Reddit will soon be a ‘logged-in-only’ website, forcing you to have an account

Reddit is preparing to transition to a "logged-in only" experience, requiring users to have an account to access the site, according to the company's latest earnings call. While the exact timeline is still unclear, Reddit has confirmed that it will restrict usage for individuals without an account, affecting even private browsing modes.

CEO Steve Huffman detailed this change in a shareholder letter and a Reddit post, emphasizing that it will enhance the user experience by offering more relevant content and communities. This move is also beneficial for Reddit's business as it provides more data for targeted advertising and higher engagement. Additionally, locking down the site will safeguard the platform's extensive data and help comply with evolving global regulations.

Reddit plans to begin testing the logged-in-only experience in select markets outside the U.S. in Q4, with the results guiding a globally optimized version. The decline in search referral traffic, especially from logged-out users, has been significant, with a drop of more than 1 million referrals on average per week. Huffman also clarified that a private browsing mode has been rebuilt and re-released in the app.

The decision to prioritize logged-in users is partly driven by the need to combat AI scraping, as most unauthorized access to Reddit's data occurs through logged-out experiences. Huffman mentioned that the front page will still be accessible to logged-out users, as well as content linked from search or other external sources. This transition follows the introduction of a personalized "For You" homepage on Reddit.