Google Shuts Down Tenor API June 30, Forcing X, Discord, Bluesky, WhatsApp to Migrate

Google is shutting down the Tenor API, with the change tied to a June 30, 2026 deadline that will cut off third-party access to Tenor’s searchable GIF library even as Tenor.com remains online.

“Android Headlines/Android News/Google just killed a feature that affects millions of users Google is shutting down the Tenor API, which is going to result in some inconsistency with sharing GIFs across your favorite social platforms and apps”

Android Headlines

L'Éclaireur Fnac says the API was turned off so “la firme va tout simplement couper l’accès des tiers au catalogue d’images animées du site,” and it describes a shift for users from in-app GIF picking to going to Tenor.com to download and then send.

Ars Technica

Ars Technica frames the move as Google ending “Effective today, Google has discontinued the Tenor API,” and it links the shutdown to Google’s decision to stop supporting the image API to “better focus its resources.”

The Verge reports that platforms including X, Discord, Bluesky, and WhatsApp that previously integrated the API are “now having to migrate to alternative GIF picker services,” while Google continues using Tenor across its own services including Google Messages and Gboard.

Multiple outlets describe the practical impact as GIF search and sharing interfaces changing across apps that relied on Tenor’s API, with Android Headlines warning of “some inconsistency with sharing GIFs across your favorite social platforms and apps.”

The Verge says X Product head Nikita Bier told readers on June 21st that the platform was “forced to migrate” because of the shutdown, while Discord and WhatsApp were already testing or working on alternatives.

BlogNT

Android Headlines adds that the Discord app appears to use Klipy instead of Tenor, and it notes that “Google apps, such as Gboard, still say ‘search Tenor’” because integrations in Google products remain active.

Shacknews reports that the shutdown will occur on June 30, 2026, and it states that “Current integrations that use the Tenor API will be fully decommissioned,” with API requests failing after the transition deadline if developers have not moved on.

Beyond the immediate loss of Tenor API access, the sources describe a broader competition over GIF infrastructure, with The Verge noting that after Meta announced plans to acquire rival provider Giphy in 2020, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority described Tenor as the only equivalent “large provider of GIFs.”

“On WhatsApp, sending a GIF has become as natural a reflex as an emoji”

BlogNT

The Verge also says the CMA warned the Giphy acquisition would “negatively impact competition between social media platforms,” and it adds that Meta was made to divest itself of the GIF library in 2023.

In parallel, The Guardian reports that Clean Clothes Campaign spokesperson Ineke Zeldenrust is quoted on a different topic, but within the technology coverage it is the GIF-provider shift that drives platform decisions, as Ars Technica ties the end of Tenor API access to Google’s focus on core products.

For users and developers, the immediate consequence described by L'Éclaireur Fnac is that instead of accessing GIFs easily from messaging apps or smartphone keyboards, users will need to “se rendre sur le site de Tenor, trouver un GIF qui nous plaît, le télécharger” before sending it.