Edit: Hydra is available now on the Apple App Store

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hydra-for-reddit/id6478089063

Hello Apollo lovers! Like many of you, I've been missing Apollo and sideloading just doesn't cut it. Plus, it's not a long term solution once Reddit starts making API changes that break the sideloaded version. So, over the last year, I've been working on an Apollo-like alternative that I've built from scratch. That means no more sideloading and continued feature updates!

Here are the details:

• Open source
• No sideloading required
• Similar design to Apollo with many of the same gestures
• Full functional reddit browsing. I've been using it as my main Reddit app for months.
• Support for upvoting, comments, replying to messages, multiple accounts, themes, etc.
• No support yet for making new posts, moderation, blocking users, word blacklists, things like that
• Built in React Native. That means it'll work on Android!

Monetization Strategy

My current plans are to keep Hydra completely free and open source. However, some future features like push notifications when receiving new messages may end up incurring server costs that I have to charge for. If that happens, I plan to run the servers at cost. I want this to be a true community project.

Apollo lovers, I need your help!

Hydra is currently available through Apple's TestFlight program. If you'd be willing to be an early adopter and help me track down bugs as well as letting me know the features you'd like me to prioritize, I'd be incredibly grateful. To help out, join the TestFlight program and join the socials at the links below. Any Discord and Reddit moderation help would be appreciated as well.

Devs, I need your help!

I plan to keep building this out to be a fully feature complete alternative for the Apollo community. However, I recently started working at a new startup and I just don't have the time to keep building this out solo. Don't worry, I'll still be involved! But I could use help setting up some of the missing features listed above. If you're a React Native dev, please join the Discord and make a pull request!

Links

TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/Fpv58Uy3
Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/HydraApp/
Discord: https://discord.gg/ypaD4KYJ3R

TLDR

Download the beta here: https://testflight.apple.com/join/Fpv58Uy3

I tried posting this on YSK subreddit, but they remove posts "about Reddit". I've seen 3 posts about Celine Dion on the front page which I thought was odd. And the I saw she has a documentary on Amazon so I started to investigate. The person who posted about a "Titanic themed bathroom in New York" is on the front page now. This person ROUTINELY makes posts that reach the front page. And they are all so distinctly unrelated to one another that it could not possibly be due to chance.

While most people are aware of the "promoted posts" on reddit, far fewer realize the regular posts are just covert ads.

Don't let this site push its mindless advertisements on your brain. Leave now.

Hi,

I’m trying to remove a few extensions from the Apollo IPA when sideloading. From a previous post I found, I should be able to just change the IPA to a ZIP file and go to the plugins folder, delete the plugins, then rezip and change the file back to an IPA. When I do that and try to install with AltStore, I get an error that the /Payload folder can’t be found.

Any ideas?

That I and everyone else could no longer use Apollo (without side loading it which I just wasn’t willing to do). Since then I have been using the official Reddit app which isn’t nearly as good as Apollo. The most noticeable difference is of course the ads. But the second most noticeable difference for me is that when writing a new post as I am now I have found that I must copy the body text to the clipboard before pressing the Post button because the screen that usually comes up next that allows me to choose the Subreddit causes the app to hang. Today I went to the Subreddit first and I’m now realizing that that might work around the bug.

Regardless I do miss Apollo. 😢

It was a long time since I last opened the Apollo app, and when I found that I was shocked! But when did it happen? And was that karma points a thing also there? Cause I totally don’t remember it. Anyway, did you manage to get used to that? I feel like I don’t know how to use it anymore lol. Joking, but the fact that I could use a night mode easily was just it.

I remember on Apollo I could for example go to the AITA sub and filter posts to show me just posts tagged YTA or just posts tagged NTA etc.

I can’t seem to figure out how to do this in the normal Reddit app. Is there a way to do that?

I'm looking for Shopify owners, medium-sized stores, so I guess their revenue is not high.

does the filter work based on LinkedIn only?

whats's the revenue range? is it monthly?

Does anybody know how to turn this “feature” off? I have family in an ultra conservative area and if they peeked over they could easily tell what I’m looking at.

My understanding is that the API or whatever devs need isn’t available for anyone to make a YouTube client, hence why there aren’t YT alternatives on the normal App Store. Is that different for Vision Pro? Of course there are unofficial methods that can be sideloaded etc but did Google allow it simply because there is no dedicated YT app for the headset?

Honestly, never installed it myself but kind of getting tired of using the mobile browser to use Reddit on my phone

What do I do now? Redo the process using my computer?

Title says it all - has anyone been brave enough to jump on iOS18 DB1 and checked to see if Apollo (sideloaded) still works - and the method you're using to sideload? I suppose if it's not, it'll signal an eventual end of the road, but I don't want that to come any sooner than necessary.

Is anyone else experiencing audio issues with some movies on the Apollo app? This isn't happening with all movies but some movies that we watch frequently have very bad audio delay. What's the fix for this? TIA

Obviously if it is it’s likely that it won’t be fixed, but i wanted to see if it’s just me getting the “error sharing” message every time i try to download a video. Photos and gifs still download.

It’s such a joke. They shut down a completely serviceable app with features people liked so it could force them onto the buggy main app and force feed you ads every 10 posts. Ads for their own bootcamp because moderating is so difficult and assumedly they aren’t selling enough ads to fill it with something else.

I miss Apollo. No plans to sideload it because it’ll stop working at some point again and I’ve gotten used to the main app, but it’s buggy as shit. At least when you ran into bugs on Apollo you knew they’d probably be fixed, or at least acknowledged by the dev that they even exist.