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For a long time, Reddit maintained its API free of charge. Now, a paid subscription model will introduce lots of changes in user communities.
A Reddit App icon, close-up photo. Image credit: Brett Jordan via Unsplash, free license.
Apollo for Reddit, a popular iOS client developed by Christian Selig, will be shutting down on June 30th due to Reddit’s new API pricing policies. But it is not the only app that will be ceasing its operations following the new change – other useful apps such as ReddPlanet, Sync, rif is fun for Reddit and others are likely to cease their operations, too.
Apollo’s Selig explained that the increased costs associated with the new pricing structure, which could exceed $20 million per year, have made it financially infeasible for Apollo to continue operating. The planned shutdown date is June 30th.
In a detailed post on Reddit, Selig expressed his frustration with Reddit’s decisions and actions. He highlighted the drastic shift from a free API to substantial costs, stating that migrating users, creating new plans, undergoing testing, and navigating app reviews within a 30-day timeframe would be economically unviable.
Apollo will close down on June 30th. Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have unfortunately made it impossible for Apollo to continue. Thank you so, so much for all the support over the years. ❤️ https://t.co/HOJaLMW8fx
— Christian Selig (@ChristianSelig) June 8, 2023
Consequently, shutting down the app was deemed the more cost-effective option.
“Going from a free API for 8 years to suddenly incurring massive costs is not something I can feasibly make work with only 30 days. That’s a lot of users to migrate, plans to create, things to test, and to get through app review, and it’s just not economically feasible. It’s much cheaper for me to simply shut down,” Selig said in his post.
He also addressed Reddit’s claim that Apollo is less efficient than other apps, arguing that Reddit is misrepresenting the data. He clarified that Apollo utilizes only a small fraction of Reddit’s previously stated API rate limits.
Using smartphones – illustrative photo. Image credit: terimakasih0 via Pixabay, free license
The developer included a partial audio recording of a conversation with a Reddit employee in his post to refute accusations of blackmailing Reddit for $10 million. While there was a joke made about the amount, Selig contends that Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is internally accusing him of threatening the company.
In response to Reddit’s API pricing changes, several major Reddit communities, including r/gaming, r/Music, r/Pics, and others, are planning to go dark or block new posts on June 12th as a form of protest. While Reddit recently announced an exemption for makers of accessibility apps, it appears that no accommodation has been made to allow Apollo to continue operating.
Selig intends to delete Apollo’s API token on the evening of June 30th Pacific Time, and until then, the app will continue functioning normally. He also plans to offer pro-rated refunds over the next few weeks to subscribers, reimbursing them for the remaining time in their subscriptions.
Written by Alius Noreika
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