Google has launched a new Google+ API that is set to let developers write third-party applications that will be allowed to post and read directly from the service. Google says that this initial release is intended for feedback and learning from developers, as it plans to release more APIs soon.
According to The Guardian, This initial API release is focused on public data, only letting you read information that people have shared publicly on Google+. Full details on the new API have been posted on the company’s official “Google Code Blog” and makes use of REST requests, JSON output and OAuth2 for user identification.
At the moment, the Google+ API isn’t much more than a way to scan through public Google+ posts, but the company has said that it is a “first step” and hopes to expand the Google+ API in the future, while asking for developer feedback so that they can know what to focus on.
In the meantime, The Guardian said that a recent study has shown a significant 40% drop in Google+ usage in the past month.
Google+ launched in June 2011 and went on to pick up millions of users in a short span of time thanks to great word of mouth, but the service has been slow to add new features that many social network users have been expecting.