Reddit CEO Attacks Apollo Developer In The Recent AMA About Their Renewed API Pricing
Written by admin on June 10, 2023
Reddit recently hit the news after they revised their API pricing, threatening to drive many third-party apps that relied on the API out of business.
The most interesting turn came when Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman turned against Apollo Developers and accused them of blackmail and unprofessional behavior. Apollo is a popular Reddit app for iOS and iPad users and is best known for its superior navigability and ease of use.
The Turn of Events For Reddit
Huffman took to Reddit to write a note for all users, addressing the situation. He tried to justify the decision by explaining that the only way Reddit stands a chance to run autonomously is if it can increase its revenue by charging the right price to big corporations that require large-scale data use.
On the other hand, Apollo Developer Christian Selig argued that with the renewed pricing, he would require an additional $20 million every year to access the API.
Apollo clearly doesn’t make enough to afford such massive API fees and has no other choice but to shut down.
Things were still fine until Huffman accused Selig of threatening and blackmailing Reddit. The accusation was based on a conversation between Selig and Reddit where the former asked why are they forcing these apps out of business instead of simply buying them out as they did with Alien Blue, a former Reddit client.
Even if it did come across as a threat, he soon clarified his remark and apologized for it over a call which has been recorded. But for some reason, Huffman still decided to go ahead and slander him publicly.
Since Selig has a huge fan following on Reddit, many users jumped to his defense immediately. They pointed out that while Reddit has the right to increase its API pricing, there was no need to belittle Apollo.
The confusion was sorted out during Christian’s call with Reddit, yet you proceeded to claim that he blackmailed Reddit the following week. To me (and the rest of Reddit) it comes across as a blatant attempt to pit us against him.Reddit user
Reddit users are clearly unhappy with the founder and admins. But despite all backlash and discontent among the community, Huffman confirmed that they’re standing firm on their decision, and the new pricing will be imposed next month. He also made no effort to pacify the users about the whole Apollo controversy.
Who Is The Premium API Access For?
In Reddit’s defense, they are not entirely discarding the free API structure. In fact, 90% of the third-party apps can still continue to use their API for free as long as it’s limited to 100 queries per minute with an OAuth client id or 10 queries per minute without an OAuth client id.
The premium access is only for those companies and apps operating on a much larger scale, building a fortune using Reddit’s resources, and can clearly afford to pay the new fee.
Reddit has also spared tools like ContextMod and RES that are often used by users to manage the community. These tools will continue to have free access to the API.
Following the revised pricing, apps like Reddit Is Fun, Apollo, and Sync have decided to leave the platform. The new pricing will go into effect on 1st July 2023, and with that, these apps will terminate their Reddit journey.
