Free services that rely on Twitter for their functions are at risk of losing their livelihood. From February 9, the online service will only offer paid access to its interfaces. Developers have always been able to access it without paying, at least to a limited extent, while deeper integration costs money.

Twitter initially did not provide any information on the future price model in tweets on Thursday, but only promised further information for the coming week.

With interface access, a system of useful apps and services has developed in recent years. For example, they create screenshots of tweets, make chains of multiple posts easier to read, or collect tweets that were later deleted. If they charge for access to Twitter's interfaces, they may have to charge their users in return. Such business models are considered difficult because the willingness to pay online is rather low.

Billions in debt to Twitter

Tech billionaire Elon Musk bought Twitter last fall, leaving the service with billions of dollars in debt that must now be serviced. At the same time, advertising revenue has fallen since then, also because many advertisers shy away from the platform with the right swing under Musk. Twitter is trying to get more money with a subscription offer, among other things. Recently, furniture from the San Francisco headquarters was also auctioned off.

There was a first blow against the developer ecosystem around Twitter a few weeks ago. After a rule change, third-party apps that could be used to access Twitter stopped working overnight. In them, one could escape the advertising that otherwise appears between the tweets.