Apollo developer, Christian Selig said that the new API pricing by Reddit would cost him almost $20 million per year.
Reddit is implementing new API prices starting from today—July 1, 2023. As a result, several popular third-party Reddit clients, such as Apollo, BaconReader, and Sync for Reddit, have been forced to shut down.
Almost a month has passed since protests and outrage engulfed Reddit over the implementation of new API prices starting from today—July 1, 2023. As a result, several popular third-party Reddit clients, such as Apollo, BaconReader, and Sync for Reddit, have been forced to shut down.
Now, when you try to open Apollo for Reddit, it says “Thank You,” followed by a note from its founder, Christian Selig. “Apollo shut down on June 30th due to Reddit making drastic and sudden increases to API pricing for developers.”
Christian Selig said in May that the new API pricing by Reddit would cost him almost $20 million per year, and that it would not be sustainable for him to continue to run the app.
However, some apps—like Narwhal and Relay for Reddit—have decided to abide by Reddit’s new API pricing, and are going ‘subscription-only.’
As per The Vergeapps with accessibility features—including Luna, Dystopia, and RedReader have been exempted from paying API fee; ergo, they are still available to use.
Apollo for Reddit and other third-party apps have become increasingly popular—and many people used them as their primary way to browse Reddit. This is why some of the most influential subreddits on the platform protested against Reddit.
Around 8000 subreddits went dark (private) to protest. Some even threatened Reddit by opening up NSFW content, which would allow porn on the subreddits. However, Reddit shut down the protests as expected.
