Reddit blocks API access for mod tool Pushshift, first ban since change

Reddit has shut down API access to the popular Pushshift service. The tool was widely used by subreddit moderators. Pushshift is the first tool to have API access cut off after Reddit changed the terms and conditions of its API last month.

A Reddit admin writes on the moderator subreddit that the API access that Pushshift had will be closed from Tuesday. According to the mod, Pushshift would violate the new rules of the API, but what is especially important is that the makers of the app do not respond to notifications from Reddit. The mods reportedly contacted the creators several times via various platforms, but ultimately received no response.

As far as we know, Pushshift is the first service to be affected by the new rules that Reddit imposes on its API. Last month, the platform announced that it would from now on charge money for API access, but it is still unclear what that will cost. Reddit says it will allow certain exceptions, but isn’t clear about that. The message that the moderator has now posted online about Pushshift also does not say how Pushshift abuses the API.

Moderators on the platform mainly used Pushshift to monitor communities and perform certain modding tasks. Reddit says it wants to add some of Pushshift’s features to its moderation tools. These include permalinks for deleted messages and more context for bans and deleted messages. Reddit has been trying for years to create mod tools so that moderators no longer use third-party tools, but mods generally find those tools too limited and rarely use them.

Pushshift also has many other functionalities. For example, the tool was used for removeddit, an alternative platform where deleted Reddit content could be found.