Reddit will charge money for API, app developers will also have to pay

Reddit is going to charge for using its API. This mainly applies to companies that want to get data from Reddit. It’s not entirely clear what the changes mean for bot makers and app developers.

Reddit writes that it is going to put limits on its api. The terms and conditions will be updated for this. The platform writes that it wants to impose certain limits, but not everywhere. When those limits are reached, developers have to pay. According to Reddit, the API will remain available to developers who build bots and extensions that help moderate subreddits, although Reddit itself has been working on its own tools for several years to do so. In addition, Reddit wants to continue to make it possible for app developers who want to “create appropriate use cases”, but the social network does not say what it means exactly. It is therefore unclear what will happen to the many third-party Reddit apps that can be found in the app stores. Also, Reddit does not write what the exact limit will be for developers to take into account.

Reddit also imposes restrictions on users of the API who retrieve sexual content. Reddit is one of the largest social networks that explicitly allow sexual and pornographic material.

Developers who “require additional supplies or higher or broader user rights” will now have to pay; the price does not mention Reddit. The developer of the widely used Apollo app writes on the platform that Reddit wants to go completely to a paid API model for all apps. The developer says that Reddit does not charge a flat fee, but charges based on usage. Those prices will be announced within a month.