Google is killing Tenor GIF search in some apps

The GIF selection area in some of your favorite web platforms may look different, as Google plans to shut down the Tenor API today. While Tenor’s website, along with its searchable GIF library, will remain alive, platforms like X, Discord, Bluesky, and WhatsApp that previously integrated the API will now have to migrate to other GIF options.

Google found the Tenor GIF platform in 2018. Its entire website and API allows users to search for GIFs using keywords, similar to competing services such as Giphy and Klipy. Google will continue to use Tenor for all of its services, including Google Messages and Gboard. It stopped accepting new API registration requests and integrations on January 13, according to Tenor FAQ page.

After June 30th, Google says that any Tenor API contracts and recent integrations will be “completely revoked,” and that any attempt to make an API request after the transition period will fail and result in an error message. The API is being closed “as part of an ongoing effort to focus on improving our core products,” according to Google.

Several apps affected by the API shutdown have already moved on to other services. X Product title Nikita Bier said on June 21st that the platform was “forced to migrate” because of it, although it didn’t say what GIF will use going forward. Discord started testing Giphy and Klipy as alternatives to Tenor in January, and WhatsApp was working on removing Tenor and Klipy in May.

The most notable change for users of these platforms is that you may lose access to your favorite Tenor GIFs, as the libraries of GIF selectors differ depending on the application. After Meta announced plans find a Giphy agent In 2020, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority described Tenor as “unique”the largest provider of GIFs,” and said Giphy’s purchase “disrupts the competition between social media.” And then the meta was created isolated from the GIF library in 2023.