Twitter unveils new developer platform for decentralised era

Twitter has announced a new developer platform that will help the micro-blogging company build a decentralised, open platform in the future. Twitter said that the second version of its application programming interface (API) is ready to come out of early access and become the default for developers.

Some of the biggest changes include making it easier for developers to get started on the platform with the introduction of 'Essential access' and opening up more access for free.

Other features include updating its Developer Policy to encourage new types of innovation that will lead to greater impact on the public conversation itself, and launching new features and officially making the av2 API' the primary Twitter API.

"For starters, we're making it easier for you to sign up for a developer account so you can focus on building right away. We're also introducing two new access levels that give you more data for free," Amir Shevat and Sonya Penn from Twitter said in a blog post late on Monday.

Essential access includes immediate access to the Twitter API v2 upon signup, one App environment and the ability to retrieve up to 500,000 tweets per month.

"This should meet the majority of developers needs, especially early on," Shevat added.

"We are on our way to building an open developer platform in public, and we're excited to release more useful endpoints, expand the canvas developers can build on in Twitter, and create opportunities for developers to monetise their innovation in the future," he elaborated.

Twitter is also introducing a new free 'Elevated access' level, which includes three App environments (development, staging, production) and the ability to retrieve up to two million tweets per month.

"If you're already using the Twitter API v2, you'll automatically see your Projects upgraded to Elevated access. Otherwise, you'll need to apply for Elevated access," the platform added.