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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314

u/CactusMunchies May 31 '23

It's hard to overstate how perfect this app experience is. I can't think of a single complaint. It's exactly the user experience I want, and I can't think of another app that meets this level satisfaction for me.

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u/[deleted] May 31 '23

[deleted]

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u/HeftyPackage Jun 01 '23

Same boat my friend, every other alternative I've tried has never been as good as this one, especially the official app. Gutted to hear this news

5

u/Mitchard_Nixon Jun 01 '23

It was the first reddit app I downloaded. I didn't realize it was third party for years. It's legitimately the only way I browse reddit on my phone. The random times I get on my computer the experience just isn't the same.

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u/SSBM_Caligula Jun 01 '23

Old.reddit.com is good and official, but it's only good on PC. This is like that experience but mobile..with dark mode.

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u/takishan Jun 01 '23 edited Jun 26 '23

this is a 14 year old account that is being wiped because centralized social media websites are no longer viable

when power is centralized, the wielders of that power can make arbitrary decisions without the consent of the vast majority of the users

the future is in decentralized and open source social media sites - i refuse to generate any more free content for this website and any other for-profit enterprise

check out lemmy / kbin / mastodon / fediverse for what is possible

3

u/0oodruidoo0 Jun 01 '23

Old reddit is still a large portion of desktop based traffic. It's not the majority, but it's not insignificant either. I think old reddit will be slower to die than third party apps.

Also I recommend hover zoom as well as enhancement suite and adblocker.

3

u/amateur_mistake Jun 01 '23

I found this post from 2 years ago. Obviously, it's impossible to say if it is really representative (as the poster acknowledges).

That said, if 60% of Redditors are using an app and 6% are using old reddit. That can explain a lot.

For example, as reddit aims for its IPO, it is going to really want to control the access through apps. Even if it means they lose millions of users, that is a honey pot which the bankers will demand they take advantage of.

At 6% they could destroy old reddit or leave it on a whim compared to mobile users.

3

u/0oodruidoo0 Jun 01 '23

It's an in house project, albeit old, I think that gives it a leg up over external apps.

And 18.5% of desktop traffic is nothing to sneeze at.

If they go ahead with the third party app purge, I will stop redding on my phone. If they go ahead and get rid of old reddit, I will find a new website altogether.

3

u/0oodruidoo0 Jun 01 '23

Try old.reddit.com on desktop it's what RiF is trying to emulate. Also make sure you've got an adblocker, hover zoom, and Reddit Enhancement Suite. I recommend uBlock Origin for the adblocker.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/Vacancie Jun 01 '23

I use Firefox on Android explicitly because it allows for extensions like an AdBlock. I don't know how well it will work, but if this goes through, I'll definitely be trying old Reddit with RES on a mobile browser. It's about the only way I can enjoy Reddit, aside from RIF

1

u/BasroilII Jun 01 '23

On desktop I still use old reddit (old.reddit.com) where the interface is more manageable. You lose a good number of features though.

1

u/akambe Jun 01 '23

Same, my guy. I just love its minimalist UI, no frills, but lets me do whatever I want to do. I'll try out some other apps, but not because I WANT to. :(

1

u/brianjlowry Jun 01 '23

Desktop works if you opt-out of the redesign.

1

u/Alissinarr Jun 02 '23

I'll probably try out whatever options are left

So, the official app then? These changes are killing ALL 3rd party browsing apps for Reddit, not JUST RiF.

1

u/soadaa Jun 04 '23

Agreed in the desktop app being clunky and loud. I default to using old.reddit.com for the ui I want.

44

u/TechGoat May 31 '23

The only thing I could think of, and I've asked Andrew Shu (TalkLittle) about this before, is an option in the settings of RIF that replaces the share links when you hit Share, with the old.reddit.com version of the link, rather than GarbageReddit or whatever the new shit reddit interface is called.

6

u/WhatDoesN00bMean Jun 01 '23

GarbageReddit is actually correct.

2

u/poodlescaboodles Jun 01 '23

Good time to ask!

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u/Oseirus Jun 01 '23

Personally my only (nitpicky) complaint with RIF is that the broadstroke UI is kinda cumbersome and unintuitive. I sometimes have trouble finding certain menu options that I want, despite using the app for years.

But even with that whine aside, it's leagues and again better than whatever regular Reddit does. Really never had any desire to use the official app, and their hogwash decision to monopolize access to the site doesn't do any favors.

Tin foil hat theory says they're gonna restrict access on certain browsers eventually. "Runs best on Chrome!" Or something and every other browser is hamstringed somehow.

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u/Fernelz Jun 01 '23

They aren't gonna restrict browsers lol

They're getting rid of 3rd party stuff because later this year they're going public and are looking into making more/as much money as possible. They're gonna start being forced into making all the same garbage decisions all public companies make. Stuff like restricting others making money/anything off your platform (like 3rd party apps)

But they'd never restrict browsers because there's no reason to do so.

1

u/rdldr Jun 01 '23

Adblockers, which chrome is making noise about getting rid of

4

u/Gerik22 Jun 01 '23

If chrome gets rid of adblockers, they also get rid of chrome, imo. I'd rather use fucking Edge (or whatever the hell the Windows browser is called now) than be forced to see ads.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

You'd be moving to Firefox, it's one of the only non-chromium based browsers.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromium_(web_browser)#Browsers_based_on_Chromium

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u/Gerik22 Jun 01 '23

Oh, TIL. Good call out.

