Twitter will charge $100 per month for access to its API. For this amount, developers will have access to a "low level of API usage", as well as an interface for advertisers Ads API.

According to Elon Musk, the decision to charge for the API was due to the fact that the free API was misused and did not generate revenue for the platform.

“The free API is heavily abused by scam bots and manipulators. It does not have any verification process, it does not require costs. It's easy to spin 100,000 bots and do bad things. Just ~$100 per month for access to the API with ID verification will greatly simplify the situation,” he wrote on February 3.

The end of free access to the Twitter API is worrying scientists who have relied on the platform for data analysis. Previously, Twitter gave researchers special access to API v2, but it is not clear if this will continue in the current environment.

Initially, the company planned to block access to the free API on February 9, but eventually extended it until February 13. In addition, last week Musk promised to offer a free API for bots that post "good" content. The definition of "good content" remains unclear.

Since the beginning of January, most popular third-party services for Twitter have stopped working, including Twitterrific, Tweetbot, Talon, Tapbots and Echofon. Later, the developers of Twitter published a short message, confirming that the applications are limited intentionally. The company said that third-party clients violate the rules for using the API, but did not specify which rules. Previously, Twitter had no claims against alternative clients.

On January 19, Twitter updated its developer agreement to clarify that third-party app makers are no longer allowed to build apps using the social network's API.

bbabo.Net