Twitter is introducing new capabilities for its developer community through an update to its recently redesigned Twitter API. A key addition to the expanding set of API v2 endpoints will enable app creators to more effectively integrate Twitter’s latest conversation controls – the functionality that empowers users to determine who can respond to their tweets.

Additional endpoints provide developers with the ability to monitor tweets originating from specific accounts, those that reference a particular account, or to obtain a listing of accounts that a given user is following.

These new endpoints represent the ongoing development of Twitter’s version 2 developer API, initially launched this June. The API underwent a complete rebuild for the first time since 2012, aiming to incorporate previously absent features such as polls, pinned tweets, and spam filtering, alongside enhancements to search and stream filtering.

With this release, Twitter is beginning to offer support for the conversation settings introduced earlier in the year. This feature gives users control over who can reply to their tweets, allowing them to choose between allowing all replies, limiting responses to followers, or restricting them to only those mentioned in the tweet. The new API now partially supports these controls through a field within the Tweet object known as reply_settings, enabling developers to ascertain whether conversation reply settings have been applied to a tweet and, if so, who is authorized to reply. However, Twitter notes that full functionality for these fields is still under development and will be implemented “in the future.”

Ultimately, this feature could allow third-party applications to closely replicate the user experience found on Twitter.com and within Twitter’s official apps. Jamie Maguire, developer of SocialOpinions, suggested in a Twitter post that it could also facilitate the creation of social listening tools that specifically gather tweets to which a social media manager can respond. Twitter also proposes that it could be valuable for researchers studying public discourse.

Twitter confirms that this feature is now fully available within v2.

Another set of endpoints, focused on user tweet timelines and user mention timelines, delivers a collection of tweets either authored by or directed at a specific Twitter user. These endpoints now accept start_time and end_time parameters, allowing developers to retrieve tweets within a defined timeframe. The “user mention timeline” endpoint also now supports application-only authentication, which Twitter states will streamline analysis for developers and researchers.

The company highlights that these were among the most frequently utilized endpoints in the initial API version, supporting tools for customer service, brand monitoring, and sentiment analysis of Twitter users over time.

Currently, developers can request up to 100 tweets per request. The user tweet timeline endpoint is capped at the 3,200 most recent tweets, while the user mention timeline is limited to the 800 most recent tweets. Usage of both endpoints will contribute to the monthly tweet cap of 500,000 associated with Standard Basic access. Twitter has indicated that this limitation is not permanent, with plans to introduce Elevated access to the Twitter API v2 within the Standard product tier next year, and a free beta signup is available here.

These features are currently available in Early Access to the Twitter API v2.

Twitter has also launched two new follows lookup endpoints, also in Early Access, which allow developers to retrieve a list of accounts following a specific user, or to obtain a list of accounts a user is following. These are frequently used by developers seeking to understand the connections between Twitter accounts for network analysis or to study the dissemination of information, including potential misinformation.

Developers previously expressed a need to access comprehensive information about account relationships without requiring multiple requests to retrieve individual account data. These endpoints now enable developers to obtain profile information about an account’s follows in a single request, rather than through numerous calls using earlier API versions.

These endpoints are often used in conjunction with the functionalities for following and unfollowing accounts, as well as blocking and muting accounts; however, those capabilities are not yet available.

Twitter has pledged greater transparency regarding its API changes and updates this time around, but developers may remain cautious about building on the platform due to past experiences. The company has a history of abruptly altering access for developers and even canceling its developer conference, actions that have not been forgotten.

Twitter announced these API changes via tweets and forum posts late last week. The company’s comprehensive developer platform roadmap is also publicly accessible here.