Reddit is ending support for RSS feeds, with the shutdown date set for November 13. Reddit said RSS support will cease on November 13, citing concerns that RSS has become a “common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse.” This move aligns with a broader strategy to restrict structured, machine access to its data.
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication/Rich Site Summary, is a web feed that lets users and applications access updates to a website in a standardized format. It has long been a go-to for users wanting updates from various websites in a consistent format. Once popular during the blogging boom, RSS enabled users to easily subscribe to new posts through news-reading applications. However, Reddit’s decision indicates a tightening of access methods that have facilitated data scraping and automated traffic.
Alongside the RSS feeds, Reddit plans to shut down its public API by March 2027. This closure will impact tools that depend on programmatic access to Reddit’s content, such as social listening products and AI assistants that currently use the platform to respond to user queries. Once the public API is disabled, these tools will need to forgo commercial deals with Reddit for its data.
Reddit’s decision to limit data access aligns with its strategy to monetize user-generated content. In the second quarter of 2026, Reddit reported that its “other revenue” beyond advertising grew 24% year-over-year to $43 million. This trend highlights why Reddit may be reluctant to offer free access to its valuable data.
Moderators who have relied on RSS feeds for alerts and content management are being encouraged to transition their workflows to the Discord Relay Devvit app before the November 13 deadline. However, Reddit has indicated that there is no replacement for RSS feeds used outside of the moderators’ community.
Many moderators have already voiced their concerns about the implications of this change. Previous hints from Reddit regarding the end of RSS led to numerous complaints, with users expressing that managing Reddit’s content may become overwhelming without it. Reddit stated that these limitations are necessary because of “abusive scraping and automated traffic.” In the next few months, Reddit will limit access for logged-in users to those who have used Old Reddit in the last 90 days.
Moving forward, developers working on approved third-party apps and bots must register their applications with Reddit by January 12, 2027, to maintain API access. After that date, any developer who hasn’t registered will lose their access, indicating a tightening of restrictions across the board.
These changes are part of Reddit’s larger strategy to control how its data is accessed and used, with public use of RSS and API-based processing facing stricter constraints. As these modifications take effect, users and developers will need to adapt quickly to the new landscape of Reddit access.
