Reddit has put dates on three separate changes to how outside software and people reach its content. RSS feeds stop working on 13 November 2026, the public API closes by March 2027, and developers with approved apps and bots have to register by 12 January 2027. Access to Old Reddit, the site’s classic interface, is being narrowed on its own separate schedule.
The company gives one reason across all of it: scraping and automated abuse. That is Reddit’s stated rationale rather than an independently established cause, and it sits alongside a data-licensing business that has become a real revenue line. Below is what each deadline actually covers, who it affects, and the one figure the two outlets covering it report differently.
When is Reddit shutting down RSS?
Reddit will stop supporting RSS feeds on 13 November 2026, according to TechCrunch. The company announced the change alongside a broader set of moderator and developer updates on 30 September. Reddit said RSS had become “a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse”, framing the shutdown as part of its effort to reduce automated access to the platform.
These changes do not amount to one single Reddit shutdown. RSS support ends on 13 November 2026, approved app and bot developers face a separate registration deadline of 12 January 2027, and Reddit’s public API is scheduled to shut down by March 2027. Changes to Old Reddit access are also being handled separately, with additional restrictions expected in the next few months.
Reddit acknowledged that RSS has long been part of how people follow material across the open web. The company said: “We know 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.” The decision nevertheless removes a direct way for people and software to subscribe to Reddit feeds without relying on Reddit’s main interfaces — a notable step for one of the biggest social platforms still running an open feed.
What replaces Reddit RSS feeds?
For moderators who currently depend on RSS channels for alerts, Reddit is pointing to the Discord Relay Devvit app. TechCrunch reported that Reddit told moderators to review their existing setups and migrate those workflows before RSS support ends on 13 November. That gives affected moderation teams a defined replacement path for at least some uses of RSS.
The situation is different for people using Reddit RSS feeds outside communities they moderate. Reddit says there is no replacement for those feeds. That distinction matters because RSS on Reddit has served more than one purpose: moderators could use it operationally, while other users could follow communities or content through independent feed readers and related tools.
The end of RSS support also fits a longer history of changing feed-reader infrastructure on the wider web. Google operated what TechCrunch described as the most popular RSS reader before shutting it down in 2013. Reddit’s move does not end RSS as a technology, but it removes Reddit as a source that can be followed through that mechanism after its November deadline.
When will Reddit shut down its public API?
Reddit’s public API will shut down by March 2027, TechCrunch reported. The change reaches beyond individual Reddit users because the public API is a route used by outside software to access Reddit data. Social listening products, research tools and AI assistants are among the services that will be affected once public access ends.
After the shutdown, those products will need commercial data deals with Reddit if they want continued access. That creates a clearer division between general public API access and paid arrangements negotiated directly with the company. The Verge reported that Reddit has already struck data deals with Google and OpenAI, while TechCrunch noted that AI licensing deals are included in Reddit’s “other revenue” rather than its advertising business.
That other-revenue category grew 24% year over year to $43 million in Reddit’s second quarter, according to TechCrunch. The figure provides context for why commercial data access is relevant to Reddit’s business, but Reddit’s stated rationale for its access restrictions focuses on scraping and automated abuse rather than presenting revenue growth as the cause of the policy changes.
What are Reddit's app registration deadlines?
Developers running approved third-party apps and bots must register them with Reddit before 12 January 2027, according to TechCrunch. After that date, Reddit will remove API access for developers who have not registered. The registration deadline therefore comes before the broader public API shutdown scheduled for March.
The requirement creates a staged transition rather than an immediate end to every form of API-based software. Developers with approved apps and bots have a specific registration obligation in January, while the public API has its own later shutdown point. The changes announced so far distinguish between registration status and the wider move away from public API availability.
| What changes | Date | Who it affects |
|---|---|---|
| RSS support ends | 13 November 2026 | RSS users and services relying on Reddit feeds |
| Moderator RSS workflows move to Discord Relay Devvit | Before 13 November 2026 | Moderators using RSS channels for alerts |
| Approved apps and bots must be registered | Before 12 January 2027 | Approved third-party app and bot developers |
| API access removed for unregistered developers | After 12 January 2027 | Developers who have not registered |
| Public API shuts down | By March 2027 | Social listening products, research tools, AI products and other public API users |
| Old Reddit gets stricter access rules | In the next few months | Logged-in users who do not meet recent-use requirements; moderators are treated separately |
What is changing with Old Reddit access?
