Reddit ends RSS and public API access, citing AI bot scraping
Original: Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots
Why This Matters
Reddit's move accelerates the walling-off of user-generated content that AI companies depend on for training and retrieval.
Reddit will shut down RSS feeds on November 13, 2026, and close its public API by March 2027. The company cites large-scale scraping and automated abuse as the reason, though Reddit's AI licensing deals—worth $43M in Q2 'other revenue'—make the data more valuable kept behind closed doors.
Reddit announced Wednesday that it will end RSS feed support on November 13, 2026, calling RSS a 'common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse.' The public API will follow, shutting down by March 2027. That closure will cut off programmatic access to Reddit discussions for social listening tools, academic researchers, and AI assistants that currently query Reddit to answer user questions.
RSS, which dates to the blogging era and lets users subscribe to site updates via news-reader apps, was quietly beloved by power users and moderators alike. Reddit acknowledged as much: 'We know RSS has been a beloved part of the open web for a long time.' For moderators who relied on RSS for community alerts, Reddit is recommending a switch to the Discord Relay Devvit app, but has admitted there is no direct replacement for external RSS use cases.
The timing is notable. Reddit's Q2 2026 earnings showed 'other revenue'—largely AI data licensing deals—grew 24% year-over-year to $43 million. Shutting off free access to that same content pool fits neatly with protecting those licensing revenues. Moderators have already flagged concerns, with many saying the RSS shutdown will make their workflows significantly harder to manage.