How to Patch Reddit Apps to Keep Working After the API Update

Reddit made a lot of news this year with updated pricing to access its API. One developer came out and said it would could them $20 million a year for them to keep going. Understandably, this change ended up killing most 3rd-party apps but there’s a workaround we can use that will get them back up and running again.

With Reddit going public this year, the company has been looking for ways to increase profits. But even after all of this, the company’s valuation continues to drop in the eyes of its investors.

As of July 1st 2023, most 3rd-party applications that access Reddit have ceased to work. There has been some exceptions made for applications that include sight/hearing accessibility features. However, the rest simply will not be able to display anything new from the website.

But there’s a way we can patch some of the more popular 3rd-party apps including Sync, Boost, RIF, BaconReader, Infinity, and Relay. It doesn’t cost anything. . .it does not require you to have root access to your device. . .and it can be setup in less than 10 minutes.

Generate a Client ID

To start, we first need to create a Client ID code with your personal Reddit account. This is required for us to patch the application so that it will work again. As of right now, Reddit is not charging its users for apps that are being used with the client ID they create with their own account. We can create this by. . .

1. Visiting the Reddit Apps page.
2. Click the Create an App button.
3. Decide on a name for the application.
4. Choose the Installed App option.
5. And enter the Redirect URI that corresponds with the 3rd-party application of your choice.
6. Then click the Create App button at the bottom.

We can leave the Description field and the About URI field blank as they do not have anything to do with the Client ID that we’re creating. We only have to enter an app name (I choose the name “Relay” for the one I created) and then enter the Redirect URI that matches the app we want to use.

Here’s a list of Redirect URIs that I’ve been able to find so far. . .

• Sync for Reddit
  • http://redditsync/auth
• Boost for Reddit
  • http://rubenmayayo.com
• Reddit is Fun (RIF)
  • redditisfun://auth
• Relay for Reddit
  • dbrady://relay
• BaconReader
  • http://baconreader.com/auth
• Infinity
  • infinity://localhost

Create the TXT File

Now that you have created the Client ID using your own personal Reddit account, we need to create a TXT file. It doesn’t matter if this is done on your PC and then transferred over to your Android device or if it created directly on the device itself.

You should see the newly created Client ID as a string of 22 random letters/numbers on that Reddit Apps page that we were just at. It is displayed under the name of the application you just created. This string of letters and/or numbers needs to be copied and then pasted into the TXT file that was just created.

Then this text document needs to be saved and named reddit_client_id_revanced.txt.

It has to be labeled exactly this and it then needs to be stored in the root directory of your Android smartphone or tablet. This is important since ReVanced Manager will be looking for this file in this exact location in order to patch the 3rd-party Reddit app with your own Client ID. Make sure this is not saved in the Downloads folder or any other location. It needs to be saved in the Internal Storage or Internal Memory of your device (aka the root directory).

3rd-Party Reddit App APK

You will also need to download the APK file of the 3rd-party Reddit application that you want to use. This APK file needs to be saved to your smartphone or tablet so that ReVanced Manager is able to load it into memory and patch it for you.

Note: For the patched version of the APK to work, the app must NOT be installed on your device. So if you’re wanting to use a patched version of Sync for Reddit then you have to uninstall the version you have right now.

I personally go to the website APKMirror when I want to download an unmodified version of an APK file found in the Google Play Store. You can download your copy from any source that you trust. But I will be linking to the source that I trust in this article.

• Sync for Reddit
• Boost for Reddit
• Relay for Reddit
• RIF for Reddit
• BaconReader
• Infinity for Reddit

Once you have downloaded the APK file make sure it is not installed. If you have the app installed, the patched version cannot be installed on top of it. You will get an error message if you try. The unpatched version of the app needs to be uninstalled if you have it on your smartphone or tablet right now.

Download and Setup ReVanced Manager

With all of this setup, the next step is to download and install ReVanced Manager (if you don’t already have it on your device). The recommended place to download this applications from its official GitHub repository.

Once installed, open it up and grant the app access to your internal storage. You will then be prompted to grant it the ability to install APK files, so allow that as well. Lastly, you will see a message telling you that you should allow the app to run in the background. So tap Allow so that ReVanced Manager can bypass Android’s battery optimization feature. That way your operating system does not kill it in the background.

We can then patch the APK file by following these steps. . .

1. Tap the Patcher tab at the bottom.
2. Choose the Select an Application option.
3. Then tap the floating Storage button.
4. Find and select the 3rd-party Reddit app APK file.
5. Then choose the Select Patches option.
6. Make sure the Change Oauth Client ID patch is selected.
7. Press the Patch button to begin the process.
8. And either install the app from here, or tap the 3-dot menu icon and export the patched APK file.

If you want, the patched APK file can be installed directly from within ReVanced Manager. However, if you want to use this 3rd-party Reddit application on multiple device then it is advised to export the modified APK file first. You can then manually sideload the app on your main device before sending it to your other smartphones or tablets that you own. I know many people who use Reddit on their tablet and smartphone so this can save you some time.

Just be aware, you will see a prompt from Google Play Protect when you try to install this patched APK file.

This is normal and it is completely safe for you to install it anyway. Google Play Protect is just warning you that the file has been modified but we already know this.

Video Demonstration

Conclusion

I understand why the people behind Reddit wanted to make this pricing change for their API. It costs money to manage the hardware and labor responsible for the API.

However, I disagree with how they went about this. Not only do I think the prices they launched with are too expensive but the way they have treated their users and the 3rd-party developers is unfair. Many moderators use these 3rd-party apps to manage their subreddit and Reddit does not pay them at all.

Reddit will also claim that these prices are required in order to reign in on some of the AI startups that are using their data for free to train their models. However, I do not feel that this data belongs to Reddit. The company may try to claim ownership with their Terms of Service. But again, this is data from their millions of users. Data that they themselves do not pay for.

So I have no issue with sharing this method here today.

Using this guide, you can mod your favorite 3rd-party Reddit applications for Android so that they will continue to work. I wouldn’t be surprised if the people behind Reddit try to eliminate this workaround by charging its users for access to the Client ID system. But we’ll deal with this if that ever happens.

For now, feel free to follow this tutorial to fix the Reddit app of your choice.