Reddit has also tightened access to Old Reddit, the company’s classic text-heavy interface. The Verge reported that Reddit recently began requiring users to log in to use it. In the next few months, access will become more restrictive again by adding a requirement tied to whether a user has used Old Reddit within a recent period measured from when the change rolls out.
The Verge and TechCrunch reported different lengths for that recent-use window. The Verge said the window is six months and quoted Reddit as saying that period covers “the vast majority of all Old Reddit users”. TechCrunch reported the window as 90 days. Logged-in moderators will continue to have access without being subject to that recent-use requirement.
Reddit said the login requirement “helped reduce scraping and automated abuse” but “still allowed any logged-in account to access Old Reddit, including accounts with no prior Old Reddit use”. As with the RSS decision, that is Reddit’s stated explanation for the restriction. The change narrows Old Reddit availability based on account status and recent use rather than shutting the interface down outright.
Why is Reddit restricting scraping and automated access?
Across the RSS, API and Old Reddit changes, Reddit has repeatedly pointed to scraping and automated traffic. The company says RSS has become a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse, while its Old Reddit login requirement was also described as a measure that reduced scraping and automated abuse. Those are company-stated reasons rather than independently established explanations for every change.
The Verge also reported other steps Reddit has taken around automated collection of its data. Reddit has blocked the Internet Archive Wayback Machine to prevent AI scraping and has sued Anthropic over alleged unauthorised bot access. At the same time, it has commercial data deals with Google and OpenAI, showing that Reddit is distinguishing between access it authorises commercially and access it says violates its rules. The same tension runs through most current arguments about how AI systems gather data.
Those moves help explain the common thread between products that otherwise serve different audiences. RSS is an open feed mechanism, the public API is a structured route used by outside software, and Old Reddit is an alternative interface used directly by people. Reddit is applying separate controls to each rather than announcing one universal technical cutoff.
Is Reddit shutting down Old Reddit?
Reddit has not announced an Old Reddit shutdown in the updates reported by TechCrunch and The Verge. Instead, the company is limiting who can continue to access it. Users already need to be logged in, and further restrictions will require recent Old Reddit use, with moderators exempt from the recent-use rule.
The future of Old Reddit has been discussed publicly by chief executive Steve Huffman before these latest restrictions. In May 2025, Huffman said Reddit would keep Old Reddit online “as long as people are using it”. In August 2026, he said Reddit had reached a point where “we need to make some changes” because the experience was being used by “everyone who spams, scrapes, or does anything bad on Reddit”.
The latest measures fit that shift from keeping the interface broadly accessible toward limiting access while leaving it available to qualifying users. The exact recent-use threshold is the one point where the two reports differ: The Verge says six months, while TechCrunch says 90 days. What is consistent across both accounts is that moderators retain access without the recent-use condition and that Reddit is linking the restrictions to automated abuse — the same argument now shaping how open web content reaches AI answers.
FAQ
When does Reddit RSS support end?
Reddit RSS support ends on 13 November 2026. Reddit says RSS has become “a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse” and has told affected moderators to migrate relevant workflows before that date.
Is there a replacement for Reddit RSS feeds?
Reddit points moderators using RSS channels for alerts to the Discord Relay Devvit app. For RSS feeds used outside a community you moderate, Reddit says there is no replacement.
When will Reddit's public API stop working?
Reddit says its public API will shut down by March 2027. Social listening products, research tools and AI products such as AI assistants will need commercial data deals with Reddit after public access ends.
What is the Reddit developer registration deadline?
Developers with approved third-party apps and bots must register them with Reddit before 12 January 2027. After that date, Reddit will remove API access for developers who have not registered.
Is Reddit shutting down Old Reddit?
Reddit is restricting Old Reddit rather than announcing its shutdown in these updates. Users must be logged in, and a recent-use requirement is coming, while logged-in moderators will remain exempt from that recent-use condition.
How recent does Old Reddit use need to be?
The two reports give different figures. The Verge reports a six-month window and says Reddit believes it covers the vast majority of Old Reddit users, while TechCrunch reports a 90-day window.
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