Nuked Hey there, my fellow tech enthusiasts! It’s Nuked, and I’ve got some interesting news for you today. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman recently claimed that the developer of RIF, a popular third-party Reddit app for Android, did not want to work with Reddit on the company’s planned API pricing changes. However, the developer, Andrew Shu, has shared emails with The Verge that suggest otherwise. Let’s dive into the details.
During an interview with Huffman, he was asked if Reddit could give developers more time to implement the API changes. Huffman responded by saying that they were working with everyone who was willing to work with them and that three third-party apps had said they didn’t want to work with Reddit and were shutting down. However, according to emails seen by The Verge, it was clear that the two sides did actually talk.
The conversation did not start well as Reddit had trouble getting in touch with Shu. Reddit sent an email on April 25th stating that they had made repeated attempts to contact him using all methods of contact. Shu responded and they exchanged a few emails about scheduling a call. On May 1st, Reddit followed up from the call to recap the discussion, which included notes that ads in apps wouldn’t be allowed beginning June 19th — effectively killing RIF’s business model and giving Shu little time to pivot to a new one.
Shu replied a few hours later to push back on the proposed changes and expressed his disappointment with Reddit’s demanding attitude so far in this overall conversation. He suggested that the two sides should start over and said that he is willing to work with Reddit. On May 30th, Reddit reached out again to offer a follow-up call with “some updates.” However, given that Apollo developer Christian Selig had gone public with his expected $20 million per year costs for the app, Shu replied, “given the info is public, I don’t see a phone call being productive. Please let me know when there is any new information to share that hasn’t been made public.”
Both Shu and Selig believe that paying for API use is a fair request, but they take issue with the pricing and the company’s rollout of the changes. Shu also tells me that RIF was paying a “sizable revenue share” to Reddit beginning in 2012, which was during Yishan Wong’s tenure as CEO. Shu says he initiated the talks with Reddit to create the agreement, which allowed for the licensed use of Reddit’s trademarks. Shu says Reddit terminated the agreement in 2016 — which was the year after Huffman took over as CEO.
Thursday’s interview is not the only time Huffman has allegedly taken an aggressive stance toward third-party developers. In his announcement that he would be shutting down Apollo, Selig claimed that Huffman told Reddit mods that Selig “threatened” the company. Regardless, Huffman hasn’t been pleased with Selig and his behavior and communications with Reddit has been all over the place — saying one thing to us while saying something completely different externally; recording and leaking a private phone call — to the point where I don’t know how we could do business with him.”
In conclusion, it seems like there’s some miscommunication between Reddit and its third-party developers. While both sides agree that paying for API use is reasonable, they need to come to an agreement on pricing and rollout. Let’s hope they can find a way to work together and create a win-win-win solution for everyone involved: Reddit, developers, and most importantly, users.
