An Intro to APIs for Mobile Apps

Last updated: February 8, 2026Reviewed date: February 8, 2026Reading time: 3 min read

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Article Summary

API is an acronym for “application program interface.” It’s a technical development environment that enables access to another party’s application or platform. The most famous, and most often used by mobile developers, is Facebook’s API. It allows mobile developers limited access to the profile identity of Facebook members to verify identification on login. It enables Facebook members to sign up for a third-party app like...

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Use these quick guides before reading the article, or return to them when you need help preparing questions for a doctor.

Start here Choose the right pathway for symptoms, reports, medicines, or urgent warning signs. Disease article roadmap Read this topic step by step: meaning, symptoms, warning signs, diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and follow-up. Treatment planner Prepare questions about treatment choices, benefits, risks, side effects, and follow-up. Family & caregiver guide Organize symptoms, reports, medicines, questions, and follow-up safely. Nutrition & diet guide Prepare food, hydration, supplement, and medicine-timing questions safely. Prevention guide Organize risk factors, protective habits, screening, and warning signs. Recovery guide Prepare a safe plan for activity, rehabilitation, warning signs, and follow-up.

Educational health guideWritten for patient understanding and clinical awareness.

Reviewed content workflowUse writer and reviewer profiles for stronger trust.

Emergency safety firstUrgent warning signs are highlighted below.

Definition

API is an acronym for “application program interface.” It’s a technical development environment that enables access to another party’s application or platform.

The most famous, and most often used by mobile developers, is Facebook’s API. It allows mobile developers limited access to the profile identity of Facebook members to verify identification on login. It enables Facebook members to sign up for a third-party app like Rdio or Candy Crush using their Facebook account.

Facebook’s API also allows its own users to post content to their News Feed from third-party mobile applications they’re using. This function has enabled many apps to grow their user base very quickly.

Like Facebook, Twitter has an API that can also be used by third-party mobile developers to identify their users on sign up and to enable users to post content easily from an app to their Twitter account. If you’re building an application that will leverage sharing to Twitter or Facebook on your app’s behalf, be aware that spamming, direct competition and other actions can lead to revoked access for these APIs.

LinkedIn’s API is another popular interface. Because LinkedIn is a networking site for business professionals, a user’s LinkedIn network, or social graph, is likely to be different from their Facebook or Twitter networks. As a result, LinkedIn’s API is best reserved for business applications—with notable partners like Evernote, which leverages LinkedIn’s API to enable users to scan business cards in Evernote, then directly connect with that user’s LinkedIn profile. In 2015, LinkedIn announced that it was limiting its third-party API access to official partnerships, with its remaining open APIs available for only a handful of uses like content sharing, use of a profile as an identity, and certification posting. If you’re looking for more access to LinkedIn’s APIs, you’ll need to sign up for the partnership program.

Google Maps provides a hugely popular API that enables mapping and location services in third-party applications. Unlike social APIs, Google charges for its API if there’s a fee for your application, or if you exceed 100,000 queries of their API in a 24-hour period, but paying for a Work license allows for more query capacity. If mapping is central to your mobile application, you’ll probably need to pay Google for access to their API.

Here are a few other popular APIs to know about:

YouTube: provides access to their rich repository of video content
AccuWeather: offers access to weather information, which is very popular on mobile
Flickr: enables access to a large library of photography

Apple’s iOS 8 operating system enabled better and easier sharing of content between third-party applications. The operating system itself provided an alternative to using the APIs of Facebook or Twitter, allowing users to share content easily from an app to their Facebook and Twitter accounts. The change didn’t enable identification on sign up, but made it much easier—and much cheaper—for your developer to integrate into your application than using the APIs produced by Facebook and Twitter.

In short, APIs enable apps to interact with each other. They can enhance the user experience and might even help fuel the popularity of your app. Find a freelance API developer to start putting them to work for you.

Safety note: This is not a prescription or diagnosis. For severe symptoms, pregnancy danger signs, children with serious illness, chest pain, breathing difficulty, stroke-like weakness, or major injury, seek urgent care.

Which doctor may help?

Start with a registered doctor or the nearest qualified health center.

