It seems that Twitter is following through on its commitment to improve the health of its platform. On July 24, the company announced all new requests to access Twitter’s API platform will be required to apply for a developer account. Not just that, the default number of apps registered to a singling account is being restricted to 10 and limiting app-level rate limits for Tweets, Likes, Follows and Direct Messages.
From the 24th and on, any developer who wants new account access to Twitter’s API platform (it doesn’t matter if it’s premium or standard) is going to have to apply to go through a new developer account application process. Access is going to be decided based on use-case reviews and policy compliance checks. Further reviews will be done if an app is used for any purpose other than its original intent. Eventually, developers who currently have API access will need to go through the new application process.
“Following application approval, you may be required to undergo additional, more rigorous policy reviews if you change your app’s use of Twitter’s APIs or request access to additional products or features, including the ability to post content to Twitter frequently or at high volumes,” writes Twitter’s head of policy, Yoel Roth, and its senior director of product management, Rob Johnson, on Twitter’s blog.
If an app developer wants to register over 10 apps will need special permission via Twitter’s API Policy support form, since the default number of apps a single developer account can have registered is limited.
Although it’s possible for existing apps to be managed on the apps.Twitter.com platform, developers who have existing access to Twitter APIs will eventually be required to complete a developer account application to maintain their apps. According to Twitter, it will give these developers at least a 90-day notice to complete the review process.
The company is instituting restrictions around the number of Tweets and Retweets, Likes, Follows and Direct
- Tweets and Retweets (combined): 300 per three hours
- Likes: 1,000 per 24 hours
- Follows: 1,000 per 24 hours
- Direct messages: 15,000 per 24 hours
“To make this change minimally disruptive, we are proactively conducting policy reviews of potentially impacted apps and will contact eligible developers with instructions about how to request elevated access so that their apps are not affected on September 10th,” Roth and Johnson write. App developers will be able to submit a request to have the limitations removed.