Twitter/X API restrictions (2023)
After Elon Musk's takeover, Twitter ended free API access, launched paid tiers, and cut off third-party clients Tweetbot and Twitterrific. The company removed its cheapest paid tier in May 2023, crashing API-based features.
The third-party client market collapsed, and developers lost bulk data access. Twitter began charging for data it had previously given away.
The episode set the template for platforms selling data access and pushing external developers out.
Twitter showed how a platform can close its data feed and sell access. Reddit is following the same path with its API and RSS shutdowns.
