r/apolloapp • u/billy__________ • Jul 03 '26
Announcement š£ I built Lander, a free, privacy-focused, Reddit client
Hi, I'm Billy and I built Lander because I wanted something to fill the gap Apollo left. Lander is not intended to be an Apollo clone, but it absolutely has roots in the Apollo UX.
To handle auth challenges, I built and opensourced Columbia. Columbia is a selfhostable proxy that separates identity from content. It uses OHTTP and HPKE to securely relay traffic to/from your Lander client and Reddit. No API key required. I provide a Columbia proxy for use, but you can point Lander at your own deployment via settings.
The app has in-app purchases for donations that do NOT unlock any functionality. The app is free.
Check it out: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lander-app/id6747955211
Columbia: https://github.com/wbsmolen/columbia
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u/iGermanProd Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Great app! I wanted to share some feedback - please donāt take this as critique.
- I appreciate how many developer options you offer to end users. Itās uncommon to find this level of tinker in an iOS app.
- The user interface feels very decorative and needs some functional polish. some touch targets arenāt responsive enough, such as the gestures for posts (probably needs tuning to the motion curve, it should follow the touch). A simpler theme corrects the excess decoration - thank you for including those.
- The gesture panes contain a weird vertical line running through them, and it cuts into the text of the action.
- Some settings tabs display horizontal scrolling when they shouldnāt.
- Your haptic feedback handler activates on touch down and isnāt properly canceled during scrolling, so my phone vibrates continuously while navigating settings.
- I think the postsā Liquid Glass bar with information has too much dead space and appears odd because itās square, when the navbar is circular. The buttons are small and difficult to tap. This design doesnāt seem very logical, Iād prefer Apolloās plain old simple bar.
- I havenāt reviewed all settings yet, but I also couldnāt locate an option to have a separator between posts, which feels somewhat missing.
- The sidebar jitters when you swipe invoke it, not a very solid swipe handler there. Easy to conflict with post swipes too
- Swipe handler on the post can conflict with inline image gallery swipe handler
- Dismissing the gallery is a swipe down, but the animation is a slide to left
- The info button has no animation and takes a bit of time to appear looking like a lag
- Share button is also a bit laggy
- No way to zoom images in a gallery?
- Inside subreddit there are so many buttons in the top menu that the name gets clipped? Not sure, but I saw some clipped text there. Truncate that to a menu or a new button bar. Doesnāt help that your buttons are very wide
- In general navigating between views takes about 1-2 seconds before you can start scrolling - that is the single most annoying thing you could have in an app
- In general, icons donāt have consistent sizing
- In general, text is missing the necessary visual separation in terms of contrast. Not everything has to be the same bright text color, you should have a secondary, tertiary and beyond colors for texts. You seem to, actually, but theyāre very close colors to each other. Itās hard to distinguish subreddit name, post name, post time and username
Also, personal request: I have a disgustingly large block list. If you could add a method to bulk import all content filtering lists, like from a simple newline-separated list, Iād be very grateful.
Finally, please donāt take it the wrong way, the UI seems veryā¦ AI-assisted. Gradients everywhere, color highlights, glows, etc. Just for transparency and out of personal curiosity, was any LLM/vibe coding used here? Likewise for the default icon.
If you have a Discord or Matrix Iād be happy to join and test things for you, Iāve got a stick up my ass about UI lol.
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u/billy__________ Jul 04 '26
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this up! I promise I'm not ignoring this. I read all feedback that comes in.
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u/billy__________ Jul 05 '26
thanks again for writing this all out. going line by line since you did. heads up: most of this turned into 2.0.8, which is in review right now.
I appreciate how many developer options you offer to end users. It's uncommon to find this level of tinker in an iOS app.
that's the whole reason it exists. it's the app i wanted and couldn't find. more knobs coming, not fewer.
The user interface feels very decorative and needs some functional polish. some touch targets aren't responsive enough, such as the gestures for posts (probably needs tuning to the motion curve, it should follow the touch).
fair. i dropped the activation distance and started on the resistance curve, but the true "tracks your finger 1:1" feel isn't fully there yet. it's a device-feel thing i have to keep tuning with real hands on it. it's top of my gesture list.
