The developer of the popular Apollo app, which allows users to browse Reddit on iPhones, may be forced to shut down due to new API pricing terms from Reddit. Christian Selig, the app’s creator, explained that it would now cost him $20 million annually to maintain the operations.
In April, Reddit changed its API policy to limit the number of API requests made by third-party clients like Apollo. According to Selig, Reddit intends to charge approximately $12,000 for every 50 million requests.
Reddit had promised developers that the changes made to API pricing would not affect those building apps to assist users in using Reddit.
“Had a call with Reddit to discuss pricing. Bad news for third-party apps, their announced pricing is close to Twitter’s pricing, and Apollo would have to pay Reddit $20 million per year to keep running as-is,” reads the Reddit post.
However, Selig contradicts Reddit’s comment to protect its forum from firms using excessive internet data to train AI systems. Reddit’s founder and CEO, Steve Huffman, explained in an interview with The New York Times that the company aims to gain financial compensation for its “corpus of data.”
“I’m deeply disappointed in this price,” Selig writes. Although Reddit has been cooperative and respectful during our discussions, Selig says he finds it difficult to comprehend their proposed pricing. It seems completely unrealistic and unfair, adds Selig. “I hope it goes without saying that I don’t have that kind of money or would even know how to charge it to a credit card.”
According to a post on Reddit, the developer was told that 50 million requests will now cost $12,000 under the new API’s terms, which is a much higher figure than he expected.
Limiting app availability to subscribers won’t work due to high user request rates, said Selig. The cost of $2.50 per user per month is more than double the current subscription fee.
“Apollo made 7 billion requests last month, which would put it at about 1.7 million dollars per month, or 20 million US dollars per year,” Selig said.
Apollo users have been expressing their disappointment and frustration about the news. They are accusing Reddit of greed, and some even threaten to leave.
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