Twitter is beginning to charge developers for API access as Elon Musk seeks to drive revenue

February 3, 2023: Twitter will start charging developers to access its API, a vital tool that powers services such as TweetDelete and bots that send users prompts on data in real time.

The microblogging site, taken over by Elon Musk in October, said that from February 9, it would “no longer help free access to the Twitter API.”

Third-party services which use the Twitter API will have to use its basic paid tier, the company stated.

“Over the years, millions of people have created over a trillion Tweets, with billions more each week,” an official Twitter account tweeted the previous Wednesday.

“Twitter data are from the most powerful data sets of the world. We’re committed to starting fast & comprehensive access so you can keep up to build with us.”

APIs are software tools third-party developers use to access data from applications and use it to make recent services.

The Twitter API, starting in free and paid versions, is used by thousands of growth for things ranging from setting reminders to sharing alerts on changes to confident Twitter accounts.

Researchers, therefore, use the tool to track hate speech and misinformation online.

The Twitter API is used by the newsgathering service Dataminr to alert journalists to real-time notification that emerges on Twitter.

Previously, Twitter has locked out third-party programs such as Tweetbot and Twitterrific from its API. Users and developers have also complained about some third-party apps which become unusable.

Since Musk took the reins as Twitter’s CEO, he has had to cut costs dramatically and improve monetization.

The billionaire is trying to turn Twitter into a good venture to recoup the investment he’s made under his vast $44 billion company purchase.

Under his reign, Twitter laid off roughly half its global workforce and incorporated the verification badge into its paid Twitter Blue subscription product.