Exploring Reddit’s third-party app environment 7 months after the APIcalypse

Article note: I stopped engaging with Reddit from mobile devices, and cut down significantly on my overall use. I'll still browse old reddit from a fully blockered-up browser on a computer when I'm idle in front of one, and only comment rarely on things I have specialist knowledge on. The content that _does_ show up on Reddit has not seemed as good of late, either. Unfortunately, Lemmy doesn't seem to be hitting critical mass, I'd prefer it if everyone just moved on and left the parasitic commercial platforms to die.

Enlarge (credit: Getty)

Last year, Reddit sparked massive controversy when it dramatically changed the prices and rules associated with accessing its API. The changes were so drastic and polarizing that they led to an epic protest from Reddit users and moderators that saw thousands of subreddits going private and engaging in other forms of inconvenience for weeks. Things got ugly, but Reddit still ushered in the changes, resulting in mounds of third-party Reddit apps announcing their permanent closure.

It's been about seven months since the changes, so I wanted to see what Reddit's third-party app ecosystem looks like now. Are surviving third-party Reddit apps that started charging users making money? Are developers confident they'll be able to keep their apps open for the long term?

And some apps are still available despite not charging a subscription fee. How is that possible?