Reddit’s unpopular decision to revise its API pricing in a move that’s forcing third-party apps out of business has taken a weird turn. In an AMA hosted today by Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman, aka u/spez on the internet forum site, the exec doubled down on accusations against the developer behind the well-liked third-party […]
The outrage has a few different angles, but one key theme is that Reddit weren’t exactly forthcoming with specifics around pricing information until very recently, leaving 3rd party Devs little time to negotiate a better price or actually develop the changes required to play along.
Yes, Reddit should be able to charge for their API, as a commercial business. But it’s the approach taken, the short self imposed timelines and artificial pressures applied that have angered the Devs, taking the apps offline and upsetting the users
It seems pretty obvious that they are trying to push out 3rd party apps, just like all the other platforms are doing. I understand why the devs are fuming, but I don’t particularly care TBH. Besides the fact that we don’t know what those devs are doing with our location + sensor data they are constantly collecting, they were always running on borrowed time. They made their money, now it’s time to pivot to something else, like any other business.
Yeah I agree. The strategy is definitely to shut down apps, or make a killing on the ones that do stay.
What this should also signal to Reddit in general is that their app needs a lot to get to the usability and loyalty gained from 3rd party.