Interestingly, Narwhal remained open ahead of Narwhal 2’s release without users having to pay anything. I asked Harrison in June how that was possible, but he said he couldn’t explain due to a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Reddit. I asked again for this story, and Harrison said he couldn’t provide full details but noted, “Reddit was willing to work with me so that I could transition the app to subscriptions in a reasonable timeframe, especially considering it’s not my full-time job.”
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Last year, Reddit sparked massive controversy when it dramatically changed the prices and rules associated with accessing its API.
The changes were so drastic and polarizing that they led to an epic protest from Reddit users and moderators that saw thousands of subreddits going private and engaging in other forms of inconvenience for weeks.
"Unfortunately, due to Reddit now charging for access to their API, Narwhal has been forced to add a subscription in order to use the app.
I asked again for this story, and Harrison said he couldn’t provide full details but noted, “Reddit was willing to work with me so that I could transition the app to subscriptions in a reasonable timeframe, especially considering it’s not my full-time job.”
Keeping both apps open means people who bought Infinity for Reddit+ before July 1 are able to easily continue using it (after paying a subscription fee), Ning explained.
(Infinity for Reddit is still listed as a free install on Google’s Play Store, but users are required to buy a subscription in the app.)
The original article contains 693 words, the summary contains 173 words. Saved 75%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
