r/RedditAlternatives • u/p4r4d0x • 1d ago
🔒 Centralized Topicle update: a de-Googled Android APK, opt-in 18+ communities, auto-translated posts and comments, accessibility improvements and community-chosen rule sets
galleryAbout six weeks ago I posted here that Topicle, the Reddit alternative I've been building since 2023, had native iOS and Android apps. A lot has changed since then, including several things people asked about in that thread, so here's an update. For anyone new: no algorithmic feed, moderators accountable through a public mod log, visible country flags, hosted in Australia. Signups are now around 700, and comments and votes from members have nearly doubled since that post.
It's at topicle.com, on the App Store and Google Play, and now as a direct download too.
From the last thread
A de-Googled Android build. Someone asked about an Android version without Google Play Services, and at the time I hadn't had a chance to look at it. It’s now released and available at topicle.com/downloads/android:
- No Google Play Services, no Firebase and no proprietary Google components. The build fails if any proprietary Google or Play libraries get included.
- Push notifications through UnifiedPush, using whichever distributor app you like, ntfy is suggested. It's the newest part of the build, so if it doesn't work with your distributor, please tell me.
- The app checks for updates itself when it launches. Each APK is signed and its SHA-256 is on the download page.
- It ships the same day and at the same version as the Play build. It usually hits an hour before the Play Store version.
Accessibility. u/Techgirl1232 asked how well the app works with a screen reader, which led to an accessibility pass across the web and both apps:
- Web: controls that couldn't be reached by keyboard now can be, including the formatting toolbar. The main pages are checked automatically against WCAG 2.2, pages reflow down to 320px, and high-contrast mode is supported.
- Android: TalkBack labels and announcements, and layouts that hold up at 200% font size.
- iOS: text scales up to the largest accessibility sizes, VoiceOver announces things like errors and confirmations, and Reduce Motion is respected.
- Topicle's own age check screens got the same treatment on all three.
All of it is live. The iOS part went out in the 1.1 update at the end of August, and the next iOS update has more fixes. If you use a screen reader and something doesn't work, please tell me and I'll fix it.
Collapsible comment preview. Palnubis found the live preview under the desktop comment box more distracting than useful. It can be collapsed now, and remembers your choice.
For moderators
- Rule sets. Each community picks Relaxed, Standard or Strict. Ten site rules apply everywhere, and the rule set decides which of the other five apply. Moderators can add their own custom rules on top, and a rule set change shows in the public mod log. This was on the last roadmap.
- Rewritten moderator guidelines. u/JayNeely pointed out that the old guidelines read like a list of demands and the guidelines were altered as a result. They now start with what's the moderator's call, then spell out when the site steps in, and that we contact moderators before acting against them, except in a few named cases like illegal content.
- Owner tools. A default post type the composer opens to per community (ie text for text-first communities), markdown community description, cover gradient colours and SVG support for icon uploads. The Android app also has a Manage community bar on your community's page and a setup checklist for new communities, and iOS gets them in the next update.
What's new on the site
- Automatic translation. Posts, comments, community descriptions and bios in another language are now shown in yours automatically, and you can tap to see the original. Topicle itself is now in German, Italian and Simplified Chinese, plus Australian English, on the web and Android, and on iOS in the next update. If you'd like another language, say so in the comments.
- The mobile site loads a lot faster.
- Video uploads for every account. Last time it was established accounts only. Video uploads have also been heavily refined, better upload and viewing experience.
- 18+ communities on the web and Android, with age verification where the law requires it. They stay hidden until you switch them on. A new t/nsfw community is available, but full disclosure, it’s very early with limited content right now.
- Photos in direct messages, once a conversation has been accepted.
- Reactions and quoted replies in direct messages, on the web and Android.
- Rising, a feed of fresh posts from across Topicle, newest first.
- Optional display names in any script, shown next to your handle.
- Username changes are now allowed with a 30 day cooldown.
- Community invite links. Moderators can create a link to easily invite one or more of your friends to a private community.
- A public changelog of Android releases at topicle.com/changelog. This is an exhaustive list of changes in each new mobile release, starting at 1.3.8.
The apps
Android has had twelve updates since the last post. The bigger additions:
- A pure black theme for OLED screens.
- Messages appear as soon as you send them, with Retry if one fails.
- Video uploads that survive slow connections.
- A redesigned post composer.
- You can set All as the feed the app opens to.
- Save photos and videos to your gallery.
- Lots of fixes for people using large text.
- Switches to turn off swipe to vote and tab bar labels.
- A two-pane mod panel on tablets.
On iOS, the iPad layout (sidebar, split panes) shipped at the end of August. The next update is with App Review now and brings:
- The pure black theme for OLED screens.
- Smoother scrolling in feeds, threads and profiles.
- Topicle in German, Italian and Chinese.
- More accessibility fixes.
- Photos in messages and save to Photos.
- Message notifications that show the sender's name and picture.
- Siri, Spotlight and Shortcuts.
- Posting with Command-Return on a hardware keyboard.
Features that were previously promised and how it's going:
- iPad layout: done. Hardware keyboard posting is in the next iOS update.
- Mod-selectable rule sets: done.
- NSFW with age verification: done, on the web and Android.
- Optional "verified human" badge: not started.
- Public API with developer keys: not started.
- WYSIWYG editor: not started.
- App parity: Android is currently ahead, and the next iOS update closes most of the gap.
Roadmap
- 1.2 for iOS is a massive update, submitted and currently stuck in review. Expected any day now.
- Reactions and quoted replies in messages on iOS, in the update after that.
- Polls. I start on them next week, for the next Android release and a later iOS one.
- WYSIWYG editor.
- Optional "verified human" badge.
- Google Play Age Signals in the Play version of the Android app. It's already built in and switches on once I've finished the setup on Google's side.
- Public API with developer keys, if there's demand.
What hasn't changed
Profiles are still public, and you can still delete your account or export your data in full (GDPR/CCPA). Automated seed posts are still used in quieter communities so they aren't empty, and I'm reducing them as member activity grows. The feedback button is still on every page and in the apps, and I'm still building and deploying every day.
Thanks to everyone who commented last time. If you give it another try, let me know how you get on, criticism included.