I sideloaded a Reddit client onto my iPhone. Never again

The process was a nightmare and I now see why Apple is fighting so hard against it.

- BY ALEX BLAKE

I have a confession to make: I am an inveterate Reddit scroller. But my viewing experience of choice isn't the official Reddit iOS app, but a fantastic third-party client called Apollo.

The only problem is, it doesn’t exist in the App Store anymore. Apollo was forcibly closed in June 2023 in what some Redditors regarded as a bullying attempt by Reddit HQ to force out competition to the platform’s official iOS app. Like so many others, I was devastated when Apollo shut down. With an ad-free interface and a smoother and more stable experience than the official app, not to mention tons of quality-of-life features, such as previews of linked images, in-app gestures, a host of customization options, It was the kind of Reddit client that felt like it belonged on an iPhone.

Thankfully, I had another option. Apollo had created such a loyal fan base of users—close to a million daily active users at the time it shut down—that many people stepped in to make Apollo available long after support officially ended. That meant I could sideload Apollo onto my iPhone and restore it to its former glory.

The Apollo client for Reddit has a clean and smart interface, but installing it was anything but.

Or so I thought. The problem, as I found out, is that sideloading can be a monumental pain. I'm happy to say I now have Apollo working on my iPhone again, but the whole process was and is such an ongoing hassle, and I have a new appreciation for Apple's fight against sideloading.

A LONG AND ARDUOUS INSTALLATION