It’s not just Apollo: other Reddit apps are shutting down, too

Apollo for Reddit isn’t the only Reddit app that’s shutting down due to the company’s new API pricing: on Thursday, rif is fun for Reddit (previously Reddit is Fun), ReddPlanet, and Sync also announced that they would be shutting down on June 30th, the same day Apollo will be.

rif is fun for Reddit is shutting down “in response to Reddit Inc’s API changes and their hostile treatment of developers building on their platform,” its developer wrote in a message on r/redditisfun. The developer said Reddit has “unfortunately shown a consistent unwillingness to compromise on all points” mentioned in a previous post, including expected costs “in the ballpark” of Apollo’s expected $20 million per year, Reddit’s decision to block ads in third-party apps, and the removal of sexually explicit content in third-party apps even though that content will still be available in Reddit’s official apps.

“The hurdles placed on third party apps by reddit just aren’t a feasible obstacle to overcome,” the developer of ReddPlanet wrote. “With the removal of explicit content, the unreasonable pricing structure, short time period, lack of responsiveness, and unwillingness to come to a middle ground, reddit has shown that their intent is to extinguish all 3rd parties.”

“To be absolutely clear I really don’t want to close Sync,” wrote the developer of Sync. “Working on this app has been a labour of love and my life for the past decade but with how things stand I can’t see any other way.”

The shutdowns follow outrage from Reddit’s userbase and developer community over the API changes, which could be very expensive for developers. Apollo developer Christian Selig revealed his expected $20 million costs last week, and in a long post about the upcoming shutdown, he reiterated the costs and pushed back on Reddit’s claims that the app is less efficient with the API than other apps. Selig also included part of a transcript from a call with Reddit moderators where CEO Steve Huffman suggested Apollo threatened the company, which Selig says he didn’t (and backed up with a transcript of his own). On Wednesday, Reddit announced it would exempt accessibility-focused apps from the API changes following criticisms from the r/Blind subreddit.

Reddit declined to comment. The company plans to host an AMA with Huffman on Friday about “the latest API updates, including accessibility, mod bots, and third-party mod tools.” Reddit is aiming to start the AMA at 1:30PM ET / 10:30AM PT, spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt tells The Verge.