Some GIFs are no longer available on X because the Tenor API is ending
When users search for GIFs on X, some GIFs they used before no longer appear, and the search results now look different.
X can no longer use Tenor, the GIF search service it relied on.
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Some GIFs are no longer available on X
X lets users search for and attach GIFs from the post composer, but some GIFs that users could previously find no longer appear. The GIF search results also differ from what users saw before.
In response to an X user who posted that a GIF they used often no longer worked, X head of product Nikita Bier replied, “Not in our control. Tenor went out of business last week and we were forced to migrate.”
Tenor is a Google service that lets users share GIFs with other users. X used Tenor for its GIF search feature.
Bier said Tenor went out of business, but Tenor has not gone bankrupt. He most likely meant that Google will shut down the Tenor API on June 30, 2026.
The Tenor API lets external services use Tenor features.
According to Google, it had already stopped issuing new API keys and accepting new integrations as of January 13, 2026, and it will end existing integrations through the Tenor API on June 30.
Users can continue to use Tenor on Google services such as Tenor.com, Tenor’s GIF Keyboard, Gboard, Google Chat, and Google Messages, but non-Google external services will no longer be able to use Tenor.
Google will end the Tenor API service on June 30, but X appears to have removed its Tenor integration ahead of time.
Can users restore missing GIFs inside X?
X removed its Tenor integration, so users cannot make Tenor GIFs that previously worked appear again in the GIF search tool in X’s post composer.
As an alternative, users can try different search keywords to find similar GIFs or search for GIFs on the official Tenor website.
My analysis
Google has a reputation for shutting down its own services without hesitation. An unofficial website called Killed by Google even tracks services that Google has discontinued.
Discord also used the Tenor API, but it moved to another provider in January of this year.
Services other than X and Discord that use Tenor have most likely already moved to another provider or will do so soon.
Verification details and sources
Verification details
I checked X head of product Nikita Bier’s statement and Google’s support page about the shutdown of the Tenor API.
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I've been using JavaScript more than my native language since birth. I am nowhere and everywhere on the internet.
I build web apps and browser extensions in TypeScript as a web frontend programmer. I released Shadowban Scanner, a tool that detects shadowbans on X, and Restore Link Card, a tool that brings back link cards. Media outlets in Japan and abroad covered both tools. For iGEM 2023, I built the Wiki for Team Japan-United and helped the team win the Grand Prize. On my blog, I cover news about X and social media, test and troubleshoot bugs, and share frontend development insights.
