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Reddit to require login

Software2 min read

Reddit plans to make logging in the main way to use the site. It will first test this outside the USA. The company says the change will help it fight unwanted data scraping.

Reddit wants users to log in

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman said on Thursday that the site should mostly be used with a login. For about 20 years, almost all content on Reddit could be read without an account. Reddit now wants to change this. The login rule will first be tested outside the USA. It is not yet clear which countries will be part of the test.

Key facts

  • In the third quarter, Reddit had an average of 130.3 million daily active users.
  • 76.8 million of them were not logged in.
  • App users and logged-in users make up over 80 percent of Reddit's money earnings (monetization).
  • In October, Reddit received over 1 million fewer search referrals per week on average.

Why the change is happening

Companies often copy large amounts of website content with bots. This is called scraping. Reddit sells data licenses to AI companies such as Google and OpenAI. It has also sued Anthropic and Perplexity for scraping without permission. In 2023, Reddit started charging third-party apps for API access, and popular apps like Apollo shut down. Reddit has also announced it will end its RSS feeds on November 13 and shut down its public API by March 2027.

Why it matters

This could change how billions of people find and read content online. Huffman says logins would let Reddit tailor content to each user, grow its ad business, and make rules easier to follow. Users do not have to give their real identity to make an account. Still, people who like browsing without an account may not be happy with the change.

What to watch

  • Which countries will test the login rule first.
  • Where the line between logged-in and logged-out use will be drawn. Huffman says the home page should stay open without login.
  • How the improved incognito mode in the app will work.
  • Whether search traffic recovers, and whether the test expands to more countries.

Glossary

API
A tool that lets other programs safely access a website's data.

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