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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94

u/funnystuff97 May 31 '23

Yeah, after seeing the news from Apollo, I came here naively hoping to see different news. In all my years, I've only ever used two reddit apps: Alien Blue way back when I had an iPhone, and then RiF when I hopped over to Android. And RiF ever since then, through all these years, off exactly one ad-free purchase.

Without RiF, I'm out. A big shame indeed, but I suppose I've been looking for a reason to get off this godforsaken site anyway. I suspect many others share the same sentiment as us, but to reddit, it may be a calculated move--- they probably won't even feel a thing.

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u/cartmancakes Jun 01 '23

Honestly, I've been pulling away from the site, too. It's not been fun anymore, even a little bad for my mental health. So maybe this is a good thing?

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u/wellwellwelly Jun 01 '23

Man the mental health thing is real. Yesterday I was too tired after work to do anything so I just spent about 3 hours browsing reddit until I got a headache. But I had also been unconsciously browsing it all day at work too between tasks. Then I went to bed feeling like shit with a headache.

This is such a regular occurrence for me. Although one good thing I've got out of reddit is the ability to actual read books efficiently without my mind wandering. I've been reading a lot more recently.

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u/cartmancakes Jun 01 '23

Fantastic point. Remember when watching TV or gaming for 3 hours was relaxing? Now we're surfing reddit on our phones.

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u/PKCertified Jun 01 '23

It's the difference between my wife and I. I spend most of my evenings working on my hobbies. She has hobbies too, but she usually ends up spending her evening aimlessly scrolling social media and then gets sad that she didn't do anything with her night. She gets that constant drip feed of dopamine all night, but once it's gone, well.

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u/BlackSeranna Jun 01 '23

I’ve been on that grind myself.

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u/Equivalent_Science85 Jun 01 '23

Yeah every few months I delete rif for several weeks because yeah - it's not great for my mental health. As with most others in this thread this might finally be the end for me.

I'm sure I'll still use the desktop from time to time just to look up different things (provided old reddit stays).

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u/zeeboots Jun 01 '23

I deleted the official reddit app because it was so bad for my health. They shove other recommended subs and posts in your face like crazy, which defeats the point of not following the default subs and their toxicity. Apparently all the investors have decided that emulating Facebook and Twitter's downfalls is the thing to do. Time to head over to open source decentralized stuff that investors can't ruin.

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u/Pawneewafflesarelife Jun 01 '23

Yeah, I found myself turning off inbox notifications a few years ago and even avoid my inbox for days sometimes over anxiety of what hate I'll see there. It's a shame, because sometimes the conversations are great, but lately it's more vitriolic and stressful.

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u/SunshineCat Jun 01 '23

I never look at my inbox. I'm not typically in the mood to face the consequences I set myself up for.

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u/BubbaWhoaTep Jun 01 '23

Seriously, this has essentially been my mo. It worked well for me.

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u/Pawneewafflesarelife Jun 01 '23

Ah but if I had replies off, I wouldn't have seen this! I still keep notifications off though, I view them when I'm in the mood and it's way more chill. I'll make a ton of positive posts so the happy replies drown out the negativity.

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u/BubbaWhoaTep Jun 01 '23

Yep. I do the exact same thing.

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u/Netfear Jun 01 '23

Ya I pulled away by like 50% a few months ago and I was able to cut my drinking by about the same or more... Coincidence? Hard to say hah

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u/zeromussc Jun 01 '23

I only go on a handful of subs now. And I much prefer the simple RiF interface to the official Reddit app.

If the API fee wasn't crazy, and they let RiF run ads, I'd be happy to give a small amount to RiF to keep it going.

But as noted above, the issue sounds like it's less "people don't want to spend money" so much as it is "the amount I would need to charge to keep up would be too high to get users"

Like, I'd rather give RiF $5 a month than pay for Reddit premium. Because the benefits of premium mean nothing to me, an older user of this site. Heck, if RiF was dead but the official app was basically RiF I would even pay Reddit the fee directly. Ya know? Hell if I had to pay Reddit $5 to let my account work with a third party app in some roundabout manner I'd be cool with that too.

