Apollo Now Offers Option to Decline Refund Ahead of June 30 Shutdown

[MacRumors]

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 main API, which provides third-party apps like Apollo with access to the website's data, like posts and comments. Selig said it is understandable for Reddit to begin charging for the API, but he said the pricing is prohibitively expensive and that he was given minimal time to prepare for the change. For these reasons, Apollo is shutting down and will stop working on June 30.

"Reddit recently announced some very, very expensive API prices for developers, and in combination with only providing 30 days to enact the changes, Apollo won't be able to afford continuing beyond Reddit's cutoff date," said Selig.

The latest version of Apollo also includes a new "Goodbye Apollo" wallpaper pack that can be unlocked with a donation, which Selig said will help with refund costs.

"If you want to remember Apollo for years to come after its shut down date, and support its creator one last time, consider checking out the incredible set of Apollo themed wallpapers, created by talented designers who have built Apollo icons over the years," said Selig. There are over 20 wallpapers in the set.

Reddit's decision to begin charging expensive fees for its API has been controversial. Thousands of subreddits were marked as private or restricted earlier this month in protest of the upcoming changes, and some moderators on the site continue to criticize the plans. Despite the backlash, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman has refused to reverse course, and Reddit has threatened to take action against moderators who are uncooperative.

Apollo launched in 2017 and has been downloaded over two million times, according to Selig, who previously interned at Apple. The app closely adheres to Apple's Human Interface Guidelines and is highly regarded for its polished design.

Article Link: Apollo Now Offers Option to Decline Refund Ahead of June 30 Shutdown

 

[zorinlynx]

Holy hell, just the REFUND would be around a quarter million dollars? That's serious money! I can see why Reddit wanted a piece of that pie. It sucks that they utterly refused to negotiate though, because I'm sure if they had a deal would have been struck that could have been profitable for all parties.

It's really frustrating to see companies behaving this way. It used to be that companies would negotiate and work out deals to everyone's satisfaction. Lately it seems to be more "IT'S OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY" and not listening to anyone, even when millions of people are yelling what a horrible idea it is.

 

[applefan69]

Call me unsympathetic but this pity party is pathetic. "The refund is out of pocket", is actually a massive lie. A refund is simply returning funds you collected, I do not care that you spent the money. Personally I call it a big scam taking advantage of the "hate on reddit policy" and "kindness of people". Do not fall for it folks, actively tell this developer to go F himself for even asking. Give your money to a real charity, you owe this stranger nothing. He entered into a business and knew the risks getting in! He also likely enjoyed some very nice reward while the going was good, pathetic is my polite word, don't reward stupid.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

RIP Apollo 🪦. Thank you! You will be missed. 🥀

 

[Macalway]

Greed is good.

 

[GoosePoops]

The end of an era. Apollo was far and away the best 3rd party Reddit client and it will be missed. The official Reddit app is poorly designed and frustrating to use. Their mobile web experience is unusable. Their web experience on desktop is okay, but riddled with issues and so. many. ads. I've been an avid user of Reddit since 2008 and with the loss of Apollo I am doubtful I'll continue to use the site. I deleted Apollo from my phone in support of the protest and much to my surprise I didn't Reddit at all.

 

[applefan69]

Holy hell, just the REFUND would be around a quarter million dollars? That's serious money! I can see why Reddit wanted a piece of that pie. It sucks that they utterly refused to negotiate though, because I'm sure if they had a deal would have been struck that could have been profitable for all parties.

It's really frustrating to see companies behaving this way. It used to be that companies would negotiate and work out deals to everyone's satisfaction. Lately it seems to be more "IT'S OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY" and not listening to anyone, even when millions of people are yelling what a horrible idea it is.

Can you blame Reddit for saying "yah umm.... you are profiting off our intellectual property, so um like we are stopping that". ? It is entirely legitimate stance & frankly every rationale person in this room would have done the same.

I am genuinely mad this developer "thinks" he deserves some form of charity, which he is going to stuff into his fat pockets. Sounds like he has made a lot of money over the years.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

I had to re-download, Not going to lie the "Goodbye Apollo" wallpaper looks very good. 😭

 

[Fidget08]

Call me unsympathetic but this pity party is pathetic. "The refund is out of pocket", is actually a massive lie. A refund is simply returning funds you collected, I do not care that you spent the money. Personally I call it a big scam taking advantage of the "hate on reddit policy" and "kindness of people". Do not fall for it folks, actively tell this developer to go F himself for even asking. Give your money to a real charity, you owe this stranger nothing. He entered into a business and knew the risks getting in! He also likely enjoyed some very nice reward while the going was good, pathetic is my polite word, don't reward stupid.

Yikes take. This guy made one of the best apps ever. Better than whole companies can put out. Does anyone owe this dev anything? Absolutely not. But I also have pity for a guys main source of revenue shutting down seemingly overnight.

 

[Bustycat]

Call me unsympathetic but this pity party is pathetic. "The refund is out of pocket", is actually a massive lie. A refund is simply returning funds you collected, I do not care that you spent the money. Personally I call it a big scam taking advantage of the "hate on reddit policy" and "kindness of people". Do not fall for it folks, actively tell this developer to go F himself for even asking. Give your money to a real charity, you owe this stranger nothing. He entered into a business and knew the risks getting in! He also likely enjoyed some very nice reward while the going was good, pathetic is my polite word, don't reward stupid.

Yeah developers should enjoy being cheated by the big tech companies and get nothing back for their life.

