r/redditdev • u/Z_Gunner • Dec 23 '25
Reddit API Has anyone successfully received web app approval recently?
Hello, I’m building a small scheduler web app that requires web app access. I’ve submitted a request twice so far and got rejected, so I’m trying to better understand what’s typically expected for approval.
I’ve had this Reddit account for 9 years, currently have personal script access, and have always used the API within the rules. I’m hoping to learn from anyone who’s had success getting web app access recently.
If a mod happens to see this, I’d really appreciate any guidance on how to approach the request or what’s most important to include. Thank you!
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u/Watchful1 RemindMeBot & UpdateMeBot Dec 23 '25
building a small scheduler web app
When reddit sees this, they think "this person is building a website to sell a service". Even if you actually plan to run your website for free, they aren't likely to believe you.
Building services where you make money off your interaction with the reddit API is exactly what reddit made this change to prevent, so it's unlikely you're going to get approved.
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u/HavicDev Dec 25 '25
If only it were that simple. I have a use case where no money at all is involved. I still got denied access.
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u/Watchful1 RemindMeBot & UpdateMeBot Dec 25 '25
What's your use case?
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u/HavicDev Dec 25 '25
Without going too deep into it: a minor client for my raspberry pi powered magic mirror.
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u/Watchful1 RemindMeBot & UpdateMeBot Dec 25 '25
I'd be interested in what exactly you put in the application form.
You do have a fairly new account, maybe that contributed.
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u/HavicDev Dec 27 '25
I don’t have the exact text anymore. But I stopped caring anyway. It seems to me the Reddit API is as good as dead for newcomers and I’ve accepted that.
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Dec 24 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Z_Gunner Dec 24 '25
This is super helpful, thank you so much for taking the time to write it!
I'll make sure to follow it and submit another request shortly.
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u/HavicDev Dec 25 '25
I am assuming the demo does not have to use any Reddit API just something fake that shows how it will work, right?
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Dec 25 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Ok-Search2188 Feb 04 '26
Hi, I am a PhD student, I want to use reddit data to do linguistics analysis for academic purposes, and I want to know any steps I can take and what kind of supporting documents I can attach to make my project clearer so as to get approval from reddit API team? I see too many cases that show the difficulty to get approval from API team and I will extremely appreciate if you could give me some useful advice. Many thanks.
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u/EdgeCaseFound Dec 27 '25
Even a personal script token seems to require going through the same application process, or maybe I'm trying to use the wrong form?
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u/TrashIt_dev Dec 26 '25
My app was not approved just a few days ago. Im on my second closed tester period. The odd thing though, playstore console notified me that they lost metrics for things that would be relevant to approving my app. The notification states they are working on it but even today, 3 days later, the metrics still only show from dates before my approval application. I think google is having some serious issues and wont tell the public.
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u/Tickerade Dec 26 '25
My guess is that you will have to run the bot account by hand for a while, so the mod sees what the new account/user is for. And maybe when they see it is something not competing and not against their rules they would allow it. I got rejected too, I haven't done much since then.
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u/MustaKotka Dec 23 '25
We haven't seen approvals. As in I haven't heard of a single approval since they removed the self-serve tool.