Many Reddit users are lamenting the June 30 shutdown of third-party apps like Apollo for Reddit, Rifle is Fun for Reddit (RIF), and BaconReader, but one popular Reddit app will still be around: Narwhal for Reddit.
“Narwhals aren’t going anywhere on July 1st,” Narwhal creator Rick Harrison, who goes to Reddit, wrote in a post on the r/getnarwhal subreddit. “It will continue to work as it has for years (except it won’t have any ads).” Many popular apps are shutting down because their developers can’t afford the high API fees, they won’t be allowed to include ads in their apps, and because of the removal of porn.
Registration can be between $3 and $7
However, Narwhal will be changing the line. “In the next few months,” Harrison said, they will add subscriptions as part of “Narwal 2” to pay for the new usage of Reddit’s API. A “probable” subscription will cost between $4 and $7 per month.
For Narwhal fans, this change should come as a relief – especially since Harrison was not optimistic about the future of the program earlier this month. In an email to Seasidehe explained more about how he will keep the program alive.
“The biggest thing that changed between the beginning of June and now is the transition,” says Harrison. “The narwhal is changing too much to keep up.” Harrison confirmed that every user will need to register to use the app, although “there will be” a thirty to sixty minute trial when you first download the app. He said that Narwhal 2 represents a “complete rewrite,” with an updated interface and new functionality.
As for the money, they multiply “per user, so I don’t need anything,” says Harrison. And they plan to measure API calls per user over the next few weeks to help determine the final cost of subscriptions. However, Harrison declined to comment on whether he had a deal with Reddit. Reddit spokesman Tim Rathschmidt said the company does not disclose business negotiations or contracts.
(If Harrison were to make a deal, it would be the first freelance app I’m aware of that has partnered with Reddit; developers Apollo and RIF have both pushed back on Reddit’s claims that they didn’t want to work with the company.)
Narwhal isn’t the only app that can be slow. The creator of Reddit’s MultiTab said it is increasing the subscription price of the app to $2.99 a month or $6.99 a year. A few weeks ago, the developer of the Android app Infinity for Reddit said that he wanted to make it a subscription-only app, and he reiterated that it was an option that he discussed with DM and. Seaside Thursday. They try to sign up for $3, but they said that if things don’t work out and the app has to be removed from Google Play, users will be able to access it from GitHub.
The creator of Relay for Reddit said earlier this month that the app may survive but with a paid subscription. And RedReader, Dystopia, and Luna will still be available after receiving the detected threats. If I have missed any other programs that you can still use after June 30, please email me at jay.peters@theverge.com.
Although there will be several third-party options, the loss of major features such as Apollo and RIF will be a problem for long-time users of the software. Depending on when you are reading this, however, you may have more time to spend. Apollo programmer Christian Selig says Seaside plans to shut down the program a few hours before July 1. RIF developer Andrew Shu plans to end the program after 11:59PM PT on June 30.
Update June 29, 10:57PM ET: Added comment from Reddit.
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