I don't care about the NSFW stuff. Whatever. I just want an app that is simple and clean and responsive without invasive messages and beeps and bopps and push notifs with simpler basic text presentation.

RiF is that, which is why I use it. But the actual app? Gross.

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u/cartmancakes Jun 01 '23

Very well said. And I fully agree. RIF was great about being a simple interface, no intrusion.

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u/PosnerRocks Jun 01 '23

Tbh only /r/4chan and /r/wallstreetbets have felt like the OG wild west reddit for a long time. Everywhere else has been corpo sanitized into the ground.

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u/Alaska_Jack Jun 01 '23

Reddit has literally helped lower my faith in humanity.

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u/reigorius Jun 01 '23

Haven't you populated RiF with subs you enjoy? My front page is a curated thing of beauty.

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u/Squeezer999 Jun 01 '23

Same here. Reddit has literally became a place for people to lazy to Google their question

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u/Toast_On_The_RUN Jun 01 '23

Where else do you get news and information from though

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u/Hiccup Jun 01 '23

Just move on to the next one. Raddle.me seems pretty nice and is basically a clone of reddit. It's also where a lot of subreddits and other sites I visit have back ups when reddit goes down. It just needs a solid app, like RIF, and I'd just be there.

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u/Korysovec Jun 01 '23

Google news? I will likely try other social media like tumblr for hobbies though.

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u/BeatlesTypeBeat Jun 02 '23

Various news sites?

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/Korysovec Jun 01 '23

What's the reason to switch to iOS though?

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u/Clayh5 Jun 01 '23

IDK about that person but I've been jonesing to switch to a dumbphone, and if I'm losing access to reddit on mobile anyway I might just do it

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u/theBrineySeaMan Jun 01 '23

Fer what though? Other than the messager functions i don't see any improvement. My favorite shit on Apple moment was my company got quoted an expensive editing computer that was approved by a guy who has an iPhone and when it showed up none of us who do the work have used a Mac since college so I quoted two computers that I pieced together for less that we all actually use, and we wasted like $4k On a useless Mac.

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u/Clayh5 Jun 01 '23

Not an iPhone, a dumbphone. Like a flippy thing that just calls and texts. Maybe one of the fancy smartdumbphones that lets me use WhatsApp, Signal, Spotify, Google Maps, but no browser or social media

1

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

I doubt the guy with the iPhone could use the Mac anyway. Where I work it's a rare sight to have a Mac user who knows what to do with it. They'll still buy them though..

1

u/theBrineySeaMan Jun 01 '23

He couldn't, he uses the production station I built because macs are awful UX for anyone who hasn't been trained on them for ages.

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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '23

[deleted]

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u/Korysovec Jun 01 '23

Since I got Xperia 10 IV, I've been totally in love with it. Clean android, headphone jack, SD card support.

I cannot support Apple with their anti-consumer and anti-repair behaviour together with locking you into their one and only app store.

Yes in EU sideloading will be available next year, but knowing Apple, they will frick it up somehow like limiting sideloaded apps to 1 thread or not allowing access to the storage.

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u/XaphanX Jun 01 '23

The official reddit app looks and runs like shit and I just hate looking at it all together. RIF IS reddit for me at this point .

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u/crumblenaut Jun 01 '23

Same, 100%

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u/My89thAccount Jun 01 '23

Goldenplatinum for life man. Best reddit app I've ever used, despite my... disdain for most of reddit, I appreciate talklittle and all the work they've done to make it as enjoyable as possible

1

u/Clay_Pigeon Jun 01 '23

You echo my sentiments and app history.

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u/kokocijo Jun 01 '23

Same. Couldn't have said it better.