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Reddit is now offering its own native apps for iOS and Android users who want to read and make comments on the popular Website, replacing the need for third-party apps that previously provided access for users.
The native Reddit apps debuted April 7 with a host of improvements for iPhone and Android users, including the availability of inline images and themes as well as simpler navigation to find discussions and make comments, according to the site.
The apps allow users to read threaded comments, while an improved inbox lets users see the messages that are sent to them, along with their personal comment histories, and post replies as well as comments that are made on their posts.
Users can also customize their Reddit app experiences using a new night theme and options to browse in either compact view or card view. More themes and options are expected in the future, according to Reddit.
Reddit, which went live in 2005, is a free online community where users post, share and vote on content, which can then be read and commented on and shared by others on a wide variety of topics that are being discussed online. Reddit is an open-source project whose users are free to contribute new features, fixes and more to the community.
Reddit also offers a Gold premium account for $3.99 a month or $29.99 a year that gets rid of online ads and gives users extra features, such as themes for their Reddit pages and highlighting for new comments to make them easier to find, according to Reddit.
Reddit had 243,632,148 individual online visitors access its site from 212 countries in the month of March, according to statistics logged by the site. Some 8.1 billion pages were viewed in that time span.
On April 7 alone, Reddit featured 11,308 active communities that were visited by more than 3.3 million logged-in users who cast more than 31.5 million votes on stories and content posted on the site.
In 2015, Reddit had some 82.54 billion page views, more than 73.15 million submissions, more than 725.85 million comments from more than 8.7 million authors and about 6.89 billion upvotes on that content, according to a Reddit blog post.
Reddit users who log in during the first launch week of the new apps are eligible to receive three months of free Gold service, according to an April 7 story by TechnoBuffalo.
The iOS version of the Reddit app and the Android version can be downloaded immediately.
Reddit was previously available to mobile users through third-party apps, such as Alien Blue, but those apps will now be replaced by the new Reddit native apps. In March, Reddit announced that the Alien Blue app would be replaced by the then-upcoming new apps.