Reddit is a global social network with over 57 million active users every day. Of these users, a large portion utilize third-party apps, with the subreddit for only one of these, /r/apolloapp, boasting 766,646 subscribers at the time of writing.

Recently, Reddit has announced plans to change how their API is accessed, applying paid tiers to usage. While their official statement spoke of AI companies scraping content for training, administrators detailed their plans towards third-party apps in a series of private conversations with /u/iamthatis, developer of Apollo for Reddit.

In detailing these conversations, /u/iamthatis stated that, although they claim that "Reddit appreciates third party apps and values them as a part of the overall Reddit ecosystem, and does not want to get rid of them," Reddit's stance is that free API usage for third-party apps "is not something they will offer," and due to this, Apollo will only be sustainable under a constant subscription model. They also stated that NSFW content most likely will "no longer be possible to access via the API," and failed to elaborate on how this decision can co-exist with their previously stated intent to preserve third-party apps.

Despite their statements to the contrary, this appears to be a transparent move against third-party apps. By making use of third-party apps both cost and content prohibitive, third-party apps will no longer be viable alternatives to Reddit's official offerings. 

This is something that needs to be addressed early in the process, before Reddit can commit to any permanent changes and pricing.