Reddit users on iOS devices are not happy with its latest app icon.
The company recently changed its app's iOS icon from the well-known OrangeRed default icon for its 8-bit version - a change nobody asked for.
The iOS app icon change comes after Reddit's new API changes and pricing and the protests that resulted from it.
Reddit's New Clothes?
Reddit has had a wild ride recently. Many third-party apps, subreddits, and their moderators have left the platform thanks to the company's decision to change its API policy and pricing. This change even led to a major outage due to the protests against the change.
However, Reddit is not done changing the app just yet. According to 9to5Mac, the company replaced its default and iconic OrangeRed icon for its 8-bit version, a change that peeved iOS users who prefer to the old one.
Reddit mentioned it is offering two free icon options "for a limited time" for users to see on their iOS device, allowing them to switch the app's icon between the three options. However, these two icons don't look anything like the original. According to Mashable, one is an illustration of the Doge meme simply called "Doge," and the other is the Reddit alien's head with sunglasses and blonde hair in an illustration called Wall Street (in reference to r/WallStreetBets?).
If a user doesn't want either of these free options and really wants to see the original app icon, they'll need to pay the piper.
Reddit's Premium subscription service allows people to choose custom icons for Reddit's iOS app for $7 monthly or $60 annually on iOS devices, thanks to Apple's 3% cut on in-app purchases. However, among these custom icons is Reddit's original OrangeRed icon, meaning that users must pay for a Reddit Premium subscription if they want to see and use Reddit's original icon on their iOS device.
While the change has yet to arrive on Android devices, its mere existence means that it's only a matter of time before the app's Android version will have the 8-bit OrangeRed icon, whether Android users like it or not.
Reddit's Other Unpopular Changes
Aside from its API changes and new pricing, Reddit also made a few more changes to its platform that users don't agree with. It deleted users' chat logs dating back years last week to switch to a new chat infrastructure in its pursuit to empower communities while retiring its Gold awards and coins system without having anything to replace it.
The changes Reddit made to its platform had such a negative impact that companies Minecraft's Mojang Studios left it entirely. According to Mojang developers, they no longer feel that Reddit is an "appropriate place" to post official content.
Third-party app developers for Reddit have also shut down their apps following the API policy changes and its new pricing. These apps include popular ones like Apollo, which would've cost developers $20 million per year due to the 7 billion API requests it receives per month.