What to tell the doctor

Write when the problem started and how it changed.
Bring old prescriptions, investigation reports, and current medicines.
Write allergies, pregnancy status, diabetes, kidney/liver disease, and major past illnesses.
Bring one family member if the patient is weak, elderly, confused, or a child.

Questions to ask

What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
Which danger signs mean I should go to hospital quickly?
Which tests are necessary now, and which can wait?
How should I take medicines safely and what side effects should I watch for?
When should I come for follow-up?

Tests to discuss

Vital signs: temperature, pulse, blood pressure, oxygen saturation
Basic physical examination by a clinician
CBC, urine test, blood sugar, or imaging only when clinically needed

Avoid these mistakes

Do not use antibiotics, steroid tablets/injections, or strong painkillers without proper medical advice.
Do not hide pregnancy, kidney disease, ulcer, allergy, or blood thinner use.
Do not delay emergency care when danger signs are present.

Medicine safety and first-aid guide

This section is for patient education only. It does not replace a doctor, pharmacist, or emergency care.

Safe first steps

Rest, drink safe water, and observe symptoms carefully.
Keep a written note of symptoms, duration, temperature, medicines already taken, and allergy history.
Seek medical care quickly if symptoms are severe, worsening, or unusual for the patient.

OTC medicine safety

For mild pain or fever, ask a registered pharmacist or doctor before using common over-the-counter pain/fever medicines.
Do not combine multiple pain medicines without advice, especially if you have kidney disease, liver disease, stomach ulcer, asthma, pregnancy, or take blood thinners.
Do not give adult medicines to children unless a qualified clinician advises it.

Avoid these mistakes

Do not start antibiotics without a proper medical decision.
Do not use steroid tablets or injections casually for quick relief.
Do not delay emergency care because of home remedies.

Get urgent help if

Severe symptoms, confusion, fainting, breathing difficulty, chest pain, severe dehydration, or sudden weakness need urgent medical care.

Medicine names, dose, and timing must be decided by a qualified clinician or pharmacist after checking age, pregnancy, allergy, other diseases, and current medicines.

For rural patients and family caregivers

Patient health record and symptom diary

Write your symptoms, medicines already taken, test results, and questions before visiting a doctor. This note stays on your device unless you print or copy it.

Doctor to discuss: Doctor / qualified healthcare provider

Tests to discuss with doctor

Basic vital signs: temperature, pulse, blood pressure, oxygen level if needed
Relevant blood, urine, imaging, or specialist tests only after clinical assessment

Questions to ask

What is the most likely cause of my symptoms?
Which warning signs mean I should go to emergency care?
Which tests are really needed now?
Which medicines are safe for my age, pregnancy status, allergy, kidney/liver/stomach condition, and current medicines?

Emergency warning signs such as chest pain, severe breathing difficulty, sudden weakness, confusion, severe dehydration, major injury, or loss of bladder/bowel control need urgent medical care. Do not wait for online information.

Go to emergency care if you notice:

Severe or rapidly worsening symptoms
Breathing difficulty, chest pain, fainting, confusion, severe weakness, major injury, or severe dehydration

Doctor / service to discuss: Qualified healthcare provider; specialist depends on symptoms and examination.

Step 1
Check danger signs first

If danger signs are present, seek emergency care and do not wait for online information.
Step 2
Record the symptom story

Write when symptoms started, severity, medicines already taken, allergies, pregnancy status, and test results.
Step 3
Visit a qualified clinician

A doctor, nurse, or qualified healthcare provider can examine you and decide which tests or treatment are needed.
Step 4
Do only useful tests

Do tests after clinical assessment. Avoid unnecessary tests, random antibiotics, or repeated medicines without diagnosis.
Step 5
Follow up and return early if worse

If symptoms worsen, new warning signs appear, or treatment is not helping, return for review quickly.

Rural patient practical tips

Take a written symptom diary and all previous prescriptions/test reports.
Do not hide medicines already taken, even herbal or over-the-counter medicines.
Ask which warning signs mean urgent referral to hospital.

This roadmap is for education. A real diagnosis and treatment plan requires history, examination, and clinical judgment.

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