.com/... @renfamous : “We're having a problem generating ad revenue, but what if we were to kneecap all the third party applications keeping people on Twitter? Advertisers love that, right?” https://twitter.com/... @godlessbot : hello dearest readers. apologies, but i do not plan on paying twitter for any of their services upon the new update this coming february 9th. this bot will continue to stay up after the fact, of course, but i'm afraid this may be where we have to say goodbye ): https://twitter.com/... Donna Respirator / @aliceavizandum : 100% this is because Elon doesn't know the difference between the kind of Twitter bot that spams replies and the kind that posts a picture of a cute seal every hour https://twitter.com/... Miguel de Icaza / @migueldeicaza : Public service announcement: You have until February 9th to run the free programs to transport your social graph to Mastodon and help others follow you there. Update your bio with your mastodon account, and then access https://www.movetodon.org/ https://twitter.com/... @helenkennedy : When he said he was getting rid of the bots, it turns out he meant the useful and fun ones. No more thread unroll. No more hourly wombats or daily Sondheim lyrics. No more make it a quote or colorize this. New Twitter: now with fewer tools and whimsy but more neo-Nazis. https://twitter.com/... @_restaurant_bot : rip https://twitter.com/... Sol Messing / @solomonmg : This will do serious harm to the research community, particularly if academic access is also restricted https://twitter.com/... Kim Zetter / @kimzetter : Wondering if there is anyone else who charges developers for this access and/or if this is going to start a trend or if Twitter will be alone in this https://twitter.com/... Craig Silverman / @craigsilverman : End of an era, truly. Really hope the new paid tier is reasonably priced. https://twitter.com/... See also Mediagazer
Context & Ripple Effects
Twitter had already disrupted the independent-client ecosystem when major third-party apps stopped working, then formalized that direction through a developer-agreement ban on third-party clients. Moving the remaining free API tiers to paid access extends the restriction from client apps to the broader developer base.
The change matters beyond app makers because the API underpins automated accounts and research tools; related coverage specifically identifies useful bots as exposed to the loss of free access.
First-order effects
- Developers using Twitter API v1.1 or v2 must move to the unspecified paid basic tier or lose access when the free offering ends.
- Operators of useful automated accounts, including quote, alert, and weather bots identified in related coverage, face an immediate risk of interruption or shutdown.
Second-order effects
- The paid tier does not restore the third-party client market already blocked by Twitter's developer rules, leaving former client developers without a clear route back to distribution.
- Tools that connect Twitter users to Mastodon become less dependable: related coverage shows Twitter later cut off Movetodon, a service for finding and following Twitter contacts on Mastodon.
Third-order effects
- If this access policy holds, Twitter's data and social graph shift from a broadly reusable developer resource to a service governed by Twitter's pricing and eligibility decisions.
- The combined restrictions on clients, APIs, web viewing, and reading volume point toward a more closed platform in which independent tools and outside observation depend on continued platform permission.
The trend: Twitter is consolidating control over its interfaces, turning access once used by independent clients, bots, and researchers into a paid and revocable platform privilege.