Author here. I haven't had the chance to test Reeddit directly on the Nexus 7, but if the sidebar is hidden, you should be able to see it by swiping to the right or tapping the subreddit name at the top.
I'm an intermediate level user of reddit. I use the "reddit is fun" app on android. It took me a long time to discover that the i in a circle at the top of the screen will bring up the sidebar content.
I have a suggestion, though I'm not sure it is a good one: If the sidebar contains a certain number of links, or length of text, and the user hasn't opened it on their mobile app yet, then the app can highlight the button with flashing or a color to recommend that a user reads it.
I find that there are many subreddits where if you start reading posts without the sidebar you are really missing out.
I'll one up this - I use an alternative, unofficial app for reddit. Until recently the 'open' button on their website would take me into that specific app - as you would expect - but since last week or so it's started sending me to the Google Play store page for the official app instead.
Reddit in the other hand has enough content and subs that there is always one more thing to check out. And by the time you’ve looked at all your subs you can basically start at the front again since so much time has passed
Oh there's none of that. You only see the subreddits you visit or any conglomeration thereof, such as multireddits or simply the frontpage. Unless you're subscribed to r/washingmachines, you'll never see a post from there. I didn't even know that was a thing in the official app, that turns me off even more.
old.reddit is truly horrible on mobile. Once you click on an image you can't go back. Off topic, but what is the other alternative UI called that people sometimes use?
The official Reddit app for Android is pretty feature poor so far. It only offers a default theme and a dark theme. It only offers a default layout and a compact layout. No customization beyond that. No option to always view links in external browser and Imgur links aren't opened in the Imgur app (etc for other sites).
It's nice that they've finally released an official app, but to use this instead of Bacon Reader / Relay / Slide / Reddit is Fun / etc would be a large step back in functionality.
Yup. RSS is the way to go for browsing Reddit without all the dark patterns.
Self plug - you can try my app Plenary on Android (no ads/trackers) - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.spians.ple... that has Reddit as one of the RSS Assistant option. It basically creates RSS feed for subreddits, users, search terms etc for you.
There's a rich ecosystem of incredible third party reddit apps on android, as an alternative. Reddit is really unpleasant to use on the mobile web, even without the dark patterns.
1. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=reddit.news
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