Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots
News Source
β’Wed, 30 Sep 2026 17:45:00 +0000
π° What Happened
Reddit will end support for RSS feeds on November 13. It will also shut down public API access by March 2027. Reddit says RSS became a common way for bots to scrape huge amounts of data. Moderators who used RSS alerts are told to move to a Discord tool. Users, researchers and AI assistants that relied on the feeds will lose free access to Reddit posts.
π The Backstory
RSS is an old open-web format that lets people follow site updates in a reader app. Google ran the most popular reader until it closed it in 2013. Reddit's user posts have become valuable for AI training deals, and its non-ad revenue rose 24 percent to $43 million last quarter. AI assistants that used Reddit data will now need paid deals with the company.
π― Why It Matters
Many people follow Reddit through apps and feeds that will now break. The change shows how AI scraping is pushing sites to close open doors, which can make the web less free and more locked down.
Reddit will end support for RSS feeds on November 13. It will also shut down public API access by March 2027. Reddit says RSS became a common way for bots to scrape huge amounts of data. Moderators who used RSS alerts are told to move to a Discord tool. Users, researchers and AI assistants that relied on the feeds will lose free access to Reddit posts.
RSS is an old open-web format that lets people follow site updates in a reader app. Google ran the most popular reader until it closed it in 2013. Reddit's user posts have become valuable for AI training deals, and its non-ad revenue rose 24 percent to $43 million last quarter. AI assistants that used Reddit data will now need paid deals with the company.
Many people follow Reddit through apps and feeds that will now break. The change shows how AI scraping is pushing sites to close open doors, which can make the web less free and more locked down.