What you need to know
- A massive group of subreddits are protesting Reddit by 'going dark' for at least 48 hours.
- Multiple Microsoft and Windows-focused subreddits are shut down temporarily as part of the Reddit Blackout.
- The protests are in response to Reddit increasing the cost of accessing its APIs, which has widespread effects on third-party apps, bots, and moderating content on the platform.
If you logged onto Reddit this morning, you likely noticed your timeline looks very different. Several of the biggest subreddits and hundreds of smaller ones are currently protesting in what's called the "Reddit Blackout." The protest involves subreddits shutting down from June 12, 2023 for 48 hours. Some have committed to staying blacked out longer.
Several Microsoft and Windows-related subreddits are part of the protest, including r/Windows, r/Windows11, and r/Windows10. The r/windowsinsiders, r/WindowsHelp, and r/MicrosoftTeams subreddits are also dark right now. Some communities, including r/Microsoft, are not part of the protest.
The protests are in response to Reddit increasing the cost of accessing its APIs. The price change resulted in the death of many popular third-party Reddit apps, including Apollo and Reddit is Fun.
Twitter user @FullMetaDuchess shared a graphic that runs through the context of Reddit's actions and the resulting protest.
This is a good explainer for what's happening with #RedditBlackout but it's also over 2000 words! I've put the tl;dr part in the alt text section, and then the full text in the rest of the thread. pic.twitter.com/xzWc1iHEPOJune 12, 2023
Third-party apps provide a wide range of features and functionality that are not available through the official Reddit apps. For example, Reddit does not support features for those who are visually impaired.
Many moderators use third-party apps because they offer functionality that is not available through the official Reddit apps, such as fighting spam, captioning images, and managing subreddits.
Due to the Reddit Blackout, Microsoft and Windows-related news from the community may slow down a bit for a couple of days. Enthusiasts often turn to Reddit to share advice, ask for help, and break news.
We'll keep our finger on the pulse of Windows and Microsoft news through all the channels that are still live, so you don't miss any big stories during the Reddit Blackout.
