Reddit has made big changes this year. In April, it announced new fees would be coming.
These fees weren’t for users, but for the makers of the apps that let you browse through the Reddit platform without using Reddit’s app or web page.
The plans led to the shuttering of most third-party Reddit apps, including community favourite Apollo. However, one remains. It’s called Narwhal and is available for iOS devices.
Narwhal plans to charge its users a monthly fee in order to be able to continue to exist. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Narwhal app?
Narwhal is one of the few third-party Reddit apps that has not closed down following the platform’s announcement it would charge apps to use the network’s APIs.
These APIs are what let apps interact with Reddit. No APIs, no app.
It offers a different interface for the Reddit platform and features. It’s a new look and feel to what is the same user-generated content underneath. Y’know, the stuff people browse Reddit to see.
Does the app work at the moment?
“Narwhal is not going anywhere on July 1st,” said Narwhal’s creator on Reddit before these charges were brought in.
Narwhal is one of the few third-party Reddit apps that did not go dark when charges for third-party app makers were introduced.
Instead, Narwhal 2 was released at the end of September, a version of the app that could incorporate a subscription model.
That’s right, you will (eventually) have to pay to use Narwhal. It will cost $3.99 a month, equivalent to around £3.24 at the time of writing.
When is the subscription change happening?
Reddit introduced fees in July 2023, but if you’re talking about the Narwhal subscription, it is expected any day now.
At present, there are “tip jar” payments, available as in-app microtransactions. But, on October 9, the developer behind Narwhal made an announcement about plans following the launch.
“Narwhal is going to start out with a single subscription plan for $3.99/month,” they wrote.
“For less than the price of Reddit Premium, everyone will get an ad-free, privacy-focused Narwhal that I will continuously improve over time.”
Reddit Premium costs $5.99 a month, equivalent to around £4.87. The concept is to undercut Reddit itself while, with any luck, still earning the developer some earnings.
