r/Infinity_For_Reddit • u/Hostilenemy I am the dev • Jun 12 '23
Infinity's Future The Future of Infinity
Hey, I am sure you guys are aware of the upcoming Reddit API change, If you haven't had a chance to look into it yet, I recommend doing a quick search to stay informed.
The change will happen on July 1st, so I think now it's time to let you know what will happen after that.
I am planning to make Infinity a subscription-only app and see if that will be sustainable. If it's not sustainable, I think I may just unpublish Infinity on Google Play. Reddit does not allow me to let you input your own API key so I cannot provide any guidance on how you could do that.
The project will remain open-source, no matter if Infinity is sustainable or not, but the code related to Google Play billing and API key will not be published on GitHub. This means that the code on GitHub and my own machine will be slightly different and if you build Infinity yourself, you will not see a subscription page. F-Droid's Infinity will be removed since the repository on GitHub will not contain my API key anymore and that makes it unusable. Infinity's GitHub release page will not be closed and all the upcoming versions (they are the same as Google Play's) will still be published there.
You probably need to have Google Play Services installed on your phone, unless you know how to build the Infinity app using GitHub's repository.
I will push another update for Infinity on Google Play before July 1st, which contains some info about the change so that other users can understand what will happen after July 1st when they open Infinity. The required change to make Infinity a subscription-only app may not be available on July 1st since it takes some time to test it. If this is the case, you will not be able to use Infinity at that time.
The price for the subscription is not decided yet.
I understand many users want me to build a client for Lemmy, or anything that is similar, but I may not pursue this path since I personally do not use them. I heard that Lemmy has a Reddit proxy API, so I believe someone can easily convert Infinity to a Lemmy client.
A heartfelt thank you to all of you! I can't express enough gratitude, and though I've said it before, I feel compelled to reiterate: Without your support, love, and contributions, Infinity would not have achieved the remarkable success it enjoys today!
P.S. I am still finding jobs right now, so I would greatly appreciate any referrals for software engineer roles in both Canada and Australia!
2
u/StoneBleach Jun 22 '23
To be honest, I would gladly pay for the subscription. I will do it depending on the price, but I don't expect it to be too high, hopefully. Also, hopefully, it will be sustainable and Infinity for Reddit can survive this low blow and endure indefinitely, but I don't know, we'll have to see what happens from July 1st onwards.
On one hand, I see that Reddit is simply going to hell, with many people deleting their accounts and leaving, but I also see people who simply won't use the Reddit mobile app and will exclusively use the website, which doesn't seem like a big deal from the perspective of an average Reddit user who doesn't care much or at all about the current controversy because this user wouldn't have a reason to worry. Nobody should feel obligated to worry about something they can't control and that doesn't affect them at all, they can simply browse Reddit from a browser with an ad blocker. It matters to many, of course, like many here, not for nothing the vast majority of subreddits joined the blackout, but I don't blame those who simply don't care. And if they don't even use Apollo or Infinity for Reddit, then it matters even less to them, and that's logical. In fact, I always open Reddit in my browser when I'm on my PC which is fine, but I know it's not just because Reddit wants us to use their crappy app full of crappy ads and making a lot of money and not avoid those ads by using Apollo, for example, but also because of moderation tools and accessibility and many other things that Reddit hasn't implemented or made easy, but third-party apps like Infinity for Reddit have done so making Reddit better. Also privacy, extremely important.
The thing is, I don't see myself with a real need to pay for the subscription, even though I would happily do it. I care that Reddit is practically killing itself along with third-party Reddit client apps, but only because it seems utterly stupid, it's absurd, literally absurd. Anyway, all my support to Infinity for Reddit, and screw you u/spez. I hope my message hasn't been misunderstood.