Reddit will soon start charging for access to its API

Following a similar move by Elon Musk-owned Twitter, social media company Reddit announced on Tuesday that it will soon begin charging for access to its API.

‘’To ensure developers have the tools and information they need to continue to use Reddit safely, protect our users’ privacy and security, and adhere to local regulations, we’re making updates to the ways some can access the Reddit Data API,’’ the company said in its announcement post.

‘’We are introducing a new premium access point for third parties who require additional capabilities, higher usage limits, and broader usage rights,’’ it added. ‘’Our Reddit Data API will still be open for reasonable and appropriate use cases and accessible via our Developer Platform, which is designed to help developers improve the core Reddit experience.’’

According to The New York Times, the API will continue to be available at no cost to developers building apps and bots to help users make use of Reddit, and researchers planning to study the platform for academic or noncommercial reasons.

But, Reddit’s co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Huffman said that those who use Reddit’s data without providing any value to users in return will now be required to pay a fee, which hasn’t been disclosed yet.

“The Reddit corpus of data is really valuable,” he added. “More than any other place on the internet, Reddit is a home for authentic conversation. There’s a lot of stuff on the site that you’d only ever say in therapy, or AA, or never at all … But we don’t need to give all of that value to some of the largest companies in the world for free.”

In addition to the change, Reddit also announced that it’s building new tools for moderators, and that it wants to integrate more artificial intelligence (AI) into its platform, including the ability to detect AI-generated text on Reddit and attaching a label to inform users when a comment may have originated from a bot. 

TechCrunch notes that the driving force behind the change in Reddit’s API policies is likely to be its shareholders. Since the company is reportedly planning to go public in the second half of this year, growing its revenue or creating new sources could significantly drive more interest from investors.

In an effort to scale its ad business, the company also announced earlier this week that it’s expanding its Independent Agency program with Horizon Media, PMG, and Wpromote.