Chances are that you’ve never really thought about or even knew about the existence of the Tenor API. It’s an integral part of what makes Tenor work across apps and services around the internet. And Tenor, of course, is a GIF repository where you ca search for GIF images and share those around with friends, family, and strangers. If you use Discord, X, or any of Google’s communication apps like Google Messages, and you have searched for GIFs in them, then you’ve come into contact with the Tenor API that powers those GIF pickers.
As of today, Google is shutting down the Tenor API. This means X and other services, like Discord, will no longer be using the Tenor API going forward. This will likely impact searching for GIFs and sharing GIFs in those services for a time, but not necessarily in huge, negatively impactful ways. Most of these services will also probably swap to other alternatives at some point. If they haven’t already.
Google confirms the Tenor API is shut down as of June 30
With the API being shut down as of today, some services may have already switched to something else. For example, the Discord app now appears to use Klipy as opposed to Tenor. Google apps, such as Gboard, still say “search Tenor” when you search for a GIF using the GIF picker in that app. That’s because any Google apps or services that use Tenor integrations will remain active. So if you’re using Gboard, then Tenor will remain the search repository for those GIFs.
X has also already switched, as noted by 9To5Google. These changes take affect immediately, though some apps or services with the Tenor integrations may remain beyond today’s date. Any integrations that are still active as of July 1 will stop working on July 1.
The Android Headlines Take
This is yet another example of Google shutting down something it has purchased and offered as a feature/service for many years. That list of products is long, and isn’t getting any shorter. That being said, there are alternatives to the Tenor API for GIF pickers. As mentioned above, Klipy is already being used by the Discord app.
And I don’t think most users are going to notice a difference unless GIF search and share is taken away from their apps entirely. In other words, the GIF pickers across the web will still be available. They might end up with smaller repositories for a time. But they aren’t going anywhere. Worst case scenario, you can always go directly to a source, like Giphy, and grab GIFs to share from there instead.
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