Reddit API Changes and the Restriction of NSFW Content on Third-Party Apps

Last month, Reddit announced it would limit access to mature content through its API as part of changes to access and new, exorbitant fees for third-party app developers. Reddit said that the changes to API access would begin on July 5, and porn was still visible on third-party apps such as Narwhal until then. Now, NSFW content is unviewable on mobile devices unless users are logged in on the official Reddit app.

The Impact on Third-Party Applications

As of Thursday, visiting a NSFW subreddit on the app Narwhal shows a message that directs users to get the official Reddit app and confirm they’re over 18 years of age. Reddit making NSFW inaccessible on the few remaining third party apps that have not yet shut down is a major blow for those apps’ usability and utility. It’s also a signal that Reddit is hell-bent on eventually forcing all users to its own official app, because NSFW content is a large part of Reddit.

Official Rationale for Mature Content Guardrails

“Effective July 5, 2023, we will limit access to mature content via our Data API as part of an ongoing effort to provide guardrails to how explicit content and communities on Reddit are discovered and viewed,” Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman wrote under his u/spez username. Huffman also stated: “The regulatory environment has gotten much stricter about adult content, and as a result we have to be strict / conservative about where it shows up.” This change will not impact any moderator bots or extensions.

Moderator Revolt and Community Protests

Moderators, who are unpaid volunteers helping enforce Reddit’s community guidelines, have been in revolt since April when the platform announced the new API rules. In June, hundreds of subreddits went dark in protest of the API access changes, setting their communities to private and therefore unviewable to everyone except approved members. Many mods use third-party apps to keep their communities safe and useful for members; these third-party apps are often easier to use and less buggy in comparison to Reddit’s official app.

• After the multi-day blackout, many mods kept the protest going by setting their previously safe-for-work subreddits to NSFW.
• Advertisements aren’t allowed to run on NSFW subreddits.
• In response, Reddit administrators removed mods from their own subreddits and left many of the protesting subs without any mods.

Historical Context and Future Outlook

This most recent move by Reddit is also the latest to make accessing NSFW content on Reddit from smartphones far more difficult. In 2016, Apple removed a series of Reddit apps because they allowed NSFW content in violation of the App Store’s terms of service. Furthermore, Reddit also does not allow NSFW content to be viewed from its mobile website; when trying to view a NSFW subreddit, users are directed to use the official app.

Summary of Key Events

Reddit’s leadership, which reportedly want to take the company public in the near future, means it’s joining the many mainstream social media platforms that’s closing the walls around sex online.