Reddit says it has to cut back access to ‘Old Reddit’ because of AI bots

Reddit will tighten access to its Old Reddit interface by requiring users to be logged in and to have used Old Reddit within the past six months once the change rolls out in the coming months. The company also said it will disable RSS feeds on November 13 and is moving third-party apps and bots to its developer platform with staged API cutoffs through March 2027.

By AI Newsroom· Reviewed by Pranav, Founder & Editor-in-ChiefPublished 1 minute agoUpdated 1 minute ago0 views

Reddit says it has to cut back access to ‘Old Reddit’ because of AI bots

Why It Matters

The restrictions are part of Reddit’s broader effort to curb large-scale scraping and automated abuse that the company says fuels unauthorized data access and AI training. The measures affect longstanding open-web use cases like RSS and impose deadlines for third-party developers, with potential impact on moderation tools and archiving workflows.

Key Facts

New Old Reddit rule: Users will need to be logged in and to have used Old Reddit within the last six months once the restriction is active
Timing for rollout: Change will take effect in the "next few months" (announcement period) — exact date not specified
RSS shutdown: Reddit will stop supporting RSS feeds on November 13
Moderator exception: Logged-in moderators can continue to use Old Reddit without the six-month usage requirement
API transition deadlines: Apps that haven't registered will lose API access starting January 12, 2027; all remaining public API access ends in March 2027

Reddit announced tighter limits on who can use its Old Reddit interface as part of an ongoing campaign to reduce scraping and automated traffic. After previously requiring users to log in to view Old Reddit, the company said it will soon require that logged-in users also have used Old Reddit within the prior six months in order to continue accessing the classic view. Reddit stated that the six-month window covers the vast majority of Old Reddit users. The company framed the move as a way to block automated actors that create new accounts or access abandoned ones to scrape content. Moderators are exempt from the recent-usage requirement and can still use Old Reddit while logged in. As a related step, Reddit will disable RSS feeds on November 13, calling RSS “a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse,” and suggesting alternatives for moderation workflows where applicable. This change forms part of a broader set of measures Reddit has taken to control unsanctioned access to its content. The company has previously blocked the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to limit AI scraping, sued Anthropic for alleged unauthorized bot access, and negotiated agreements with Google and OpenAI over use of Reddit data for training. Reddit also reiterated its plan to move apps and bots that rely on its public API onto its developer platform. The firm will start removing API access for apps that have not registered by January 12, 2027, and intends to end all remaining public API access in March 2027. The company said the initial login requirement for Old Reddit had already reduced scraping and automated abuse but still permitted any logged-in account, including those without prior Old Reddit use, to access the interface until now.