Reddit Is Choking Off RSS and Open Web Access to Keep AI Bots Out

People who post on Reddit often love to complain, especially if it’s about Reddit itself. Now they have a legit reason to do so.

The massive network of online discussion forums and social news aggregator has announced a timetable and details regarding its new antibot and data-scraping measures, which include discontinuing support for RSS feeds on Nov. 13.

The platform, which boasts over 500 million monthly active users, first hinted at these changes in early August and outlined measures it said were to protect the site from spam and to make moderation easier. But subsequent updates left users with lingering questions about when restrictions on public APIs — the rules that allow interaction between software programs — and changes to the site’s Old Reddit version would take effect.

Under the new policy, access to Old Reddit will be restricted to individuals who have used the legacy interface within the last six months. Many users still prefer this classic layout because it features fewer ads and loads faster due to its text-heavy design. As user shillyshally writes, “No geegaws, just straight up info and ads that are unobtrusive text only.”

As for slamming the door on RSS feeds, the company said those feeds have become a huge attack surface for “large-scale scraping and automated abuse,” though it will support moderators who need that option for subreddits through its developer platform. RSS is an open-web standard that lets users consume content on their own terms, without targeted ads, tracking cookies, sponsored posts or engagement-based algorithms that steer what you see.

And while it previously mentioned limiting its public API, Reddit now says it will move all public API access to its developer platform, Devvit, effectively closing the open web “front door.” That means any third-party developer accessing Reddit will need to be inside the site’s tightly controlled sandbox, barring any off-the-books workarounds or hacking.

The company said in a post on Wednesday that it’s easing the transition to its developer platform by working directly with creators to migrate over 14,000 registered apps, close technical capability gaps and help communities find new owners for abandoned bots.

A representative told CNET in an email that the company had no comment beyond the updates it had posted publicly.

Reddit vs. Reddit

Reddit frames the move as a necessary defense against abuse and theft by unauthorized AI scrapers, but some critics view it as a deliberate strategy to force users into its proprietary ecosystem. By killing open RSS feeds and shutting down public APIs, Reddit appears to be closing off ad-free, third-party alternatives that have allowed people to easily access and sort large volumes of news and messages.

While Reddit points moderators toward internal tools like the Discord Relay app for alerts, the company says that general users relying on RSS feeds for reading Reddit content beyond moderation are out of luck: “If you use RSS for feeds outside of a community you moderate, there is no replacement. RSS has been a beloved part of the open web for a long time, and we’re grateful to everyone who used it to stay connected to Reddit.” 

Many have been quick to point out that eliminating open standards will break independent workflows and result in total platform enclosure. Users will be funneled directly into the official app and modern desktop site, where Reddit can capture ad impressions, collect usage data and ensure that its vast data — composed of many human conversations — is reserved exclusively for high-value corporate AI licensing deals with partners like Google and OpenAI.

Some users complained that Reddit’s current app and design are why they use a third-party app or still use Old Reddit. “old.reddit.com was first created in 2018,” said da_chicken, “and new reddit is still worse in every way except the lack of dark mode. You can’t compete with your own design from almost a decade ago.”

Not surprisingly, many on the RSS subreddit said they’re done with X (formerly Twitter) once RSS goes away. “I follow about 20 subs, and have nested posts/threads I subscribe to if I find something interesting and want to see replies. Without RSS, I don’t see how the site is even usable,” wrote way-too-lazy.

One user suggested reaching far back into internet history to replace Reddit. “Maybe we should go back to DIGG. Are they still around?” asked OneCalledWell.