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Topic: Reddit

The protest appears to have had a small but noticeable effect on the platform. News 

Third-Party Data Shows Decrease in Reddit’s Daily Traffic During Blackout

Jim Hendler, ,

Earlier this week, over 8,000 subreddits went dark for 48 hours to protest Reddit’s upcoming API changes. The protest seemed to have an immediate impact on the platform, as Reddit experienced a “major outage” affecting its desktop and mobile websites, as well as mobile apps on the first day of the protest. CEO Steve Huffman later went on a media campaign, attempting to portray the users and moderators who were upset about the changes as unreasonable. In an interview with The Verge, he suggested that they were only upset because…

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With some subreddits protesting indefinitely, Reddit could shake up its policy for moderators. News 

Unexpected Changes Resulting from Reddit Blackout

Adriana Marais

The impact of the Reddit blackout is becoming evident, but it seems that the organizers’ intentions may not be realized. Instead of reversing the API policy changes that will result in the closure of third-party apps like Apollo, the company’s leadership has consistently reaffirmed their stance. “I think it’s time for us to grow up and act like a grown-up company,” CEO Steve Huffman told NPR. “These people who are mad, they’re mad because they got something for free, but now it’s not going to be free,” he said in…

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Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has said that the social discussion platform was never designed to support third-party applications, and they don't bring "much value" to the platform. News 

Reddit CEO Claims Third-Party Apps Do Not Provide Value to Platform

Jim Hendler

According to Steve Huffman, the CEO of Reddit, the social discussion platform was not intended to provide support for third-party applications. In protest against changes to the application programming interface (API), thousands of Reddit communities remain dark, forcing some third-party developers to shut down their apps, reports The Verge. According to Huffman, these third-party apps don’t add much value to the platform. “So the majority of uses for the API — not (third-party apps like Apollo for Reddit) — the other 98 percent of them are making tools, bots, and…

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Moderators emphasized the need for sustained action after Reddit CEO Steve Huffman reportedly dismissed the blackouts’ impact. News 

Subreddits Aim to Continue API Demonstrations Indefinitely

Nitin Misra,

The moderators of well-known Reddit communities have announced their intention to continue their blackout protests for an indefinite period. Initially, several subreddits had planned to participate in the demonstrations against the company’s API changes only from Monday to Wednesday of this week. However, the decision to extend the protests came after CEO Steve Huffman allegedly sent a memo to staff expressing his belief that Reddit would overcome the situation, as previous controversies had passed. In response to Huffman’s stance, a user wrote, “They should be prepared to face the consequences…

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Thousands of subreddits went private in response to Reddit starting to charge developers for API access. News 

Reddit CEO Assures Employees that API Protest Will Pass

Nitin Misra, , ,

Reddit users may find that their preferred subreddit is currently unavailable due to over 8,000 communities going private in protest of Reddit’s API policy changes. The moderators of some of these subreddits have stated that they will reopen access on Wednesday, while others plan to continue their protests indefinitely. Despite this, Reddit’s co-founder and CEO, Steve Huffman, appears unconcerned. According to The Verge, Huffman told staff to block the noise from the collective action. He noted in the memo that it didn’t have a “significant impact on revenue” yet, and…

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Alongside Apollo, other prominent third-party apps such as 'Rif is fun' have also announced that they will be shutting down by June 30. (Pexels) News 

Users Disheartened as Reddit Protest Leads to Closure of Third-Party Apps

Febin Mathew

Reddit, which is considered as one of the largest online discussion forums, is ranked 20th in the list of most visited websites worldwide, as per Similarweb. The platform’s popularity can be attributed to its well-maintained ecosystem, which is a collaborative effort of users, moderators, third-party app developers, and the corporate team behind the platform. However, the recent announcement of Reddit’s new API policy and pricing system has caused an uproar within the ecosystem, leading to widespread protests against the move. A perfect example came yesterday, June 12th, when many major…

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Know everything that’s happening with Reddit. (Bloomberg) News 

Reddit Experiences Backlash Over Controversial Reason

Febin Mathew,

The online discussion forum, Reddit, is currently facing significant backlash from its users, moderators, and third-party apps, resulting in widespread protests. In a 48-hour protest against the company’s new API pricing policy, thousands of subreddits went private, causing a massive outage on Monday. As a result, frustrated users are still unable to access most of the popular communities. The new API pricing policy has been dubbed a “third-party app killer,” prompting Reddit users and moderators to take drastic measures. Let’s delve into what exactly this policy entails and why it…

