Reddit Restricts Mature Content Access for Third-Party Applications

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.

The Implementation of Content Restrictions

“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 in an announcement last month. This change will not impact any moderator bots or extensions.

Now, NSFW content is unviewable on mobile devices unless users are logged in on the official Reddit app. 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.

Moderator Revolt and Community Impact

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. 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. 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.

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 (and it’s not all porn—NSFW can also include sex education, harm reduction, and conversations about sexuality and gender).

Strategic Context and Data Summary

Regarding the history of these restrictions, in 2016, Apple removed a series of Reddit apps because they allowed NSFW content in violation of the App Store’s terms of service. This most recent move by Reddit is also the latest to make accessing NSFW content on Reddit from smartphones far more difficult. 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.

Key Data Regarding API and Access Changes:

  • Effective Date: July 5, 2023
  • Policy Change: Limited access to mature content via Data API
  • Affected Software: Third-party apps like Narwhal and mobile browsers
  • Primary Requirement: Users must log in via the official Reddit app to see NSFW content
  • Corporate Goal: Reported preparation to take the company public

“It’s a constant fight to keep this content at all,” Huffman said in June. “We are going to keep it. But 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.” Reddit has long been one of the few places online where explicit content has mostly been allowed to thrive. But these decisions by Huffman and 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.