Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots

Reddit is shutting down RSS feed support on November 13, 2026, and will end public API access by March 2027, citing "large-scale scraping and automated abuse" as the primary justification. The move effectively closes off free, standardized access to Reddit’s user-generated content, a shift that aligns with the company’s growing revenue from AI licensing deals; its non-advertising revenue grew 24% year-over-year to $43 million in Q2 2026, suggesting a strategic preference for monetizing data through commercial agreements rather than open access. While Reddit offers a Discord Relay app as a workaround for moderators, it explicitly admits there is no replacement for RSS feeds used by external tools or researchers, leaving third-party developers and social listening products without a viable path forward unless they secure specific commercial deals.

The announcement includes additional restrictions on Old Reddit, limiting access to logged-in users who have been active in the last 90 days, and requires developers to register their apps by January 12, 2027, to avoid losing API access entirely. Although framed as a security measure against bots, the timing and scope of these changes strongly imply that Reddit is consolidating control over its data assets to maximize licensing revenue from AI companies. The decision has already drawn criticism from moderators who rely on RSS for workflow management and users who preferred the open-web format, marking a significant retreat from interoperability standards in favor of a walled-garden model.