Reddit killing RSS feeds and limiting access to 'Old Reddit'
What's the story
Reddit has announced its decision to discontinue support for RSS feeds, a move that has left many users disappointed. The company cited the growing misuse of RSS as a "common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse" as the reason behind this decision. The end date for RSS support on Reddit is November 13.
Shift explanation
What is RSS?
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication/Rich Site Summary, is a web feed that provides users and applications with updates from a website in a standardized format.
It became popular during the blogging era as it allowed people to subscribe to new posts on sites through news-reading apps.
However, Reddit has now decided to end support for this service on its platform.
Revenue increase
Reddit's financial success may have influenced its decision
Reddit's decision to end RSS feeds comes at a time when the platform is cashing in on its user-generated content through AI licensing deals.
In Q2 2026, the company's "other revenue" (excluding advertising) grew by 24% year-over-year (YoY) to $43 million.
This financial success explains why Reddit is reluctant to share any of that data for free with users.
Alternative recommendation
Reddit suggests an alternative for moderators
In light of the RSS feed discontinuation, Reddit has suggested moderators and their teams switch to the Discord Relay Devvit app.
The company advised moderators and their teams to review their setups and migrate workflows before November 13, to avoid disruption.
However, it clarified that there is no alternative for using RSS feeds outside of the moderators' community.
User feedback
Mixed reactions from users
The announcement of RSS feed discontinuation has drawn mixed reactions from Reddit users.
While some moderators are worried about how this change will affect their workflow, regular users have expressed disappointment over losing a preferred way of accessing content on the platform.
The company also announced plans to end public API access by March 2027, affecting tools that relied on it for programmatic access to Reddit conversations.
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Cutting back access to 'Old Reddit'
Reddit also provided an update on its Rules Hub and AutoModerator changes, while announcing new safeguards for Old Reddit, its classic text-heavy version of the site.
Over the next few months, access to Old Reddit will be limited to logged-in users who have used it within the past six months.
Reddit said the changes are necessary to address "abusive scraping and automated traffic." The company had initially planned a 90-day window but extended it to six months.
Information
API access to be removed for unregistered apps
Reddit also reminded developers of approved third-party apps and bots to register their projects with the company by January 12, 2027, to avoid disruptions. After that deadline, Reddit said it will remove API access for developers who have not completed the registration process.