Skip to main content

Twitter unveils upgraded API and new portal for developers

Twitter announced its first significant API (application programming interface) update in eight years on Thursday with new features to help third-party developers and broader access to all types of developers.

The Twitter API v2 Early Access that is now available includes access to features developers have been requesting, such as conversation threading, poll results, pinned Tweets on profiles, spam filtering, and more.

Recommended Videos

The new API allows multiple access levels to accommodate all types of developers, whether they are students, businesses, bot developers, or academic researchers.

Twitter logo
NurPhoto / Getty Images

Twitter said it is especially interested in better-accommodating researchers in the future with free, elected access for qualified researchers since they make up a sizable percentage of the developer ecosystem. Twitter API v2 will enable more academic research into understanding people’s attitudes about the coronavirus, climate change, and hate speech.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

There’s also a new developer portal that makes it easier for developers to access their apps and better understand the data access they have.

For ordinary Twitter users, Twitter API v2 will help improve the platform’s functionality since developers have more access to more features. Ian Cairns, Twitter’s head of product, said API lets developers go beyond what Twitter provides directly.

“Part of our hope is that developers can build tools that help scale [hate speech] behavior, like building an algorithm to hide [hateful] replies automatically,” Cairns said during a press briefing.

In the past, developers used Twitter’s API to develop the first mobile Twitter app, help spot state-backed misinformation campaigns, and even helped coined the word “tweet. With more developer access, individual Twitter users can expect more updates and new features to the platform soon.

Twitter launched public API in 2006 to invite developers to help build the future of the platform. Twitter’s last API update was in 2018, where it introduced a vetting process for those who want to access the API. That update required interested developers to register on Twitter’s developer portal and provide more details and information about their plans for the API.

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
Why is Twitter called X now? Here’s everything you need to know
A digital image of Elon Musk in front of a stylized background with the Twitter logo repeating.

Twitter is now called X, and it's causing some commotion. Since launching 17 years ago (nearly to the date at the time of writing), Twitter has been adorned with a blue bird. Now, it's a rather cryptic X brought on by the new owner of the social media platform, Elon Musk. Even though elements of the old Twitter remain, the iOS and Android apps have switched over to the new name, including the transition from "tweets" to "posts."

How did we get here? We've rounded up the order of events that took place leading to Twitter's massive rebrand to X, as well as how that relates to Elon Musk's entrepreneurial history and the legal troubles that could stem from the new name.
Why is Twitter called X now?

Read more
Musk shows off new X sign on top of San Francisco HQ, but the city’s not happy
The new X sign replacing the Twitter logo on the company's headquarters in San Francisco.

Soon after Elon Musk tweeted a drone video showing a new white light in the shape of an X atop the company’s headquarters in San Francisco on Friday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that the city had decided to launch in investigation over concerns that the sign's installation may have broken rules.

The X logo is replacing the iconic Twitter bird as Musk continues efforts to rebrand the social media platform that he acquired in October.

Read more
Twitter to impose dark mode as it’s ‘better in every way,’ Elon Musk says
A white X on a black background, which could be Twitter's new logo.

If you tend to use Twitter in light mode, then prepare for things to change.

The microblogging platform, which is in the process of rebranding to “X” under the orders of new owner Elon Musk, looks set to ditch light mode, leaving you with only one: dark.

Read more