The developer of the famous "Rif is Fun for Reddit" Android app has announced that they will shut down on June 30, 2023, due to changes to Reddit's API and what they perceive as cruel treatment of developers.
Reddit has been accused of blocking ads in third-party apps, charging for API access, and removing sexually explicit content from third-party apps while keeping it on the official app, leading to disappointment and frustration among RIF users.
Some users are considering alternative Reddit apps and platforms, and Reddit's treatment of developers is facing scrutiny in light of recent accusations against the Apollo developer.
Sync, a popular third-party Reddit app, will shut down on June 30, 2023, due to upcoming API changes.
The developer, Lj0, stated it was a tough decision, as working on the app has been a labor of love for the past decade.
Many users expressed their sadness at the news and praised the app, with some even stating they would stop using Reddit altogether after Sync shuts down.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman continues to defend the company's unpopular decision to revise its API pricing, leading to the closure of third-party apps, including Apollo.
Huffman accused Christian Selig, the developer of Apollo, of operating inefficiently and not being a good "API" user, despite Selig's highlighting the new API pricing would make using the Apollo app impossible.
The community backlash and protest from thousands of subreddits have not caused Huffman or Reddit any concern over the fallout from the API changes, and the company has no intention to delay or reconsider the decision.
The developer of Apollo, a Reddit app for iPhone, has made the code for its backend repository publicly available to demonstrate that Apollo does not scrape any data and solely relies on authenticated Reddit API requests.
Apollo respects Reddit API rate limits, giving users an enhanced experience while conforming to the requirements set out by Reddit.
The release of the backend code is in keeping with the transparency the project has shown throughout.
Upcoming changes to Reddit's API may cause some subreddits to go dark indefinitely and affect third-party clients.
The non-monetary value of Reddit as a knowledge store is priceless, and users can archive their data using a Python tool called Reddit-user-to-sqlite.
The tool allows users to store structured and searchable data in a single file that they can use to perform full-text searches on their comments and posts without relying on Reddit's search functionality.