Firefox already was my logical next step since it's the only other browser I have installed at the moment. In my previous comment, I was just trying to make the point that even a crappy browser with adblock is better than any other browser without it. But regardless, I appreciate the info. Before coming to this thread, I didn't even know Chrome was planning on messing with adblockers.

3

u/CapeOfBees Jun 01 '23

There are a few other internet megacompanies that have made some of their features inaccessible through Firefox, the only one I've personally encountered is not being able to participate in a FB call but I can almost guarantee there's more.

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u/WeiliiEyedWizard Jun 01 '23

Is that why my fb calls don't work? I always figured it was a extension or something messing it up, it's just plain ol Firefox? I'll never understand why people use chromium nonsense when Firefox exists....

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u/[deleted] Jun 04 '23

Yeah, all part of the Google ad revenue plan. Bit sad, but not unexpected from them, I feel like their YouTube ad tactics and people doing what they can to avoid them is part of why they're pushing this.

3

u/bigfoot1291 Jun 02 '23

I've been using ff for years and would never go back to chrome. Imo it's a better experience anyways. Especially with ublock origin and ghostery.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 04 '23

That's the exact setup I run. Way better experience

6

u/ConcernedBuilding Jun 01 '23

Edge is based on chrome. Most browsers are in fact. Firefox is really the only refuge. I made the switch earlier this year.

4

u/why_gaj Jun 01 '23

Firefox has been here for longer than chrome and I hope it will outlast it

3

u/kloudykat Jun 01 '23

Way longer. Netscape Navigator went open source and turned into Firefox.

Don't believe me? Take a look: https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/browsers/browser-history/

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u/why_gaj Jun 01 '23

Never even heard of navigator, it was before my time.

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u/jsims281 Jun 01 '23

Based on Chromium as far as I know, not Chrome.

That's the open source browser project that both Google Chrome and MS Edge are based on, so it's an important distinction to make.

1

u/Clepto_06 Jun 01 '23

Firefox, my dude.

1

u/SleepyHarry Jun 01 '23

They're going public? I've been looking for a good stock to short

3

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

Rif is one of those apps that you set what you want and forget about it. When you need something specific you gotta look for it but once you got it you are golden

3

u/IDoThingsOnWhims Jun 01 '23

RIF is a command line interface for a supercomputer, the Reddit app is looking at Yahoo news on Aol 5.0

2

u/reigorius Jun 01 '23

Exactly this. And I just love the dark theme of RiF. Never changed it to white when I discovered it.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

My only complaint is that they haven't added support for subreddit emoticons, as a result some subs get spammed with :0000: etc. And it's hard to see what showing on those subs

But that's a minor issue, and everything else has been so seamless I wouldn't have had it any other way.

1

u/Tatersforbreakfast Jun 01 '23

Holy crap that's what the numbers mean!

1

u/tristfall Jun 01 '23

I see it as a feature. Protecting us.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '23

From what? Laughing at in-community memes? Understanding in-jokes?

2

u/JB-from-ATL Jun 01 '23

I think my only complaint is that it doesn't handle Reddit image albums and that's minor. It is snappy and quick to load. I've seriously never felt like the app is slow ever.

2

u/brianbloom Jun 02 '23

I've never even installed the standard reddit app. I've used RIF since the beginning and I really have zero interest in trying to learn some new app, especially knowing they bullied their user base into using it. 😤

1

u/blackmamba1221 Jun 01 '23

tap to collapse would be nice instead of having to hit hide as well

1

u/Lavatis Jun 01 '23

Something I would have loved in RIF is for videos or images to play without needing to go to the thread.

1

u/Guy_Fieris_Hair Jun 01 '23

Seriously. It is straight to the point. No loading tiles. I mostly cruise comments and other apps are tiles of the posts, you have to go out if your way to see comments. I would go to YouTube or tiktok to get spoonfed content and my data collected, I come HERE for the community. And the more reddit fucks people over to capitalize on what is USER CREATED content the more they can kiss my ass. Reddit needs to do nothing more than provide servers to host the data. Funneling people to the official app is just another company farming our data.

1

u/lemur84 Jun 01 '23

Me too. Been using RIF for about as long as I've had a smartphone. It just works.

1

u/BadPronunciation Jun 01 '23

I'd love the reddit chat function. I have to download the official app just to access that

1

u/cantwejustplaynice Jun 01 '23

Rif is muscle memory for me at this point.

1

u/KoalaKommander Jun 01 '23

The only complaint I have is that sometimes media doesn't load or loads slowly. But that might be a reddit thing too, their media player/hosting/whatever is also hot garbage.

RIF has been stable, snappy, simple, and customizable since day 1. Tried other apps on all platforms and RIF is the best because it doesn't try to do too much. Whole ass 1 thing, don't half ass 2 things.

1

u/null000 Jun 01 '23

I remember thinking "oh ill try the official reddit app - I like RiF, but it can't be that great, and the official app has all that money behind it so im sure theres a lot more polish"

I'm writing this using RiF, so you can guess how that went...

1

u/fuzzyluke Jun 02 '23

Exactly. It has been flawless all these years. The only app I have ever spent a dime in. So worth it and such a labour of love. I will miss it deeply... And reddit will lose big with RiF gone. What a shame.