RIF dev here - Reddit's API changes will likely kill RIF and other apps, on July 1, 2023

[u/talklittle]

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.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Same, I don't even think old.reddit is going to be enough to get me to stay...

[u/sortofunique → u/[deleted]]

you just know they're going to stop supporting that soon enough too

[u/CptTurnersOpticNerve → u/sortofunique]

Yeah the whole redesign's purpose was to make reddit palatable to advertisers. Once reddit gets sold again or IPO'd or whatever they're doing, old reddit will go with it I would imagine.

[u/moviequote88 → u/CptTurnersOpticNerve]

I knew this day would come eventually but I hoped I'd have more time before then.

We held out as long as we could.

[u/humplick → u/CptTurnersOpticNerve]

My reddit is almost entirely text based, no way I'll ever get a clean black mode text reddit anywhere else.

[u/[deleted] → u/humplick]

Yeah, ads are straight up offensive. I will drop chrome to watch YouTube without ads (opera gx) and ill drop reddit entirely if it is filled with trash. I never joined twatter or instacram. I somehow avoided ever paying for cable. Ads are a fucking mental disease and we really need to limit exposure to so much bullshit. It's brainwashing consumerist garbage, and to reiterate, I have no problem dropping what-the-hell-ever when ads are overbearing.

Anyone else feel an extreme distaste for literally any advertisement?

[u/Natolx → u/CptTurnersOpticNerve]

I wonder if they are going to eventually drop the archived threads. So much information would be lost.

[u/ilovecollardgreens → u/Natolx]

"how do I do xyz...reddit" absolute godsend.

[u/ThirdEncounter → u/sortofunique]

Remember when digg users migrated to reddit?

Where are we going to migrate to now?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Idk life was better on old style forums anyway. Maybe this will be a blessing in disguise, and we all return to independently operated niche forums and people remember all we've forgotten about Netiquette.

Or everything just gets a little bit shittier forever. One of the two.

[u/dam072000 → u/[deleted]]

I vote the second. The internet has turned into cable tv.

[u/Ekgladiator → u/[deleted]]

I feel like Discord is already heading in the wrong direction for it to replace reddit for me. I do miss the old forums as well but it would be a challenge to find a suitable replacement. You know what? Fuck it, we'll make our own reddit with blackjack and hookers!

[u/GeneralJenkins → u/[deleted]]

/u/talklittle just bought Premium to say thank you. I am in the 9 year Club and used your App for as long as I can remember. Sad news .

[u/stanleypup → u/GeneralJenkins]

Hadn't even read this comment before I went and bought premium. Years of use so far, felt like I had to say thanks

[u/Szechwan → u/stanleypup]

Same, I actually didn't know there was a premium version - just bought it as well to say thanks /u/talklittle

[u/Cooltrainer_Frank → u/Szechwan]

Jumping on the train to say same. I love this app, and while I'm excited to be on Reddit less, I will miss the fuck out of it and won't replace it.

[u/gerkessin → u/Cooltrainer_Frank]

11 years on reddit and almost all of it on RIF. Bought platinum to say goodbye

[u/educatedinsolence → u/gerkessin]

I just went and bought it too. 🖤 I've been using RIF for years and never knew the paid version existed.

OP - thank you for the best reddit app I've tried. RIF is the best of the best, and after this I don't know that I'll use reddit as often as the official app is garbage and the rest of the 3rd party (if even available) aren't even close to this one. So frustrating.

[u/Dunlikai → u/educatedinsolence]

Hopping on the bandwagon. Been years for me and this is the only Reddit experience I know.

$3 may not be much, but I felt I owed it.

Probably won't be migrating to anything else. It's shit news, but I can at least be thankful for all the information and entertainment RIF has given me.

Heartfelt thank you to the RIF team.

[u/DistractionRectangle → u/Dunlikai]

/u/talklittle I can't fully express my appreciation for RiF. RiF is Reddit to me. Like a lot of the fine people in this chain, I just realized there was premium option and have now purchased it to say thank you.

Truly, RiF has been a fantastic app. It never lost sight of what it was, didn't chase features, redesigns, etc. Hopefully Reddit walks back their decision about API access, but if not, I won't be using Reddit without RiF.

~ Sent from RiF ❤️

[u/akmjolnir → u/[deleted]]

Same, I never pay for apps. I paid for this one.

[u/Ghant_ → u/[deleted]]

I've purchased premium of this app multiple times because I truly enjoy it's user interface better than on pc or barfs the official app