Numerous subreddits shut down today to protest the controversial plan to charge for access to Reddit's API, which will effectively kill several third-party apps.
The protest, which will last at least 48 hours, means many subreddits have gone private, preventing users from accessing them or posting comments. These subreddits essentially act as bulletin boards that devote themselves to a topic, and are major drivers for user traffic on Reddit.
Subreddits participating in the protest include r/funny, the second largest subreddit, which has nearly 50 million readers. Others include r/aww, r/gaming, r/music, r/gadgets, and even r/nba, despite the ongoing NBA finals.
One site that is tracking the protest, Reddark, says 7,177 subreddits have gone dark. Meanwhile, several other subreddits have switched to read-only mode or circulated posts voicing their opposition to the API change.
“Reddit is killing third-party applications,” reads one protest protest from r/jokes. “Do not sacrifice long-term viability for the sake of a short-lived illusion.”
Reddit’s API allows third-party apps to pull and post information from the social media site. But starting next month, the platform will charge $0.24 per 1,000 API calls for third-party apps that need high-volume access. Previously, this feature was free, but CEO Steve Huffman said last week that Reddit "can no longer subsidize commercial entities that require large-scale data use"—like AI chatbots.
The new pricing structure means Apollo, a popular third-party client for Reddit, will shut down since it would cost $20 million per year to keep the app running under the API change.
Subreddits participating in today’s protest also point out the API change risks disrupting many third-party tools used to help moderate the platform, which are monitored by unpaid volunteers.
“Without effective tools (which Reddit has frequently promised and then failed to deliver), moderators cannot combat spammers, bad actors, or the entities who enable either, and without the freedom to choose how and where they access Reddit, many contributors will simply leave,” says a post from r/pics, which has been circulated on other subreddits.
Reddit didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But on Friday, Huffman refused to back down on the API changes, despite the protest threat.
“We respect when you and your communities take action to highlight the things you need, including, at times, going private,” he wrote in a post. “We are all responsible for ensuring Reddit provides an open accessible place for people to find community and belonging.”
Huffman added that Reddit is offering free API access for apps that only require 100 API or 10 API queries per minute, depending on the client ID. As a result, according to him, 90% of third-party Reddit apps will still have free API access.
Still, Huffman’s ensuing Ask Me Anything session, where he addressed questions from users about the API changes, was harshly received, causing users to downrank all of his posts. At the same time, he took a few shots at Apollo’s developer, Christian Selig, which seemed to only enrage Reddit users even more.
In the meantime, some of the protesting subreddits say they'll remain dark "indefinitely," making it unclear when they'll return. "If or when /r/aww returns will depend on Reddit's continued responses to the situation," the subreddit said.