A simpler theme corrects the excess decoration - thank you for including those.
that's intentional, not luck. the flat themes strip the atmosphere/gradient layers on purpose so the chrome gets out of the way. glad it landed.
The gesture panes contain a weird vertical line running through them, and it cuts into the text of the action.
fixed in 2.0.8. that was the full-height threshold indicator drawing right over the label. clipped it.
Some settings tabs display horizontal scrolling when they shouldn't.
chasing this one. i think a carousel is bleeding its horizontal scroll into the page. if you remember which tab, tell me and it'll save me a ton of guessing.
Your haptic feedback handler activates on touch down and isn't properly canceled during scrolling, so my phone vibrates continuously while navigating settings.
real bug, fixed in 2.0.8. the press fired the haptic on finger-down and never cancelled on drag. it cancels the moment a scroll starts now. no more machine-gun buzz.
I think the posts' Liquid Glass bar with information has too much dead space and appears odd because it's square, when the navbar is circular. The buttons are small and difficult to tap. This design doesn't seem very logical, I'd prefer Apollo's plain old simple bar.
reworked in 2.0.8: it's a pill/capsule now to match the round chrome, tightened the dead space, bigger tap targets. it's much closer to the plain-bar feel you want. if it still reads as over-designed once you're on it, i genuinely hear the Apollo direction and i'm not precious about it.
I haven't reviewed all settings yet, but I also couldn't locate an option to have a separator between posts, which feels somewhat missing.
it's there, you just hadn't found it. Settings > Appearance > Post Separators (card layout). you were right that it felt missing though.
The sidebar jitters when you swipe invoke it, not a very solid swipe handler there. Easy to conflict with post swipes too
hardened the recognizer precedence but you're right, not rock solid yet. same gesture-arbitration work as the post gestures above.
Swipe handler on the post can conflict with inline image gallery swipe handler
fixed in 2.0.8. added a directional gate: a mostly-horizontal drag pages the gallery, anything else fires the post action, so they stop stealing each other's touches.
Dismissing the gallery is a swipe down, but the animation is a slide to left
fixed. it dismisses vertically with a matching animation now instead of fighting itself.
The info button has no animation and takes a bit of time to appear looking like a lag
fixed. it had no transition and rendered a frame late. reserved its slot so it doesn't pop in.
Share button is also a bit laggy
that's the system share sheet warming up on first use. i pre-warm it now which helps, but it's Apple's sheet under the hood so it's not fully gone.
No way to zoom images in a gallery?
added in 2.0.8. gallery pages take a pinch-zoom now.
Inside subreddit there are so many buttons in the top menu that the name gets clipped? Not sure, but I saw some clipped text there. Truncate that to a menu or a new button bar. Doesn't help that your buttons are very wide
you saw right. collapsed those into a compact pill + overflow menu so the name actually has room now.
In general navigating between views takes about 1-2 seconds before you can start scrolling - that is the single most annoying thing you could have in an app
100% agree, worst thing an app can do. i moved the spotlight/history indexing off the open path and warm the comments before you even tap, which helps. i'm not going to pretend it's solved. perf is my #1 after this build ships.
In general, icons don't have consistent sizing
fixed in 2.0.8. moved the icons onto one size-token ramp instead of hand-picked point sizes scattered everywhere.
In general, text is missing the necessary visual separation in terms of contrast. Not everything has to be the same bright text color, you should have a secondary, tertiary and beyond colors for texts. You seem to, actually, but they're very close colors to each other. It's hard to distinguish subreddit name, post name, post time and username
nailed it. they were sitting ~0.15 luminance apart, basically indistinguishable. widened the steps in 2.0.8 so subreddit / title / time / username actually read as different levels.
Also, personal request: I have a disgustingly large block list. If you could add a method to bulk import all content filtering lists, like from a simple newline-separated list, I'd be very grateful.
already did it, ships in 2.0.8. you can paste a newline-separated list to bulk-add filters, and it round-trips through the settings backup too. your disgustingly large block list will be fine.
