Screenshot by Jay Peters / The Verge After a month of outrage, protests, and unrest from the community, Reddit has finally flipped the switch to shut down some third-party apps. Apollo, an iOS app that became a rallying point for the recent protests against Reddit’s imminent API pricing, no longer loads any content from the platform. When I open it up, all I see is a spinning wheel. Developer Christian Selig confirmed to me that Reddit is the one that turned things off, not him: “would have been nice to have been given a time,” he says in an email to The Verge. Well, looks like Reddit pulled the plug a little early. Apollo started crashing, but I just manually…

Popular third-party Reddit app Apollo was updated today with an option for users to decline a refund for their remaining subscription time ahead of the app shutting down. Users who do not exercise this option will automatically receive a pro-rated refund. "If you've been happy with the service I've provided over the years, please consider declining the refund as they are refunded out-of-pocket," said Apollo developer Christian Selig, who previously estimated that the refunds could cost him around $250,000. "It's been the pleasure of a lifetime building Apollo for you over the last nine years. I thank you so much for your kindness, input, and generosity over the years." Starting on July 1, Reddit plans to begin charging for its…

Reddit threatened multiple moderators of subreddits, after they made the decision to remain closed as a continuing protest against the upcoming API charges that killed the popular third-party app Apollo. Effectively, they have been told that the subreddit will be taken away from them unless they re-open. Additionally, Reddit is forcing rule changes that are likely to reduce the quality of posts … more… The post Reddit threatened protesting moderators: Subreddits ‘cannot remain closed’ appeared first on 9to5Mac.

A ransomware group that hacked into Reddit's servers back in February is threatening to release stolen data if Reddit does not walk back its planned API changes, reports Bleeping Computer (via The Verge). At the time of the hack, no one took credit, but ransomware group BlackCat yesterday said that it was responsible. 80GB of compressed data was stolen through a phishing attack, and BlackCat says that the data will be made public unless Reddit pays $4.5 million and withdraws the API pricing changes that will go into effect on July 1. The group claims to have "interesting confidential data" that includes information on how Reddit tracks users and censors people. BlackCat does not anticipate Reddit cooperating, and says that…

The Apple subreddit has reopened under duress after a protest about API fees was squashed by threats from the company's CEO to remove the moderation teams of closed subreddits.Reddit coerces mods to reopen subredditsReddit's Data API was updated in April, introducing a premium access tier for developers that offered additional features, increased usage limits, and expanded usage rights. These modifications were met with considerable resistance. Read more...

The Apple subreddit has reopened under duress after a protest about API fees was squashed by threats from the company's CEO to remove the moderation teams of closed subreddits.Reddit coerces mods to reopen subredditsReddit's Data API was updated in April, introducing a premium access tier for developers that offered additional features, increased usage limits, and expanded usage rights. These modifications were met with considerable resistance. Read more...