 

[tripsync]

Just FYI: if Apollo's bill is high, look at the bill Reddit is putting up to run the API.

Sorry, but Apollo gets no sympathy from me. And before you even ask, I am an iOS developer and I understand the risks in implementing ANY API.

 

[applefan69]

Yeah developers should enjoy being cheated by the big tech companies and get nothing back for their life.

Business is business. The developer knew the risks when he started, now he is crying because the risks did not work in his favor and you are feeling sorry for him How is that logical? What about the other developers who did carefully chose not to take the risk? I think you just do not understand real life.

 

[ChristianSelig]

As the developer, I just want to say, I don't think you're a bad person or anything if you take the refund, but I do really appreciate the folks who are kind in declining it.

For reference, 30 days ago Reddit was still being very promising with their claims for the API pricing to be equitable and based in reality, and 4 months before that Reddit told me they had no plans to change the API this year, so this level of refund really hit me out of nowhere.

It's a gut punch, and I loved building Apollo, but the kindness and support people have shown over the last few weeks really means a lot in making this easier to swallow, so I genuinely really do appreciate those folks considering declining the refund.

 

[TechGod]

Can you blame Reddit for saying "yah umm.... you are profiting off our intellectual property, so um like we are stopping that". ? It is entirely legitimate stance & frankly every rationale person in this room would have done the same.

I am genuinely mad this developer "thinks" he deserves some form of charity, which he is going to stuff into his fat pockets. Sounds like he has made a lot of money over the years.

You need to stop getting worked up. This developer provided an excellent app and if people want to support him, they can.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Guess it's time to delete my Reddit account.
**** u/Spez

 

[applefan69]

Yikes take. This guy made one of the best apps ever. Better than whole companies can put out. Does anyone owe this dev anything? Absolutely not. But I also have pity for a guys main source of revenue shutting down seemingly overnight.

That does not change the reality of business. He got his reward while the going was good, now it is time to find something else. This is life. Why would anyone give even a second of pity for this person? I do not care "how good his app was", that is irrelevant. He took on a business risk, the risk did not work in his favor, now he lives with consequences. End of story. Dont drag yourself down with him.

 

[TMRJIJ]

Can you blame Reddit for saying "yah umm.... you are profiting off our intellectual property, so um like we are stopping that".

What intellectual property? The users provide the content.

 

[zorinlynx]

As the developer, I just want to say, I don't think you're a bad person or anything if you take the refund, but I do really appreciate the folks who are kind in declining it.

For reference, 30 days ago Reddit was still being very promising with their claims for the API pricing to be equitable and based in reality, and 4 months before that Reddit told me they had no plans to change the API this year, so this level of refund really hit me out of nowhere.

It's a gut punch, and I loved building Apollo, but the kindness and support really means a lot so I genuinely really do appreciate those folks considering it.

I had an old lifetime sub, so this doesn't apply to me, but if I had a subscription I probably would have declined a refund.

Some other people in this thread don't seem to understand that in the end it's just a few dollars for each of us users but collectively for you it's a large amount of money that you were counting on. Think of it as a tip for providing such a great app experience over the years.

Seriously, if you don't want to decline the refund, then don't. Nobody will think less of you for it. There's no need to be a jerk about it though.

 

[applefan69]

What intellectual property? The users provide the content.

Well then if it is so easy why not start your own competitor to reddit?

 

[TMRJIJ]

I am genuinely mad this developer "thinks" he deserves some form of charity, which he is going to stuff into his fat pockets. Sounds like he has made a lot of money over the years.

Because you and a few others are very much misinformed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/apolloapp/comments/14dkqrw

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Guess it's time to delete my Reddit account.
**** u/Spez

Uhhh… you should have done this long time ago. 🤨

 

[applefan69]

As the developer, I just want to say, I don't think you're a bad person or anything if you take the refund, but I do really appreciate the folks who are kind in declining it.

For reference, 30 days ago Reddit was still being very promising with their claims for the API pricing to be equitable and based in reality, and 4 months before that Reddit told me they had no plans to change the API this year, so this level of refund really hit me out of nowhere.

It's a gut punch, and I loved building Apollo, but the kindness and support people have shown over the last few weeks really means a lot in making this easier to swallow, so I genuinely really do appreciate those folks considering declining the refund.

So why not publish your revenue numbers so we can all feel even more sorry for you? I am sure you took a terrible loss overall . . . . . . .

 

[tripsync]

You need to stop getting worked up. This developer provided an excellent app and if people want to support him, they can.

which he's been profiting off of the hard work Reddit put in without paying a dime to Reddit.

perhaps there should be a button instead of cancelling a refund, it should be donated to reddit.

 

[Apple Fan 2008]

Holy hell, just the REFUND would be around a quarter million dollars? That's serious money! I can see why Reddit wanted a piece of that pie. It sucks that they utterly refused to negotiate though, because I'm sure if they had a deal would have been struck that could have been profitable for all parties.

It's really frustrating to see companies behaving this way. It used to be that companies would negotiate and work out deals to everyone's satisfaction. Lately it seems to be more "IT'S OUR WAY OR THE HIGHWAY" and not listening to anyone, even when millions of people are yelling what a horrible idea it is.

Yeah, at the very least Reddit could've bought out Apollo.

 

[Frozonecold]

It's a bit surprising to see so many people piling on this developer. In the last month he found out his primary revenue stream was going to be cut off imminently, and then the CEO of Reddit posts libelous attacks on him (discredited by the recordings shared by Christian). Now, he's essentially saying to the app users "You can have your money back or not" and somehow he's a jerk?