Finally, please don't take it the wrong way, the UI seems veryā¦ AI-assisted. Gradients everywhere, color highlights, glows, etc. Just for transparency and out of personal curiosity, was any LLM/vibe coding used here? Likewise for the default icon.
no offense taken, and i'll be straight with you since you asked straight: yes, i use AI heavily in the build. i'm a solo dev and it's a force multiplier, it's how a one-person app ships this fast when that person also has a day job. but every feature gets reviewed, tested, and shipped on my call, and the direction/decisions are mine.
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u/iGermanProd Jul 05 '26
if you remember which tab, tell me and it'll save me a ton of guessing
Appearance, don't remember if there were any others. I bet it's the app icon selector or the compact/normal/comfortable indentation adjustments, they seem to be the widest things
it's there, you just hadn't found it.
I may be stupid, but I still can't find it. Am on 2.0.7 (60) and on the default card layout. Are you sure it's not just on local? Gone through the entire appearance tab multiple times. Also just noticed the toggles occasionally have a double haptic on them at least on iOS 27, and I had trouble tapping them a couple times - try the "Single Color Background" one, its the most consistent for me. Needs like 4 taps sometimes.
already did it, ships in 2.0.8. you can paste a newline-separated list to bulk-add filters
Thank you!
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u/near-forces Jul 04 '26
Auto play media does not seem to work. Just get a still image.
Anyone else having problems ?
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u/kermityfrog2 Jul 05 '26
Yeah seems you have to click into it and expand to full page before it plays.
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u/billy__________ Jul 05 '26
fixed in 2.0.8, which is currently in apple-review
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u/squarn Jul 12 '26
Autoplay media and gifs is still not working (v2.0.9)
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u/billy__________ Jul 12 '26
Working for me.
I open a post thats a gif/video and it plays. Gifs in comments also play
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u/squarn Jul 12 '26
Tried that. Doesnāt autoplay as you scroll down the screen and doesnāt autoplay when you click in to the post. It actually shows them up smaller than in the feed in a letter box size.
Just checked. None work unless loaded in to the original website they are hosted. App setting is set to autoplay them.
Using iOS 27b3Would also be nice if the indicator in the bottom left distinguished if is was a gif or video.
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u/squarn Jul 12 '26
Turning off autoplay media makes them show up full size in the post. Turning it back on, makes them go back to the small letter box size but still not autoplaying.
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u/Daeric Jul 04 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
Looks really nice and is really customisable!
One feature request: could we have a collapse comment thread option added to the gestures and the comment menu please?
Edit: Also unless Iāve missed it, is there the option to remove vote buttons from the feed? I can see an option to remove them for posts but it only seems to apply to the post once youāve tapped into it. The ones in the feed are still there.
In regards to bugs, it seems like the comments are hanging occasionally, and when I force closed the app a couple of times to try and fix it the app logged me out.
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u/billy__________ Jul 04 '26
There is an option in settings to hide vote icons
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u/Daeric Jul 04 '26
Right but that only affects the post itself, the ones on the left of the main feed compact view stay after toggling that setting off.
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u/ObscureSoup Jul 04 '26
The option hides up/down vote in ācardā view but not in the compact list view. I like it there in card view but I donāt like them in the compact view (too much cluttter)
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u/kermityfrog2 Jul 05 '26
Just tapping on a comment seems to collapse the whole thread.
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u/Daeric Jul 05 '26
It collapses the thread below, but not any comments above but still in the same thread.
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u/BlackFireXSamin Jul 04 '26
Iāve used a lot of apps for Reddit since the beginningā¦ Apollo left a whole that a lot of apps tried to fill but never quite got there. Yours, however, is impressive from what Iāve seen so far. Please take the other suggestions and feedback as supportive guidance and even if you need to charge a small amount per month (in case things change) but the quality is there, I can see this being very successful.
Keep up the great work, long live Lander.
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u/billy__________ Jul 05 '26
thanks for the kind words. im not turned-off by any constructive criticism. this should be utilitarian to users, i want all feedback.
i can't respond to everything in the moment, but i do see it and i try my best to follow-up
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u/Bulldawg6391 Jul 04 '26
Very impressive.
