The public deadline for the Reddit API changes is July 1. Popular third-party client Apollo is one of the casualties, and just released its swan song update asking users to decline a refund on their outstanding subscriptions. Many other clients are also shuttering in two days time, with API usage costs set to skyrocket.
However, the developer of popular third-party client Narwhal Rick Harrison posted a surprise announcement that goes against the trend, saying that Narwhal will be able to continue operating (after originally stating that it would have to close down). A major new version, Narwhal 2, is also apparently coming soon and will be funded exclusively by a subscription pricing model.
For most third-party apps, they are basically forced to close down as they face impending short-term costs with no buffer zone to transition users to a different business model.
For instance, Apollo developer Christian Selig previously said that he faced $50,000/month in fees from next month, and that it would be cheaper for him to close down the app altogether and refund existing paid users. If Reddit had given him more than 30 days to transition existing users to a new pricing structure, it is possible a solution could have been found to keep the app going.
Rick Harrison, developer of Narwhal, appears to have to come to some kind of special agreement with Reddit that avoids incurring exorbitant charges beginning July 1.
In a previous update, he had said that the planned Reddit API fees would cost him $1 million to $2 million annually – an obviously unsustainable affair. At the time, he floated a compromise where Reddit would zero-rate his API usage as long as he himself made no money from the app.
It has not been explicitly confirmed if that request was granted by Reddit, but it does seem like something like that has been arranged. As part of the latest announcement, Harrison said the currently shipping Narwhal will no longer show advertising, removing the main source of Narwhal revenue.
In contrast, the developer said that Narwhal 2 will only be available to paying subscribers, with an estimated price of $4-$7 per month to cover the Reddit API fees. There may also be a way for heavy users to top up their plan to pay for more monthly API requests.
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