Reddit is preparing a major change to how people access its platform, with the company planning to introduce login requirements for users who currently browse the website without an account.
For years, Reddit has allowed visitors to explore public discussions, read comments and search for information without signing in. The platform has also become a popular destination for people looking for real-world experiences and answers, with many users adding the word “Reddit” to Google searches to find discussions written by actual people.
However, this open access has increasingly become a problem for the company as automated bots and AI companies scrape large amounts of Reddit content. Reddit has already taken legal action against companies it accuses of accessing its data without authorization and has introduced restrictions aimed at limiting automated collection.
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman announced the planned login requirement, saying the company will initially test the change in selected markets outside the United States over the coming months. The company has not provided a definitive timeline for a wider rollout or explained exactly what visitors will see when they open Reddit links without signing in.
Huffman said Reddit would evaluate how the change affects the user experience, its business and the wider Reddit ecosystem before deciding how broadly to implement it.
According to the CEO, most unauthorized access to Reddit happens through experiences available to logged-out visitors. Requiring users to sign in would give the company greater control over access to its content and help protect its data from unauthorized scraping.
The company also believes the change could improve its advertising business by allowing it to deliver more relevant advertisements to logged-in users. Huffman emphasized that Reddit does not necessarily need to know users’ real-world identities, saying the company simply wants to know that visitors are logged in.
The move does not mean Reddit will stop sharing its data with AI companies altogether. The platform has previously signed data licensing agreements with OpenAI and Google, allowing those companies to access Reddit content under commercial arrangements.
Alongside the login requirement, Reddit is also rebuilding and reintroducing its mobile app’s incognito mode, giving users another way to browse without connecting their activity to their regular account.
The announcement came alongside Reddit’s third-quarter 2026 financial results. The company reported that search traffic declined significantly during the quarter, with logged-out visitors and website traffic experiencing the biggest impact.
Huffman also revealed that search traffic had fallen by more than one million referrals per week on average during October.
Despite the decline, Reddit says app users and logged-in daily active unique users account for more than 80% of its monetization. The company believes this demonstrates the importance of its mobile app and logged-in user experience to its advertising business.
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If implemented more broadly, the change could significantly affect how people discover Reddit discussions through search engines and share public discussion links with friends who do not have accounts. It would also mark a major shift for a platform that has allowed largely unrestricted logged-out browsing for nearly two decades.
