When you browse Reddit on your mobile device but in the mobile browser, Reddit will constantly nag you that this page looks better in the app or prompt you to see a community in the Reddit app.
Of course, you can always switch your mobile browser to desktop mode or force it to fetch desktop sites all the time, but the desktop experience is less than ideal on a tiny screen. Reddit has a very good mobile website—why not use that? That’s why, no, Reddit, I am fine. I don’t want to use your app. I want to use the mobile version of your website for two main reasons.
First of all, the Reddit app constantly calls home and sends back way more data about you than necessary. Secondly, the app exists so Reddit can monopolize ad revenue on their platform. The community—Redditors—spend their time writing all the content, while the platform owners capture all the revenue. That’s exactly why they push the app so hard, essentially forcing it onto users. Within the app, they have complete control over ads, and there’s little a user can do about it apart from blocking them with proxies like Pi-hole.
Personally, I find it much easier to search Reddit through Google and open multiple search results in different tabs to check out later. Meaningful search functionality is barely possible within the Reddit mobile app, and opening multiple pages simultaneously is out of the question. However, it works perfectly fine on the mobile website.
The very old mobile version of Reddit (i.reddit.com) used to be a workaround since it didn’t have those nagging pop-ups. While it still somewhat works, it usually redirects to the new mobile version. To block these annoyances, you need an ad blocker. It’s ironic because Reddit users are known for not clicking ads. Even the few Redditors who don’t use ad blockers rarely engage with ads.
So, how do you get rid of those annoying pop-ups? The solution is simple: use an ad blocker. Those nagging screens are categorized as “annoyances,” and there are several online lists of these annoyances from major ad blockers. AdGuard, EasyList, and uBlock all offer annoyance filter lists that you can import into your ad blocker to remove these Reddit app pop-ups.
Initially, I wanted to try this solution without adding any new extensions to my browser. Some browsers, like Brave and Vivaldi, boast built-in ad blockers, so you don’t need to install separate ad-blocking add-ons. However, no matter how hard I tried to import the annoyance lists, they simply didn’t work on the mobile version of those browsers. The solution? Switch to a more capable browser.
Some might suggest using Google Chrome, but my go-to has always been Firefox Mobile, where I install an ad-blocking extension of my choice. My preferred ad blocker is uBlock Origin. To eliminate those Reddit app nags, simply enable the “annoyances” filter list in your ad blocker’s settings, apply the changes, and enjoy a nag-free Reddit browsing experience on your mobile browser.