Tag: reddit api charges

Reddit Says 80 Percent Top Subreddits Open After Blackout Over API Pricing Protest

Reddit said that most of the company’s communities were operating as normal — four days after a protest that shut down thousands of its online forums in protest over its plans to raise fees. In a blog post-Thursday, the company said that 80 percent of its top subreddits, or digital message boards, are currently open. The post was Reddit’s first since June 9. 

The website Reddark, which has been tracking the blackout on the site, indicated on Thursday evening that more than 5,000 subreddits still were limiting access to their content. That’s lower than the almost 9,000 forums that initially pledged to go dark for a protest starting on June 12, which was slated to last at least two days.  

The dissent stems from Reddit’s decision to charge for access to its application programming interface, or API, which allows developers to embed Reddit’s functionality into their own apps. The developer of one popular app, called Apollo, wrote that he would have to pay Reddit $20 million (roughly Rs. 160 crore) a year to continue operating under the new pricing policy. Apollo plans to shut down on June 30, the day before Reddit’s pricing change will take effect. 

Reddit has defended its decision to start charging its biggest users, who rely on its technology to make apps for browsing the site and organizing its troves of posts and data. It also responded to concerns over the fate of accessibility-focused apps, such as those geared at reading posts to the visually impaired, and said certain apps would be exempt from the new charges.

In Thursday’s post, Reddit said that 98 percent of third-party apps wouldn’t have to pay anything under the new fee structure, and that the fees it would charge developers were in line with its own costs.

“Mods and users want communities to be open and accessible,” the company wrote, and after expressing their point of view “many communities have decided to reopen.”

© 2023 Bloomberg LP

Smartphone companies have launched many compelling devices over the first quarter of 2023. What are some of the best phones launched in 2023 you can buy today? We discuss this on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Reddit’s New API Policy Forces Third Party Apps Like Apollo, Sync, RIF, More to Shut Down

Reddit will implement a new API policy on July 1 that would charge excessive fees to developers of third-party apps for the website, thereby resulting in the shutdown of many popular applications such as Reddit is Fun (RIF), Sync for Reddit, Apollo, and ReddPlanet. Apps like BoostForReddit and BaconReader have not outrightly confirmed their shutdown yet. The new API pricing plans will end up costing third-party apps millions of dollars each year to keep their businesses running which is financially untenable for any indie developer.

Several third-party Reddit apps announced today that their apps will shut down on June 30. Among those apps, some of the major ones are Apollo, Sync for Reddit, Reddit is Fun, Infinity for Reddit, and ReddPlanet. These third-party apps helped users on iOS and Android smartphones to access Reddit easily and with a customised user interface before Reddit had its mobile app. Even after the official app launched, many users favoured the flexibility of third-party apps.

The new paid API that Reddit announced last month is the major reason behind these apps shutting down. Apollo, an iOS-exclusive app, said that they were forced to shut down operations because the new pricing would make them pay over $20 million (roughly Rs. 160 crore) per year, which is way more than these third-party apps can afford.

With these new API restrictions, the third-party apps would not also be allowed to run advertisements or show any explicit content on their platform, among other imposed rules. Apps like Bacon Reader and Boost for Reddit have not yet announced an official shutdown of operations.

Reddit had previously said that they do not want to restrict API access for third-party apps. But the new API pricing is an excessive amount for any small-time application developers. Apollo developer Christian Selig pointed out that no matter the cost and API price did not match up. Reddit said on Wednesday that they will work on an exemption for some of these apps that are non-commercial.

Apple unveiled its first mixed reality headset, the Apple Vision Pro, at its annual developer conference, along with new Mac models and upcoming software updates. We discuss all the most important announcements made by the company at WWDC 2023 on Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated – see our ethics statement for details.

Check out our Latest News and Follow us at Facebook

Original Source

Exit mobile version