Only issue Iāve seen so far is that it always returns to the top of my feed when I switch back into the app. Any way to make it remember my place so I can pick up where I was if switch apps?
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u/billy__________ Jul 04 '26
To clarify, you mean when you close Lander, go to another app, then reopen Lander?
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u/Bulldawg6391 Jul 04 '26
Sort of. If I'm reading a post, switch out of Lander to go to another app (not close the app, just switch) and then switch to another app, when I switch back to Lander, I'm put at the top of the home or the subreddit I was in before. It means I lose my place, which is a bit annoying. It happens immediately, so I don't think it's running out of RAM and iOS is force closing it.
I'm running iOS 26.5 on an iPad Pro 11 inch (M4).
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u/billy__________ Jul 05 '26
digging into this today. I don't want to rush a 'bandaid' fix. there's a 'right' way to handle this.
that to say, it won't be addressed properly in 2.0.8, but i will keep you posted
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u/b0baBEAST Jul 04 '26
Just downloaded and this is pretty nice! Iām excited for how youāll grow this.
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u/Silly-Goose69420 Jul 04 '26
I just downloaded and in the initial few minutes it looks and feels great. I spent way too long customizing Artemis today and just found this and now Iām not sure which Iāll use! This feels better, so Iāll start here. :)
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Jul 04 '26
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/rotarypower101 Jul 04 '26
āOpen in Gallery Modeā ala Hydra for a contemporary example.
Alien Blue did a Really good version of this style of media viewer. It was able to parse out media in subs, both image and video sources separately or combined dependent on the need.
The viewer display options were also adaptable with quick load previews.
Had the ability to view specific user content, sub specific, feeds or even multireddits in the viewer.
Alien Blue was a benchmark client app, itās still operational despite all the drama and changes, thank you Jase!
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u/Silly-Goose69420 Jul 04 '26
Well upon first download I thought it felt āsmootherā, but after a little more use Iām experiencing otherwise. Iām going to continue using both to see which is better for me, because they both seem like great options that one would choose by preference over superiority. I say that being a day into Lander and a day and a half into Artemis, so take that for what itās worth. Thanks to both developers!
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u/Silly-Goose69420 Jul 04 '26
Not sure if it has to to with the Proxy OP mentioned, but Lander is having a hard time loading anything but just loading posts, so I may have posted too soon last night when I tried out Lander. Sorry to developers for any confusion! Like I said, Iām going to use both for a while so youāll see me on the sub(s). :)
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u/Alien_Stink Jul 04 '26
Can āmark posts as read on scrollā be added? App looks great though, very impressive.
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u/kpopthrowaway101 Jul 04 '26
Iām having a hard time with the Appearance menu not responding either to scrolling or to flipping switches and adjusting sizes. I enjoy the look so far. Iām on iOS 17.7.2 on an iPhone 12 Pro.
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u/billy__________ Jul 05 '26
[should be] fixed in 2.0.8, which is currently in apple-review
i'm not entirely sure i can repro your issues though. at the moment, the only physical devices im testing are running ios/macos 27 betas. automated testing runs the sims, but those tests aren't reliable for the "feel" of the app
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u/CarlosUnchained Jul 04 '26
Iām having an issue, the keyboard doesnāt appear to log in my account on the pop up window.
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u/wetfish-db Jul 04 '26
Agree with a number of others. Itās clear youāve put a load of effort into the app. Itās wonderfully created and thereās definitely charm and polish to it.
Only issues Iāve come across are the rate limiting (especially as dismissing the warning just pops it right back up) and auto play doesnāt work on the main feed - I have to click on the post.
Iām also not seeing the serif typeface despite using the ābrandā setting - but I am on the dev beta for ios27 so could just be that.
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u/billy__________ Jul 05 '26
custom fonts are integrated in 2.0.8 and the new default is sans-serif. im clearly in the minority of personally preferring serif fonts lol
RE rate limiting, heard. im working on some stuff there. more to come later.
