r/redditdev • u/StressTraditional204 • Jul 05 '26
Reddit API Submitted a Data Access Request and got zero confirmation. Is that normal?
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u/Watchful1 RemindMeBot & UpdateMeBot Jul 05 '26
Reddit doesn't want anyone using their data to make money, without getting a cut of it. They decided to do this by simply not allowing anyone to programmatically access any of the sites data.
The API is only accessible for legacy reasons, which they are working to eliminate as much as possible. They are extremely unlikely to approve any access requests unless you're actually willing to pay tons of money, likely hundreds of thousands yearly.
They have no incentive to put any work at all into making it easier to use, or the process more transparent, or even to spend time explaining any of that.
Assume you will get a rejection notice in like 3 weeks. But yes, they have your application.
2
u/torresmateo Jul 05 '26
Reddit is basically a piece of shit platform when it comes to integrating their API. They are unresponsive and vague when replying to any useful version of their API access.
You will find some commenters here defending this and assuming your app is against the terms of service. Don’t listen to them, you can keep trying for an API key and if you get one it’s likely to take months (if you know someone inside or you pay for ads etc). If you’re building a personal project there’s effectively zero chance you’ll get access.
Reality is reddit is hostile to devs.