Google ends Tenor API support for third-party GIF pickers
Apps that relied on Tenor for GIF search must switch providers, while Google keeps the service running on its own products.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Google is shutting down the Tenor API on June 30, cutting off a GIF-search tool that outside apps used to build GIF pickers into their services. The move matters for users of platforms such as X, Discord, Bluesky and WhatsApp because their GIF search results may change as those companies move to other providers, The Verge reported.
Google says the Tenor website and its searchable GIF catalog will remain available. The company also says it will continue using Tenor inside its own products, including Google Messages and Gboard.
Tenor lets people search for animated GIFs by keyword, similar to services such as Giphy and Klipy. Google bought Tenor in 2018, according to The Verge, and later used the service across its consumer messaging and keyboard products.
API access is ending
Google’s Tenor FAQ says the company stopped taking requests for new API sign-ups and integrations on January 13. The same FAQ says Tenor API agreements and existing integrations will be fully decommissioned after June 30.
Google says API calls made after the deadline will fail and return an error message. In its FAQ, the company said it is ending the API as part of an effort to focus resources on improving its core products.
The shutdown does not mean Tenor is disappearing from the web. It does mean third-party apps that used Google’s API to show Tenor GIFs must replace that connection or remove the feature.
Apps are moving to rivals
Several affected platforms have already begun shifting away from Tenor, according to public posts and reports cited by The Verge. X product head Nikita Bier said on June 21 that X was “forced to migrate” because of the shutdown, though he did not identify the replacement service.
Discord started testing Giphy and Klipy as alternatives to Tenor in January, according to Discord Previews. WABetaInfo reported in May that WhatsApp was working on replacing Tenor with Klipy.
The Verge reported that Bluesky was also among the platforms that had integrated the Tenor API. The available information did not specify which GIF provider Bluesky would use next.
For users, the clearest change may be the GIFs that appear in search. GIF libraries differ by provider, so a search that once surfaced a familiar Tenor result may return different options under Giphy, Klipy or another service.
A concentrated GIF market
Tenor has played a notable role in the GIF search market. When Meta announced plans to buy Giphy in 2020, the UK Competition and Markets Authority described Tenor as the only comparable large GIF provider, according to The Verge.
The UK regulator said Meta’s proposed Giphy deal would hurt competition among social media platforms, according to The Verge. Meta was later required to divest Giphy in 2023.
Google’s decision leaves third-party apps to rebuild their GIF pickers around other providers while Tenor remains tied to Google’s own services and website.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.