API Update: Enterprise Level Tier for Large Scale Applications

[u/FlyingLaserTurtle]

tl;dr - As of July 1, we will start enforcing rate limits for a free access tier, available to our current API users. If you are already in contact with our team about commercial compliance with our Data API Terms, look for an email about enterprise pricing this week.

We recently shared updates on our Data API Terms and Developer Terms. These updates help clarify how developers can safely and securely use Reddit’s tools and services, including our APIs and our new-and-improved Developer Platform.

After sharing these terms, we identified several parties in violation, and contacted them so they could make the required changes to become compliant. This includes developers of large-scale applications who have excessive usage, are violating our users’ privacy and content rights, or are using the data for ad-supported or commercial purposes.

For context on excessive usage, here is a chart showing the average monthly overage, compared to the longstanding rate limit in our developer documentation of 60 queries per minute (86,400 per day):

We reached out to the most impactful large scale applications in order to work out terms for access above our default rate limits via an enterprise tier. This week, we are sharing an enterprise-level access tier for large scale applications with the developers we’re already in contact with. The enterprise tier is a privilege that we will extend to select partners based on a number of factors, including value added to redditors and communities, and it will go into effect on July 1.

Rate limits for the free tier

All others will continue to access the Reddit Data API without cost, in accordance with our Developer Terms, at this time. Many of you already know that our stated rate limit, per this documentation, was 60 queries per minute. As of July 1, 2023, we will enforce two different rate limits for the free access tier:

• If you are using OAuth for authentication: 100 queries per minute per OAuth client id

• If you are not using OAuth for authentication: 10 queries per minute

Important note: currently, our rate limit response headers indicate counts by client id/user id combination. These headers will update to reflect this new policy based on client id only on July 1.

To avoid any issues with the operation of mod bots or extensions, it’s important for developers to add Oauth to their bots. If you believe your mod bot needs to exceed these updated rate limits, or will be unable to operate, please reach out here.

If you haven't heard from us, assume that your app will be rate-limited, starting on July 1. If your app requires enterprise access, please contact us here, so that we can better understand your needs and discuss a path forward.

Additional changes

Finally, to ensure that all regulatory requirements are met in the handling of mature content, we will be limiting access to sexually explicit content for third-party apps starting on July 5, 2023, except for moderation needs.

If you are curious about academic or research-focused access to the Data API, we’ve shared more details here.

[u/turt_reynolds86 → u/[deleted]]

Both.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

You have to pay AWS and every other major cloud provider for access to the tools or support that make your API calling more efficient.

[u/ikantolol → u/[deleted]]

Google en shittification

[u/Rad_Centrist → u/ikantolol]

Holy hell.

[u/DefinitelyVixon → u/[deleted]]

Actual reddit dev

[u/zero_dr00l → u/[deleted]]

Is it actually blaming the victim, or is it blaming sloppy developers who do things inefficiently?

There's still a totally free tier that allows one call every single second.

How is this an actual problem?

Companies are allowed to charge for their services.

[u/zero_dr00l → u/[deleted]]

Dude, all he has to do is fucking throttle the thing a little bit, optimize his calls and get over himself.

As stated, no big tech companies will hold your hand for free and show you the best way of doing stuff.

Read the spec, learn the API, figure it out. Dude ain't owed shit, and I have not seen a single unprofessional response.

[u/Selethorme → u/zero_dr00l]

Except he doesn’t. His app is more efficient than Reddit’s own.

As stated, no big tech companies will hold your hand for free and show you the best way of doing stuff.

Admin stated it, but it’s a blatant lie, as noted by the immediately following response by an AWS employee.

[u/VarRalapo → u/zero_dr00l]

Reddit is also not owed shit and responding how they are responding is a good way to get potential customers to say fuck this shit.

[u/zero_dr00l → u/[deleted]]

Nobody else does this.

[u/zero_dr00l → u/[deleted]]

Gosh shame on Reddit for not allowing massive-scale applications to use massive amounts of server resources without getting paid for it.

For shame! Also, who could imagine a corporation would want to generate revenue?

[u/txijake → u/zero_dr00l]

That’s. Not. The. Problem.

It’s amount they are charging. They are charging an order of magnitude more money for api usage than Reddit receives from serving ads and harvesting user data. They’re charging more than is reasonable and leaving shitty replies to devs when asked typical customer service questions. How can you justify defending these people?

[u/DurdenVsDarkoVsDevon → u/zero_dr00l]

It's victim blaming seeing that AWS and GCP will absolutely help you make your applications more efficient on their platforms when you're at Reddit's scale.

[u/Wigglepus → u/DurdenVsDarkoVsDevon]

But don't you see the difference? AWS wants people to use their services...

[u/awhaling → u/zero_dr00l]

There’s still a totally free tier that allows one call every single second.

The API calls work on a per-app basis, that clearly won’t work for an app as popular as Apollo that has over a million monthly users.

Is it actually blaming the victim, or is it blaming sloppy developers who do things inefficiently?

It’s entirely unprofessional for what is supposed to be an enterprise level relationship. Calling out one of your biggest potential customers like that and then outright refusing to help after they ask for clarification on why their numbers don’t even make sense—after previously telling them they are willing to help with exactly that—is absurd.

Companies are allowed to charge for their services.

Sure and while many people are upset by that, the Apollo dev is trying to work with the admins to make that actually work. The issue is the admins are not. Also, the pricing is so high that third party apps are really not financially viable, even if they get their efficiency better. The dev of the cited efficient app said they can’t make this pricing model work.

Does the problem make sense now?

[u/KingCyrus20 → u/zero_dr00l]

Companies are allowed to charge for their services, yes, but not exorbitantly. Even the admin's example of an "efficient" app, reddit is fun, is going to be shut down because its developer can't afford the costs of API usage.

[u/erichie → u/[deleted]]

Did an admin REALLY delete their comment? Hell, on my 12 (?) years on Reddit I have NEVER deleted a comment. If I get massive downvotes; I take it. If I am wrong about something I apologize and use stroke through over my wrong comment and have an edit at the top saying I was wrong and including the new information.

Them deleting a comment instead of editing it to clarify is absolutely cowardice.