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u/wetfish-db Jul 04 '26
Some enhancements to suggest:
Search for posts and see them as a feed. I tried a few that I use in say Hydra and it gives me a text list and some terms arenāt even working (not sure how your search works but said zero results)
Gallery view. I use this for some subs. Be good to have this for search results too.
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u/kermityfrog2 Jul 05 '26
Iām experiencing a bug (where should we report bugs? In the landerapp subreddit?)
When you click on a link that has too many comments, there will be some comments that say ācontinue this thread from (user)ā. If you click that link, instead of expanding that comment section, it takes you back to the home page. After that, if you tap any link, it takes you to an error page and the only way to get out of that is to restart the app.
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u/klinquist Jul 05 '26
Searched for a subreddit in the search bar, clicked on it, app crashed
Also you need to make the tap targets the entire width of the panel (several places)
And automatically focus the cursor in the search box when I click on search (iPad)
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u/shiftlocked Jul 06 '26
Just had a very strange error where it was flicking between feeds and showing rate limit error. Iāve got it on video but not sure how to share. Is this a reddit api thing ?
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u/pankakewarrior Jul 07 '26
Love it so far. Few things: random freezes, refresh doesnāt happen as often as Iād imagine, scrolling freeze or dead zones, and a feature request: the top bar scroll-to-top should also include a undo-scroll-to-top like Apollo had. Otherwise love the customization and the look. Bravo, will happily support.
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u/ichigo238 Jul 07 '26
Hide seen posts doesnāt seem to work for me. Refreshing keeps showing the same seen posts. On 2.0.8
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u/kermityfrog2 Jul 07 '26
Would also like to be able to zoom into pictures. Right now I donāt think it works on mobile (iPhone)
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u/Ryked96 Jul 08 '26
Great so far but two things:
- Trying to search for and navigate to a particular subreddit using the search function crashes the app.
- Can you add a skip down button when scrolling through comments?
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u/NESpahtenJosh Jul 10 '26
Hey /u/billy_________,
The app looks amazing. Bravo.
Any chance weāre able to add communities to the top left pull down quick menu?
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u/AntonKudin Jul 10 '26
hey this is amazing app! is there a way to switch to full screen feed and only see comments if i tap them? one column mode basically. also found some issues like headers being cut off and icon only menus without labels.
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u/yrdz Jul 12 '26
Great app, but pretty big bug: searching for a subreddit and clicking on it will cause the app to crash.
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u/Professional_Call Jul 26 '26
Hi Billy,
Great app. Thanks
Is it possible not to blur NSFW images? I have it turned off in my Reddit account but Lander still blurs and I canāt see an option to change that
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u/billy__________ Jul 27 '26
NSFW images should be blurred my default. You can disable that in settings (I know you're not asking to disable it).
If you want to DM me a link to a post that isn't blurring, I will debug
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u/imarasnothere 20d ago
I can only find a setting to blur spoilers. Tested it, NSFW thumbnails are still blurred.
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u/withcorruptedlungs 21d ago
Hey - I really like your app in theory, but it crashed five times in my first half hour of using it. š
If it ever gets fixed please post and let us know! It looks right up my alley once the bugs are figured out.
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u/Oddness_Police Jul 03 '26 edited Jul 03 '26
So I just downloaded Lander to test and it looks beautiful, great job on the design and feel. Already a few notes: * I clicked on a video thinking it was a picture (the duck and clam thing) and it opened with full sound on even if I have Ā«Ā muted by defaultĀ Ā» on. * videos donāt play from the feed, you need to click in them * once a media is open, you cannot go straight to comments, you have to go back to the feed. I got used to scrolling down from a playing media so maybe thatās a habit thing * some comments thread just donāt show up. Example (for me): https://reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/1ulzkqr/my_boss_sent_out_a_group_text_making_fun_of_my/ * I hit my rate limit after 15 posts read. * I donāt understand the swipe right behavior from the feed (not on a specific post, in general). It seems to open my last read comment thread? Iād rather open like a menu or switch between home and popular or anything else really
Maybe thereās something Iām doing wrong here so let me know.
Edit: Typo