Reddit is shutting the door on two more ways to read its site without logging into the official app.
Starting November 13, Reddit will block access to RSS feeds, according to PCMag. The company is also limiting access to old.reddit.com, the stripped-down version of the site long favored by power users and developers who wanted to avoid the modern redesign. Both moves fall under Reddit's broader crackdown on AI bots, which the company says scrape its pages for training data without permission. Reddit has not detailed exactly how old Reddit access will be limited, only that the change arrives alongside the RSS shutdown.
RSS and old Reddit were two of the last low-friction ways to pull content off the site without hitting a login wall or an API fee. Closing them pushes more traffic - human and automated - through channels Reddit can meter and monetize, continuing a pattern that started in 2023 when API pricing changes broke most third-party Reddit apps.
Call it an AI bot crackdown if you like, but the side effect is the same as every previous Reddit lockdown: regular users relying on old tools get caught in the net too.