Platform usage guidelines

Have you taken care to review X’s policies and set up your API access the right way? Does your service follow X’s privacy and control guidelines? If you can answer yes to these two questions, then you are ready to start using the X API and X Content. X’s Platform Usage Guidelines provide the assistance needed to ensure that your use of X Content is compliant from day 1 throughout the lifecycle of your service. We suggest reviewing these rules on a regular basis to make sure that your integration is operating in a way that is safe and beneficial to people on X and the X platform as a whole.

 

Spam, bots, and automation

The use of the X API and developer products to create spam, or engage in any form of platform manipulation, is prohibited. You should review the X Rules on platform manipulation and spam, and ensure that your service does not, and does not enable people to, violate our policies.

Services that perform write actions, including posting Posts, following accounts, or sending Direct Messages, must follow the Automation Rules. In particular, you should: 

If you’re operating an API-based bot account you must clearly indicate what the account is and who is responsible for it. You should never mislead or confuse people about whether your account is or is not a bot. A good way to do this is by including a statement that the account is a bot in the profile bio.

 

X performance benchmarking

You may not use the X API to measure the availability, performance, functionality, or usage of X for benchmarking, competitive, or commercial purposes. For example, you should never use the X API to:

  • Calculate aggregate X metrics, such as the total number of Monthly Actives (MAs) or Daily Actives (DAs)

  • Calculate aggregate X Post metrics, such as the total number of Posts posted per day, or the number of account engagements

  • Measure or analyze the responsiveness of X

  • Measure or analyze spam or security on X, except as permitted below

We support research that helps improve conversational health on X. You may not publicly disclose any research or findings concerning, or develop, create, or offer services using, the X API or X Content that measure, analyze, or attempt to identify behaviors or content which violate X policies without express written permission from X.

DSA Researchers: If you need to contact X relating to access under Art. 40 of the Digital Services Act, please contact EU-Questions@X.com. If you wish to apply for researcher access, please submit an application.

 

Public display of Posts

You must maintain the integrity of all X Content that you display publicly or to people who use your service. If you don’t use X for Websites to display content, then you must use the X API to retrieve the most current version available for display. If displayed content ceases to be available through the X API, then you must remove it from your service as soon as reasonably possible, or within 24 hours after the receipt of a removal request from X, or the applicable X account owner, or as otherwise required by applicable law.

There are specific rules you must follow if you display X Content offline. Follow the guidelines for using Posts in broadcast if you display Posts offline. 

If you embed or display Posts, you must contact us about your X API access if your site exceeds 10 million daily impressions. X reserves the right to require additional terms as a condition to your use of the X API. Additional restrictions on X for Websites developer use include:

  • Embedded Posts and/or embedded timelines

    • You must provide people with legally sufficient notice that fully discloses X’s collection and use of data about browsing activities on your website, including for interest-based advertising and personalization. You must also obtain legally sufficient consent from people for such collection and use
    • You must provide legally sufficient instructions on how people can opt out of X’s interest-based advertising and personalization as described here
       
  • X for Websites widgets

    • You must ensure that people are provided with clear and comprehensive information about, and consent to, the storing and accessing of cookies or other information on their devices as described in X’s cookie use, where providing such information and obtaining such consent is required by law
       
  • Services targeted to children under 13

    • Services targeted to children under 13 must opt out of tailoring X in any embedded Post and/or embedded timelines by setting the opt-out parameter to be ‘true’ as described here
 

Content redistribution

The best place to get X Content is directly from X. Consequently, we restrict the redistribution of X Content to third parties. If you provide X Content to third parties, including downloadable datasets or via an API, you may only distribute Post IDs, Direct Message IDs, and/or User IDs (except as described below). 

In total, you may not distribute more than 1,500,000 Post IDs to any entity (inclusive of multiple individuals associated with a single entity) within any 30 day period unless you have received written permission from X. In addition, developers may provide up to 500 public Posts Objects and/or User Objects to each person who uses your service on a daily basis if this is done via non-automated means (e.g., download of spreadsheets or PDFs).

Academic researchers are permitted to distribute Post IDs and/or User IDs solely for the purposes of non-commercial research on behalf of an academic institution, and that has been approved by X in writing, or peer review or validation of such research. Only as many Post IDs or User IDs that is necessary for such research, and has been approved by X may be used. 

Any X Content provided to third parties remains subject to this Policy, and those third parties must agree to the X Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, Developer Agreement, and Developer Policy before receiving such downloads. You may not enable any entity to circumvent any other limitations or restrictions on the distribution of X Content as contained in this Policy, the Developer Agreement, or any other agreement with X.

Note: This Section does not apply to researchers with X API access via Art. 40 of the EU Digital Services Act (2022) (“DSA”), who are instead subject to the procedures and restrictions set forth in the DSA and the Developer Agreement.

 

Pay to Engage

Your service shouldn’t compensate people to take actions on X, as that results in inauthentic engagement that degrades the health of the platform. As you use the X API you may not sell or receive monetary or virtual compensation for any X actions. This includes, but is not limited to, Posts, follows, unfollows, reposts, likes, comments, and replies.

 

Service authenticity

You must clearly identify your service so that people can understand its source and purpose. Don’t use names, logos, or URLs that mask your service’s identity and features, or that falsely imply an affiliation with X or third parties. Note that creating applications for the purpose of selling names, or to prevent others from using names, is prohibited.

You may not use any URL (including shortened URLs) for your service that directs people to:

  • A site that is unrelated to your service

  • A spam or malware site

  • A site that encourages people to violate X policy

 

X name, logo, and likeness

You may only use and display the X name and logo to identify X as the source of X Content. You should never use the X name and logo, the X Official Partner Program badge, or any other similar marks or names in a manner that creates a false sense of endorsement, sponsorship, or association with X. The X Brand Resources contain detailed information to help you use the X brand in the right way.

You may only use the X Verified Account badge and any other enhanced account categorization as it is reported to you by X through the API. This helps people know that the content your service displays is equivalent to that shown on X.

 

Advertising on X

There are restrictions regarding how and where you are allowed to advertise around X Content. To start, your advertisements can’t resemble or reasonably be confused by people as a Post. Other rules on advertising include:

  • There must be a clear separation between X Content and your advertisements. You may not place any advertisements within the X timeline other than X Ads.

  • X reserves the right to serve advertising via the X API. If you decide to serve X Ads once we start delivering them via the API, we will share a portion of advertising revenue with you in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions.

  • You may not use X Content, or information obtained from the X API to target people with advertising outside of the X platform.