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As thousands of subreddits move towards going private, Reddit suffers a massive outage. (REUTERS) News 

Reddit Experiences WIDESPREAD Outage Prior to Scheduled API Modifications; Thousands of Subreddits Offline

Adriana Marais,

Reddit, the widely used discussion forum, experienced a significant worldwide outage on June 12th. Downdetector, an online outage monitor, reported that up to 45,000 users had difficulty accessing the website and various subreddits. The outage coincided with a planned protest by thousands of subreddits against the company’s new API pricing changes, resulting in the subreddits going private. The company’s outage was partly attributed to the subreddits going dark. The subreddits are expected to continue their protest until June 14th. A Reddit spokesperson told The Verge that “a significant number of…

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Starting next month, third-party app developers using Reddit's vast troves of data will have to pay a price and the changes could affect players across the spectrum AI 

Why are Thousands of Subreddits Shutting Down?

Febin Mathew, , ,

On Monday, numerous well-liked Reddit communities, covering a wide range of topics such as Apple Inc, gaming, and music, prevented their users from accessing their content as a form of protest against the company’s intention to impose fees for accessing its data. Starting next month, third-party app developers who use Reddit’s massive databases will have to pay the price, and the changes could affect players everywhere — from deeper-pocketed companies like OpenAI to small developers. The Apollo app, popular among Redditors for its alternative interface to the official platform, has…

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The platform is already seeing a mass exit from developers who have helped Reddit become a successful model. News 

Thousands of Subreddits Shut Down in Protest of New API Pricing

Jim Hendler

Over 6,000 subreddits, including popular communities like r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, and r/science, have gone dark in protest of the upcoming pricing changes for the social discussion platform Reddit’s API. This means that even users who were previously subscribed to these communities can no longer access them publicly. Many subreddits participating in the protests will be private for 48 hours from June 12 to June 14, but some plan to remain private until things change, reports The Verge. “None of us do this lightly: we do what we do because…

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Some subreddits have said they will be protesting indefinitely. News 

Reddit Witnesses Over 6,000 Communities Shut Down in Protest of API Alterations

Febin Mathew,

The Reddit community has initiated a widespread demonstration against the company’s contentious API modifications. Numerous subreddits have “gone dark,” rendering their communities private and preventing non-subscribers from accessing their content. This protest has garnered thousands of participants. Some of the site’s most popular subreddits, including r/Music, r/funny, r/aww and r/todayilearned — each with millions of followers — have joined the effort, along with thousands of other communities. The movement has grown significantly in recent days with CEO Steve Huffman’s user AMA, where he advocated for new policies that will see…

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“We’ll continue to be profit-driven until profits arrive,” he said. News 

Steve Huffman Addresses Reddit API Modifications in QAnswer Session

Nitin Misra,

After facing backlash from users over the company’s API changes, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has addressed the issue publicly. During an AMA session, Huffman acknowledged the concerns raised by third-party Reddit app developers who have threatened to shut down due to the changes. While he promised to improve Reddit’s own app, he did not appear willing to make any concessions on pricing or other contentious issues that have upset the community. “Reddit needs to be a self-sustaining company, and to do that we can no longer support commercial entities that…

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Apollo, a popular Reddit app, has been forced to shut down due to the new API pricing regime. (apolloapp.io) News 

Third-Party App Apollo and Others Shut Down Due to Reddit’s Updated API Pricing

Adriana Marais, ,

TechCrunch reports that Apollo, a popular third-party app for Reddit, will be shutting down on June 30, 2023 due to Reddit’s recent API pricing changes. The new pricing plans would require Apollo to pay $20 million annually, which is an impossible cost for an independent developer. Christian Selig, the creator of Apollo, was one of the first to raise concerns about the impact of Reddit’s new API pricing on third-party apps. Even if Apollo were to switch to a subscription-based model, it would still be unable to sustain itself under…

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More than 3,000 subreddits have signed on to a two-day blackout. News 

Reddit CEO to Answer Questions on API Modifications as Multiple Subreddits Prepare to Shut Down

