Reddit Tightens Old Reddit Access and Ends RSS Feeds to Deter AI Scraping

Reddit is tightening access to its legacy "Old Reddit" interface and deprecating RSS feeds to combat automated scraping and unauthorized bot traffic, according to reporting by The Verge (https://www.theverge.com/tech/1002788/old-reddit-ai-scraping).

Under changes rolling out over the next few months, browsing Old Reddit will require users to be logged in and to have used the classic interface within the six months prior to the rollout. Reddit said the six-month threshold covers the vast majority of existing Old Reddit users while closing a loophole where newly created or dormant accounts could bypass scraping defenses. Logged-in community moderators will remain exempt from the recent-use requirement.

Alongside the interface restrictions, Reddit will shut down RSS feed support on November 13. The company cited RSS as a common vector for large-scale scraping and automated abuse. While Reddit suggested alternatives such as Discord Relay for moderation workflows, it confirmed there is no replacement for general users who track feeds outside moderated communities.

The defensive measures follow a series of actions by Reddit to control access to its conversational data. The platform has entered commercial training data agreements with Google and OpenAI, sued AI developer Anthropic over alleged unauthorized bot access, and blocked the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Reddit Chief Executive Officer Steve Huffman had said in May 2025 that the company would keep Old Reddit online as long as people used it, but noted in August that changes were necessary because the legacy interface was being leveraged by scrapers and spammers.

Reddit also updated timelines for developers transitioning to its Developer Platform. The company plans to revoke API access for apps that have not registered by January 12, with all remaining public data API access scheduled to end in March 2027.