Twitter previously said that it had plans to shut its API access off in early February, and although it was delayed, the company finally did it, and it has caused a lot of issues with many websites and applications.
Twitter's Free API Cut Off
Developers cannot use Twitter's free API tools anymore, while some app creators report that the Twitter API is no longer working. Reports say that the cutoff was effective starting Tuesday morning, wherein Twitter implemented the change without warning or notice.
This could be a part of Twitter's move to ban third-party Twitter clients, although as mentioned in Engadget, the mentioned client is only a fraction of all those who used the API including developers, researchers, bot makers, and more.
An API, or application programming interface, is needed for apps such as Twitter can interact with other applications or websites, which will allow third parties to share content quickly and work well with each other.
One of the affected third parties is WordPress. According to their tweet, WordPress' access to the Twitter API was blocked, which resulted in Jetpack Social being unable to automatically its users' posts from the website to Twitter. However, the company said the issue has been fixed.
Echobox also had the same issue with the bird app's API, which meant that publishers could not share content on Twitter. The company said that it was also done without warning, but they found a way to manage.
The same goes for Flipboard, the news reading app. Their tweet mentioned that Twitter is "closing its gates to other platforms," which includes Flipboard, which means that the Twitter feeds on it will be broken.
Twitter API v2 Tiers
Twitter cut off its free API to developers will pave the way to its new API tiers, which are Free, Basic, and Enterprise. Each comes with perks and limitations, along with different prices to match the features that it comes with.
The company is still offering a free option for its API v2, but it is more limited than the previous API that was free to use. It's for "write-only" cases and testing the API. It also has limited access to v2 tweet posting and media upload endpoints.
It also has a posting limit of 1,500 tweets per month, which may not be enough for active third-party apps and websites. It allows one app ID, along with login with Twitter, according to the company's website.
The Basic tier is meant for hobbyists and prototypes, wherein the posting limit for the user level is 3,000 tweets a month, while the posting limit for the app level is 50,000 a month. The read-limit rate cap is 10,000 tweets a month.
As opposed to the Free tier, Basic allows two app IDs, although it costs $100 a month. As for Enterprise, the website states that it's for business and scaled commercial projects. It claims that the commercial-level access will meet the customer's and subscriber's specific needs.
It comes with managed services by a "dedicated account team." There's also access to complete streams such as replay, engagement metrics, backfill, and others. Developers and other users can apply here.
