Google Discontinues Tenor GIF API

Google officially discontinued the Tenor API on June 30, 2024, ending its service to third-party platforms that integrated its GIF database. Tenor, acquired by Google in 2018, provided a searchable library of animated GIFs that were widely used on sites such as X (formerly Twitter) and Discord. While Tenor was integrated into Google's own products like Gboard and Google Messages, the API allowed external services to offer GIF search and sharing functionalities to their users.

Google announced the winding down of the API in January 2024, initially stopping new integrations before the full shutdown. The company stated that the decision to cease support for the image API was to better focus its resources. Industry observers suggest that the lack of a clear monetization strategy for the free API likely contributed to Google's decision, especially given Google's substantial profits, which exceeded $130 billion in 2025.

The discontinuation of the Tenor API forces developers and platforms that relied on it to find alternative solutions for GIF integration. Services like Giphy and Klipy offer similar functionalities and may see increased adoption as a result of Tenor's API shutdown. This move marks another instance of Google discontinuing a product, adding to its history of sunsetting services.