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Retiring the Netflix Public API

developer.netflix.com

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Re: Retiring the Netflix Public API

#2

Post by cnanney »

My comment from an earlier post:

I was disappointed to get that email, I have an API key and am using it for an ongoing (small) side project of mine.

It seems counter to everything else Netflix engineering promotes with its tech blog and open source contributions. To be so public and open on one hand, and then shut down the public API on the other seems strange.

Trying to cut down on third-party access to user account functions like managing queues could be understandable, but I hope there is some kind of access to basic Netflix library data. Otherwise people will just turn to custom scraping solutions to get the data anyway.

Re: Retiring the Netflix Public API

#4

Post by parley »

I too am very disappointed and agree with the other commenter who said they are big enough that they don't have to worry about closing it. When I realized I wanted an API key they had already stopped handing them out, and now the axe falls again. I don't argue it's not within their right, it's just sad.

I have upwards of 1200 graded movies in another service that I used for a long time and that has a public API. Nowadays, I use trakt.tv a lot (and pay for it, because I really want it to be around, like I pay for Netflix and Spotify) and they also have a public API that I can use to write a tool and migrate/sync my movie grades there. Netflix' recommendation engine could have learned more about me in 5 seconds than it will in 5 years, and any grades I put into Netflix will never leave it.

Yes, I know I'm an edge case. Yes, I know it doesn't make business sense to cater to me. I still need to gripe a bit.

I have a custom app for managing my music too that uses the Spotify C library (wrapped in Go). I love that I was able to do that, and the day Spotify EOLs that library (and doesn't provide an alternative) is probably the day I leave their service.

Enough ranted. Sorry. I just like to take my data with me when I go.

Re: Retiring the Netflix Public API

#6

Post by leorocky »

Seems like you could just watch the network for whatever those apps are doing and reverse engineer whatever remains of the API. You might not be able to build a business on that, but you can build your own apps for yourself, friends and your family that way.

Re: Retiring the Netflix Public API

#9

Post by Smudge »

This just means more people will rely on covertly scraping their data. It also means, much like Twitter and the way they nerfed their developer ecosystem, Netflix will gain much more control over any available 3rd party offerings (as they've clearly outlined). Seems like a very short-sighted trade off if you ask me, but, hey, maybe the public API was just underused and they didn't want to devote more resources to maintaining it.
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