Nationwide searches for a Reddit alternative have soared by 242% since blackout, data reveals

New data has revealed that nationwide searches for a replacement for Reddit have risen by 242% over the last week, following the platform’s ‘blackout’, which saw thousands of subreddits go dark in protest of API restrictions.

The findings, pulled together by web hosting experts Hostinger, also found that some users are considering leaving the app and selling their account – despite this being against the platform’s terms of service.

Since the blackout came into effect on 13 June, searches around Reddit’s competitors have steadily reason, as users become concerned about long-term repercussions of the coordinated protest.

The protest has seen thousands of subreddits go private and leaving millions of users without access, as moderators show their support for third-party apps; the majority of which can’t continue operating after Reddit announced they’d be monetizing their previously-free API.

The protest has also caused further problems for the platform, as it suffered a ‘major outage’ across its desktop and mobile sites, with private-d subreddits blamed for the ‘stability issues’.

Reddit is one of the top 10 most popular social media platforms in the UK, as 7.5% of users are situated here – so it’s understandable that many are seeking a replacement after a week of disruption and uncertainty.

At the middle of last week, searches for ‘Reddit alternative’ had risen by 69%, with Brits showing the biggest increase in interest in WebTorrent and Steemit, whilst 9GAG and 4Chan have also seen an increase.

Since then, however, users appear even more keen to replace the platform, with searches now up 242% since 13 June – and some different competitors are now leading the way as the UK’s favourite Reddit replacement.

Now, the majority of interest is in Lemmy – a software for running self-hosted news aggregation and discussion forums – and then Hive, which isn’t as big as Reddit but that does follow a similar post layout and UX. Another platform that has seen an increase in interest is Tildes, whilst Steemit seems to have fallen by the wayside.

Although some are considering forgoing Reddit altogether, others are more concerrned about when the app will return to normal, with ‘reddit blackout’, ‘reddit protest’, ‘is reddit down’ and ‘when will reddit blackout end’ also rising.

Interestingly, there’s also been an increase in the number of users considering selling their Reddit platforms – despite it being against the platform’s terms of service – with searches jumping up by 413% since the blackout began.

This is significantly higher than reported in America (94% increase) – suggesting Brits are keen to make the most of the platform’s problems, as they can sell their Reddit profiles depending on how much ‘karma’ they have.

The latest figures suggest that profiles with a couple of thousand karma – a value that reflects how much your contributions mean to the Reddit community – can stand to make £31 to £39, whilst accounts with up to 100,000 karma can earn around £157.

Speaking on the findings, Domantas Gudeliauskas from Hostinger said: “It’s really interesting to see how the UK’s Reddit users are reacting to the blackout beyond what they’re posting on social media, as it gives an insight into where’s willing to give the app a chance without third-party apps, and where considers the new API pricing to be a dealbreaker.

“Third-party apps are key in the Reddit community as they improve accessibility, and also make a straightforward platform more intuitive and personalized to users’ individual needs. We saw a similar series of events with Twitter when they changed their API pricing, and we’d expect to see an equal – if not higher – level of backlash as a result of Reddit following suit.

“The blackout is predicted to continue ‘indefinitely’, and while we’re still unsure to what extent the platform will be affected by users’ renouncing their accounts, it’s not great reputationally that they’re prioritising their own profit over the wants and needs of their users.”