Several popular third-party Reddit apps have been impacted by the website’s new API rules, leading to some apps shutting down and others choosing to charge users for access. One such app is Apollo, founded by Christian Selig. In a lengthy post bidding farewell to users, Selig expressed his frustration with Reddit for pulling the plug too early, cutting off his app’s access to content on the website. Selig had previously estimated that it would cost him $20 million a year to comply with the new API rules, which is not financially feasible for the app, even with its subscription offering. As a result, Selig announced that Apollo will be shutting down by the end of June.
BaconReader, another popular Reddit app, is also no longer operational due to changes in the Reddit API. Users who launch the app will see a notice explaining the situation and thanking them for their support. Sync for Reddit is facing a similar fate, notifying its users of its impending shutdown. However, there are a couple of third-party clients that will continue to operate, but they will begin charging users to cover the cost of API access.
Relay for Reddit has announced that it will be transitioning to a subscription model in the coming weeks. The developer aims to keep the subscription prices as affordable as possible for users. Now for Reddit has also revealed plans to introduce subscriptions to cover the cost of API access, although there is no timeline provided for the rollout.
Reddit’s decision to charge companies for API access starting in July stems from a desire to monetize the valuable data the platform possesses, particularly for training large language models for generative AI. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman highlighted the value of the Reddit corpus of data in an interview with The New York Times and expressed a desire to not give away that value for free to large companies. However, this change also affects third-party clients, leading to protests from the Reddit community, including many subreddits going private in mid-June.
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While most of the subreddits that participated in the protest have since reopened, some of the most popular ones allowed explicit posts for a period of time as a means of impacting Reddit’s revenue streams since advertisers cannot target NSFW communities. Reddit administrators have reportedly threatened to remove any subreddits that remain closed if they fail to reopen by a specified date.
The impact of these API changes on third-party Reddit apps highlights the challenges faced by developers and the need for sustainable business models. Without access to the Reddit API, these apps cannot offer the same level of functionality and content as the official Reddit app. As a result, some developers have had to make the difficult decision to shut down their apps, while others have turned to subscriptions as a means of generating revenue to cover the costs of API access.
In conclusion, the new API rules implemented by Reddit have had a significant impact on third-party Reddit apps. Several popular apps have either shut down or started charging users for access as a result of these changes. The community has responded with protests, but Reddit has remained committed to monetizing its valuable data. Moving forward, developers will need to find sustainable business models to navigate the evolving landscape of Reddit’s API rules.
