Reddit restricts Old Reddit access to combat AI scraping
Reddit requires Old Reddit users to have activity within six months, while ending RSS support and updating its API platform.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Reddit limits Old Reddit access to accounts with activity within the last six months.
- RSS feeds will be shut down on November 13th due to large-scale data scraping risks.
- Public API access for unregistered apps and bots will end by January 2027.
- CEO Steve Huffman emphasizes changes are necessary to stop spam and automated abuse.
Reddit is further tightening restrictions on who can access the classic “Old Reddit” interface as part of an ongoing initiative to combat data scraping and automated traffic, following its recent requirement for users to log in before browsing the older layout.
According to the company's recent announcement, users will soon need to be logged in and have actively used Old Reddit within the previous six months in order to continue viewing the platform through the classic experience in the coming months.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
Reddit stated that this six-month window applies to the vast majority of all Old Reddit users. The update is explicitly designed to block the creation of new bot accounts as well as prevent automated systems from exploiting dormant or abandoned accounts. Alongside these changes, Reddit will discontinue support for RSS feeds on November 13th, citing that RSS has become a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse, while suggesting alternatives like Discord Relay for moderation purposes.
Reddit's decision to restrict the classic interface and phase out RSS highlights the ongoing friction between social media platforms and AI developers looking to harvest unstructured data for large language model training. While clamping down on unapproved data harvesting, Reddit has simultaneously pursued official data-licensing partnerships with tech giants such as Google and OpenAI.
The platform has waged a prolonged campaign against unauthorized data access, which includes blocking the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to prevent AI scraping, suing Anthropic over alleged unauthorized bot access, and striking data-training agreements with major AI firms.
While CEO Steve Huffman stated in May 2025 that the company would keep Old Reddit online as long as users remained active, he acknowledged this past August that changes had become necessary because the legacy experience was being exploited by spammers and scrapers. Logged-in moderators, however, will remain exempt from the recent usage requirement.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
In addition, Reddit provided updates regarding the transition of apps and bots utilizing its public data API to the official developer platform. Access will be revoked for users who fail to register their applications by January 12th, 2027, with all remaining public API access scheduled to conclude in March 2027.
Source: The Verge
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