Explained: Why are thousands of subreddits going dark on Reddit?

New Delhi

Starting June 12, thousands of communities on social media platform Reddit have gone dark. Meaning, these subreddits have locked themselves as a sign of protest against the site's 'ludicrous' new decision to try to monetise access to its data. 

The drastic decision comes after Reddit announced its plans of charging developers for access to its API (Application Programming Interface), starting July 1. The changes clocked in will introduce hefty charges for "premium access" to Reddit's data which will effectively kill third-party apps such as Apollo, Narwhal, Relay, and Infinity.

The aforementioned apps would have to fork out as much as $5 per user each month simply to pay the new fees to Reddit, according to Christian Selig, Apollo's sole developer. At their current rate of API usage, the ballpark annual figure would be more than $20 million. 

But wait a minute...what is API?

In layman's terms, API is a structured way of letting one programme offer services to other programmes. Suppose you want butter chicken at your home. You go to the kitchen, assemble the ingredients and prepare the meal. However, what if you want spaghetti and don't have the ingredients? You go to the nearby Italian restaurant. But you don't enter their kitchen and start making the dish, right? You walk to their counter and place an order and wait for them to cook it for you and later serve it to you as a takeout or dine-in dish. 

A similar analogy can be used with Reddit. Imagine you are a third-party app and need user data that can be utilised to make the app efficient and customise it further. Reddit, till now, was not charging any premium for it. However, the next time you reach the Reddit API counter for data, you will have to cough out some cash...a lot of cash, as it turns out. 

It is important to note that despite being launched in 2005, Reddit did not have an official app until 2016. Even now, the app is excessively buggy with posts taking their sweet time to open and videos buffering and in some cases, not even starting. 

However, for years, people used third-party apps to scroll through Reddit. It became their preferred choice, so much so that they have stuck with them and never used the official one. But after Reddit announced the changes, the likes of Apollo have announced that they will be shutting shop on June 30. 

What is Reddit saying?

Reddit has claimed that it needs to be paid adequately for the millions it spends on operating the platform. It adds that the knowledge the platform has amassed over the years is too prized to give away for free.  

“More than any other place on the internet, Reddit is a home for authentic conversation. There’s a lot of stuff on the site that you’d only ever say in therapy, or AA, or never at all. But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free,” Reddit’s CEO and co-founder Steve Huffman said in an interview with the New York Times. 

"Expansive access to data has impact and costs involved; we spend multi-millions of dollars on hosting fees and Reddit needs to be fairly paid to continue supporting high-usage third-party apps. Our pricing is based on usage levels that we measure to be comparable to our own costs."

The company added that by introducing a pricing mechanism, the developers would be forced to make their maps 'more efficient' to reduce the number of API calls required.  

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What are the Reddit mods saying? 

Ever since the change in Reddit policies was announced, thousands of subreddits across the platform arrived at a common consensus that they will go dark in solidarity with the developers and third-party apps. 

Popular subreddits with millions of followers such as r/todayilearned, r/funny and r/gaming amongst others have announced they are closing their doors for 48 hours. 

In a joint statement, Reddit mods said the increase in API pricing rendered it unaffordable for third-party app developers to continue their services. Moreover, the mods added that their work, which was made a tad easier by the third-party apps was also about to become difficult. 

"Many of us rely on third-party apps to manage our communities effectively. Let's just rip the band-aid right off: in many cases these apps offer superior mod tools, customisation, streamlined interfaces, and other quality of life improvements that the official app does not offer," read the statement. 

"The potential loss of these services due to the pricing change would significantly impact our ability to moderate efficiently, thus negatively affecting the experience for users in our communities and for us as mods and users ourselves.," it added. 

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The mods said they understand Reddit's financial obligations but for the longevity and success of the platform, it was important to conserve the rich ecosystem built over the years that includes the third-party apps. 

"We ask for a solution that recognizes the vital role these third-party apps play and takes into consideration the negative impacts this decision might have on both users and moderators. A sustainable pricing model that encourages rather than discourages these apps' growth and innovation will only strengthen the Reddit community."

Why is Reddit so popular?

Unlike any other social media platform, Reddit is the one true place on the internet where users can have genuine interaction and more often than not, find solutions to most obscure of their real-life problems.

According to reports, the platform and its content have been heavily used to train Language Learning Models (LLM) which have contributed to the success of artificial intelligence chatbots such as ChatGPT and Google Bard. 

Despite allegations of harbouring a certain ideological bent with mods playing sides, Reddit as a platform is one of the most intriguing and immersive platforms out there. The API battle, however, may put a dent in the platform's popularity. 

(With inputs from agencies)

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