Nitin Misra

The CEO of Reddit, Steve Huffman, is set to make his first public statement regarding the company’s proposed API modifications that have caused widespread anger on the platform. In a brief update, the company announced that “u/spez,” as Huffman is known on Reddit, will conduct an AMA tomorrow to discuss the latest API changes, which include accessibility, mod bots, and third-party mod tools. A Reddit spokesperson said the AMA will likely begin around 10:30 a.m. PT on Friday, June 9. The news of the AMA comes on the heels of…

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Creator Christian Selig said Reddit's API changes made it 'impossible for Apollo to continue.' News 

Reddit Third-party App Apollo to Cease Operations on June 30th

Sanjay Patil, , , ,

The creator of Apollo has announced the shutdown of the third-party client due to Reddit’s controversial move to charge for API access. Christian Selig took to Twitter to reveal that Apollo will cease operations on June 30th, citing Reddit’s recent decisions and actions as the reason for the closure. Selig expressed disappointment that Apollo could no longer continue under the circumstances. Selig, who is the only developer working on Apollo, sounded the alarm about the changes last week. He estimated it would cost him about $20 million a year to…

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The concession won’t help the majority of Reddit developers. News 

Reddit Grants Access to API Without Fees for Certain Accessibility Apps

Sanjay Patil, ,

Reddit has revised its contentious API policy to exempt certain app developers who prioritize accessibility features and do not generate revenue. The Verge reports that the exemption applies to “non-commercial” apps that meet the specified criteria. “We’ve reached out to select non-commercial app developers who address accessibility needs and offered them exemptions from our broad pricing terms,” Reddit spokesman Tim Rathschmidt said in a statement. He declined to name any specific services or say how many apps might be affected by the new exception, citing ongoing discussions with developers. The…

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It's also slowing down its hiring plans, according to 'The Wall Street Journal.' News 

Reddit to Lay Off 5% of Employees

Adriana Marais, , ,

As part of its restructuring, Reddit plans to lay off 90 employees, which accounts for approximately 5% of its current workforce of 2,000 employees, according to an email from company chief Steve Huffman as reported by The Wall Street Journal. In addition, Reddit is slowing hiring this year, reducing the hiring of new employees to 100 from the 300 it originally planned. Apparently, the social network wants to focus on achieving its biggest goals, like breaking even next year. Huffman reportedly wrote in an email that Reddit has had “a…

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Tech companies including Meta Platforms have been slashing jobs after aggressively hiring during the pandemic News 

Reddit to Reduce Staff by Approximately 5 Percent

Adarsh V.K, , ,

On Tuesday, Reddit announced that it will be reducing its workforce by approximately 5%, which equates to 90 employees. This move puts Reddit in line with other technology companies that have been downsizing their staff in the corporate sector. Tech companies including Meta Platforms have cut jobs during the pandemic after aggressive hiring as the industry braces for an economic downturn. Facebook owner Meta cut jobs in its business and operations units last month as it implemented the latest in a trio of layoffs, the first of which it announced…

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The subreddits object to pricing that could hurt apps like Apollo. News 

Reddit Users Protesting Changes That Could Damage Third-Party Apps by Going Offline

Febin Mathew, , ,

A significant demonstration is underway due to Reddit’s possible danger to external applications. Many subreddits, including prominent ones such as Earthporn, LifeProTips, ReactionGIFs, and Videos, have announced that they will “go dark” or become private from June 12th. This is in response to an API pricing hike that they believe will exclude third-party clients. While some subreddits will reopen after 48 hours, others will remain permanently isolated until Reddit addresses their worries. The protesters also urged users to send messages to Reddit administrators, leave negative comments on the app and…

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The platform wants developers to pay a hefty fee to use its API that enables their services. News 

Reddit Seeks High Fees for API Access from App Developers

Sanjay Patil, ,

The tech industry is experiencing the influence of Twitter, as Reddit follows suit and plans to charge developers for API access, similar to Elon Musk’s company. Developers may be required to pay a significant sum of $20 million annually, according to API pricing details. Reddit has already notified developers that the charges will take effect on June 19. The update did not sit well with developers, who understand that the platform’s growth is contingent upon their participation. The company shared the pricing for Reddit API with Christian Selig, an Apollo…

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