Twitter could soon look a lot different after the company announced a major step forward in enabling more third-party developers and apps on the platform.
Twitter has unveiled a new API as it looks to build bridges with the developer community following years of separation.
The social media titan has launched its API v2, meaning that developers and third-parties may soon get more flexibility into creating new tools and services for Twitter.
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The "new and improved Twitter API" could open the door for a new world of opportunities, with the company noting that it hopes, "developers can help the world connect to the public conversation happening on Twitter."
The launch is only the second such release since 2012, when Twitter announced a major crackdown on third-party access to its site.
V2 was set for release earlier this year, but had to be postponed after the site suffered a huge cyberattack that affected a number of its most-followed accounts.
Twitter says that the new Twitter API is, "rebuilt from the ground up to deliver new features faster", and the company has taken a wealth of feedback from the developer community to help create.
"We’ve always known that our developer ecosystem is diverse, but our API has long taken a one-size-fits-all approach," the company noted in a blog post announcing the launch, saying that the new Twitter API will be, "more flexible and scalable" to fit developer needs.
As well as a "cleaner" API that Twitter says is easier to use, the new release includes a number of the most requested features previously missing, including conversation threading, poll results in Tweets, pinned Tweets on profiles, spam filtering, along with a more powerful stream filtering and search query language.
The Twitter API will now include multiple access levels to make it easier for developers to get started and to grow what they build, replacing the previous three-tiered system with more options to get elevated access where needed.
There's also new product tracks to better serve different groups of developers, such as business users and academics, offering tailored tools and services for their needs, and a new developer portal to get started, manage apps, understand your API usage and limits and access a new support center.
The new API is offering early access now to those with a Twitter developer account, with new features being rolled out over the next few weeks.
"This is just the beginning," Twitter added. "Developers like you push us and inspire us every day. Your creativity and work with our API make Twitter better for people & businesses, and make the world a better place. Thanks for your partnership on the journey ahead."
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