Why have Reddit communities gone dark? Indefinite closure of subreddits explored

Reddit users are on strike, with 6,292 out of 7,265 subreddits declaring a "blackout" for the next 48 hours starting this Monday. This means only users that moderators choose will be able to view the content posted on the website. For others, the pages will be inaccessible. This is about 85% of the social media platform's 2.6 billion user base. The blackout is a protest against the platform's changes in policy and the inclusion of a hefty price for access to its underlying API.

Since Reddit is a popular social media app, fans and developers developed hundreds of third-party apps that use posts and modify them as users want. Most of these apps were developed by solo devs who don't have the means to pay the sum to the social media platform.

Don't Let Reddit Kill 3rd Party Apps! by u/Toptomcat in Save3rdPartyApps

Major communities that are already private include r/funny, r/aww, r/gaming, and r/science. The number of subreddits that went private is jumping by the hour, with over 1,000 declaring their support just this morning.

The site's user base seems to resonate with the inconvenience these developers might have faced. Thus, they are effectively shutting down access to their forums and posts for 48 hours, jeopardizing the platform's reach and usability.

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How this strike might persuade Reddit to reconsider its decision

Reddit's entire operation is based on the content its users share in its forums and communities. Other than this, the platform has zero value. The social media platform's rise to fame was powered by this excess investment in what users have to share and what others in the community think about a particular post, unlike how Facebook and YouTube operate.

Thus, this massive strike will bring the platform's revenue to its shambles. Unless most of the content is back online and public, it will be like a graveyard. The social media platform is poised to lose tons of ad revenue because of the protests.

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Multiple apps are shutting down because of the policy changes

The platform's latest policy changes were announced on May 31, 2023. Thus, developers get a short 30-day period before the new charges take effect.

Multiple apps like Apollo, Reddit is Fun, Narwhal, and BaconReader have already expressed concerns about staying sustainable. It is worth noting that API calls are entirely free as of now. The company is planning to charge them heftily starting July 1, 2023.

📣 Apollo will close down on June 30th. Reddit’s recent decisions and actions have unfortunately made it impossible for Apollo to continue. Thank you so, so much for all the support over the years. ❤️ by u/iamthatis in apolloapp

Apollo developers have announced they will take their app down on June 30. The social media platform has countercharged that Apollo has tried to blackmail the company, which Selig posted against. The new charges on API calls would render the app a money-losing business, prompting it to shut down all of its services.