The protest is against upcoming API changes that will kill off third-party apps.
Starting 1 July, Reddit plans to bring in changes to its application programming interface . Readers might remember API fromReddit's planned changes are also a step in the same direction with the aim of monetizing their usage. Conventionally, tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have kept their APIs free, but the rise of companies building AI models, such as OpenAI, manage to crawl these networks for free.
Reddit's demand may not sound like a lot, but it is leading to the closure of certain third party-apps like Apollo, which offers a better interface to access Reddit than its native app does. According to Christian Selig, the creator of Apollo, his app sends seven billion monthly requests to Reddit, and it would cost him $20 million a year to operate the service. To keep themselves running, the apps would need to charge users $5 a month, Selig estimates, but he has decided to shut his service down on June 30th instead.
Apollo will close down on June 30th. Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have unfortunately made it impossible for Apollo to continue. Thank you so, so much for all the support over the years. ❤️
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