Reddit says more of its site will require users to log in

In short: Reddit says it will shift to a mostly logged-in experience after seeing less traffic coming from search engines.

What happened

Reddit told investors in its third-quarter earnings call that it is transitioning to a primarily “logged-in experience.” That means more people may have to sign in to browse Reddit, instead of reading pages freely from a Google link.

The company said one reason is to reduce “AI scraping,” which is when software automatically copies large amounts of site content (like someone walking into a library and photocopying whole shelves). Reddit wants more control so it can make licensing deals that allow AI companies to use its data under agreed terms.

Reddit also said search referrals dropped by more than 1 million per week on average in October. Global daily active users were flat at 130.3 million in Q3, while U.S. daily active users fell from 53.2 million in Q2 to 50.7 million in Q3.

Reddit’s business performance was stronger than its user growth. Revenue rose 53% year over year to $895 million, and net income rose 74% to $283 million. Advertising revenue grew 54% to $847 million, while non-ad revenue including data licensing grew 35% to $48 million.

Reddit said this will not happen overnight. It will test changes in select markets outside the U.S. in the fourth quarter, and it has not shared a full rollout timeline. CEO Steve Huffman also said logging in does not mean giving up anonymity, and Reddit is rebuilding its incognito mode.

Why it matters

Many people use Reddit as a public reference, especially through search. If more pages require a login, it could change how easy it is to quickly read answers and it could be a sign that more websites will put content behind sign-in screens as AI tools reduce traditional search traffic.

Source: TechCrunch AI