The announcement marks the third such extension since the plan was announced.
Twitter is once again delaying the rollout of its paid API. In a tweet on Monday, the Twitter Developer Account explained it needs more time to complete work on the redesign, and developers would have to wait “a few more days” until the APIs were released.
When the company first announced it was shutting down its free APIs, Twitter said it would no longer support free access to its API, both versions 1.1 and 2, starting on February 9th. It will launch a “paid basic tier” instead, but the company has yet to reveal how much it would cost. It later pushed back the cutoff date to February 13th without warning.
Reacting to the public’s “immense enthusiasm”
This week we were treated to another delaying message from Twitter Developer: “There has been an immense amount of enthusiasm for the upcoming changes with Twitter API”, the account wrote. “As part of our efforts to create an optimal experience for the developer community, we will be delaying the launch of our new API platform by a few more days”.
Since Elon Musk bought the company, Twitter has been searching for new ways to make more money. The biggest change so far has been Twitter Blue, which evolved into a $8-to-$11-a-month subscription service that allows users to purchase the website’s previously elusive blue checkmark.
Last month, Twitter decided to cut off API access for several third-party applications. According to Twitter, the providers had violated API rules, but analysts speculated that it was because the apps were not generating sufficient ad revenue for the platform.
API access could cost “about $100 per month”
Musk hasn’t said much about how paid access to Twitter’s APIs could work other than to mention in a tweet that the company might charge around $100 per month and add “ID verification” to limit bot abuse. The company also said that it will provide a free write-only API that is good for posting 1,500 tweets a month.
For now, Twitter Developer asks us to sit tight and bear with them. “More information to follow over the coming days”, it tweeted. “Thank you for your continued interest and patience!”