r/modguide • u/SolariaHues Writer • Dec 03 '19

Mobile modding Modding on mobile

Modding on mobile

Let’s be honest here - modding on mobile can be challenging, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary. In this guide we will run through some of the available reddit apps and do a quick overview of modding on a few of them. (future guides will go into the tools available that make modding on mobile easier)

Functionality on mobile is significantly behind that of desktop, and while improvements and additions are being made, it will be a while before it catches up (if it does).

With the official apps for android and ios you can keep updated on changes, at r/changelog and r/redditmobile.

Official app

The official apps are very similar. Here is our guide of the official app on android, there might be slight differences on ios. Android Official App Guide (The apps are being updated regularly and this guide could be out of date quickly).

[Edit: I was right. UPDATE!!! The mod tools menu is now a button where the joined button was. The join button and notification buttons are now in the menu (three dots button) See the milestone 1 guide linked below for details].

For more details on distinguishing and making sticky posts (including on mobile), here’s our guide on that.

Custom feeds of your subs can be used on mobile to see new posts from all, or some, of your subs. There is mod queue but no spam queue.

Some of my subs have post feeds to discord servers which notifies me of new posts (with discord app) regardless of whether they were filtered on reddit or not, and I can mod them from there on mobile.

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Other apps

There are other apps available too (at time of writing), such as (not an exhaustive list):

(always download from a reputable source, and have a security/anti-virus app installed)

Apollo for ios has more mod tools than the official app at the time of writing. This includes adding rules, and editing automoderator. BUT you can't post without paying for pro, or get notifications without paying for ultra - I've heard it's worth it, but I've never tried Apollo (you can comment etc).

Our quick look at Apollo here.

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How your sub looks in app

It’s important to consider your mobile users when designing your community

It’s important to include sidebar content in both old.reddit and the redesign - people viewing Reddit on their smartphone web browser get an "About this Community" link which leads to the old.reddit sidebar content, while people viewing Reddit in the official smartphone app get an "About" tab which leads to the new reddit sidebar content.

Phone users may not even look at the "About" screen and its sidebar content including your community rules and guidelines. The best (only?) way around this seems to be a sticky/pinned/announcement post that informs new visitors they should read the sidebar/about content for important info and rules, before participating in the sub. (In the phone browser view, a link to the rules page does show up at the top of the "About" screen.)

When guiding users to the sidebar information, it might be wise to use different terms for mobile users to help them find the information, such as "sidebar/about screen". Mobile users have no sidebar, so that term is meaningless to them.

Note that per Apple rules, the iOS app does not provide any capability to turn on 18+ mode, therefore NSFW subs may appear empty to users. They need to log in through a browser to set their config screen 18+ flag to be able to view NSFW content, then it will work from within the app.

To see what your subreddit looks like on an app that you don’t have, you can use an emulator. This will allow you to see on your desktop, what your sub looks like in an app.

(I have not tried these, use your own judgement)

Emulators:

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Mobile modding via browser

You can mod via browser on mobile in old.reddit and redesign. The redesign sidebar and therefore the mod tools button might not show up - try landscape mode, and actually selecting for the desktop site in your browser to fix this. I also recommend using your subs menu links and a sticky for rules, in case your users can't see the sidebar. Modding via browser on mobile is the same as on desktop, but of course smaller and fiddly. Our guides show you what to do.

It is your redesign banner that shows on the mobile app. If your main sub banner doesn't show well on apps, you can upload a mobile banner - a banner sized differently to look better on mobile. This is mentioned in our adding a banner guide.

Old.reddit and redesign banners can be viewed on mobile via browser depending on the url, but it seems to default to classic/old. (www. and old. = old, new. = new).

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If you have any insights into modding on mobile, or if we've missed anything, please share in the comments! :)

Our team haven't used all these apps so if there is one you think stands out please let us know.

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Written by u/solariahues, u/PervOtaku, u/no_elf_and_safety, u/juulh

Thanks to u/Fredericia and u/shampoo_and_dick

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More!

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Edit -APR 2020 Milestone 1 update

Edit -June 2020 Adding a banner on mobile | Modding on mobile - Milestone 2 update

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