Apollo, a popular third-party Reddit client for iPhone and iPad, will shut down on June 30. This is due to Reddit’s upcoming API policy that goes live on July 1, which makes it untenable for third-party apps to operate.
Apple highlighted Apollo multiple times on-stage at WWDC23 and even showed it as one of the apps for its Vision Pro headset.
Reddit’s API pricing for third-party apps is absurdly high
In his announcement, Apollo developer Christian Selig explains in detail the discussions between him and Reddit. The developer was initially optimistic about the new API policy. But that vanished soon after the company announced the absurd pricing.
Despite Reddit’s assurances that its API prices won’t be as high as Twitter, it ended up doing the same thing.
Apollo will close down on June 30th. Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have unfortunately made it impossible for Apollo to continue. Thank you so, so much for all the support over the years. ❤️ https://t.co/HOJaLMW8fx
— Christian Selig (@ChristianSelig) June 8, 2023
Selig notes that going by Reddit’s new API prices, he would have to pay the company $2 million every month based on the 7 billion requests the app makes. While he tried to negotiate with Reddit, the move was not successful. The company has not budged on its API rollout plans in any way.
The end is near for all popular third-party Reddit apps
Apollo is not the only third-party Reddit app to shut down at the end of this month. Many popular Android Reddit clients like Reddit Sync, Relay Pro, and others will also stop working on June 30.
Reddit has received severe backlash from users over its API pricing. Despite this, the company has not budged on its move so far, with the only exception being non-commercial accessibility apps. Reddit has offered them an exemption from its new API pricing.
If you use Apollo or other-third Reddit party app, it will stop working on or after June 30. There’s nothing you can do here except hope that Reddit is forced to adjust its API pricing following the backlash. As a sign of protest, many big Reddit communities will go dark on June 12. Before that though, Reddit will host an AMA with its CEO Steve Huffman on Friday on the latest API changes and mod tools.
