r/redditisfun • u/talklittle RIF Dev • May 31 '23

RIF dev here - Reddit's API changes will likely kill RIF and other apps, on July 1, 2023

I need more time to get all my thoughts together, but posting this quick post since so many users have been asking, and it's been making rounds on news sites.

Summary of what Reddit Inc has announced so far, specifically the parts that will kill many third-party apps:

  1. The Reddit API will cost money, and the pricing announced today will cost apps like Apollo $20 million per year to run. RIF may differ but it would be in the same ballpark. And no, RIF does not earn anywhere remotely near this number.

  2. As part of this they are blocking ads in third-party apps, which make up the majority of RIF's revenue. So they want to force a paid subscription model onto RIF's users. Meanwhile Reddit's official app still continues to make the vast majority of its money from ads.

  3. Removal of sexually explicit material from third-party apps while keeping said content in the official app. Some people have speculated that NSFW is going to leave Reddit entirely, but then why would Reddit Inc have recently expanded NSFW upload support on their desktop site?

Their recent moves smell a lot like they want third-party apps gone, RIF included.

I know some users will chime in saying they are willing to pay a monthly subscription to keep RIF going, but trust me that you would be in the minority. There is very little value in paying a high subscription for less content (in this case, NSFW). Honestly if I were a user of RIF and not the dev, I'd have a hard time justifying paying the high prices being forced by Reddit Inc, despite how much RIF obviously means to me.

There is a lot more I want to say, and I kind of scrambled to write this since I didn't expect news reports today. I'll probably write more follow-up posts that are better thought out. But this is the gist of what's been going on with Reddit third-party apps in 2023.

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u/skamsibland May 31 '23

Lol, that "active users"-number that they are so proud of is about to take a hit. People don't use their garbage tier app because it is GARBAGE, and if people can't use the third party apps this site dies. I will not use reddit on my phone if RIF goes away, which means that I likely won't have a need to use reddit on my computer either.

Welp, time to learn how to use RSS-feeds again!

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u/IVIorgz Jun 01 '23

I've never tried the official app because i never had a problem with RiF so why change what's not broken, but what's the issue with the official app?

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u/skamsibland Jun 01 '23

Imagine eating chocolate pudding, but then realize after the first bite that it isn't chocolate pudding, it is black bean pudding. It is similar, but not the same and definitely not as good. Now add that someone is telling you that you are wrong, and that the black bean pudding does taste like chocolate pudding and that it is as good. That is reddit trying to convince people to use their (obviously worse) app.

RIF is a great way of experiencing reddit. Easy to access, clear information, no stupid bloat and MANY ways of customizing your experience, which is exactly what reddit was before the redesign. The new reddit app is an app version of the redesign, with all the same problems. They want to control how we see and experience data, and the way they want us to do that is a way which sells us as much as possible.