Key facts
- Reddit will discontinue RSS feed support on November 13, 2026.
- Public API access will be fully shut down in March 2027.
- New public API requests cease on October 31, 2026.
- Reddit cites automated scraping and abuse as reasons for the changes.
- The company has secured AI data licensing deals with Google and OpenAI.
- Reddit is suing Anthropic and Perplexity for alleged unauthorized data scraping.
Reddit is significantly restricting external access to its platform by phasing out RSS feeds and closing public API access, a move aimed at combating automated data scraping and abuse. The company announced that RSS feeds will cease to function on November 13, 2026, with all remaining public API access to be shut down by March 2027. New requests for public API access will stop on October 31, 2026.
These changes are part of Reddit's broader effort to modernize its infrastructure and protect its content. The platform has recently entered into significant data licensing agreements with AI companies, including Google and OpenAI, allowing them to train their models on Reddit's vast repository of user-generated content. Concurrently, Reddit is pursuing legal action against entities it accuses of unauthorized scraping.
Reddit is suing Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI model, alleging that its bots accessed Reddit servers over 100,000 times after being told to stop. In a separate case, Reddit also took legal action in October 2025 against Perplexity and three data-scraping firms, accusing them of circumventing its protective measures. Perplexity has denied these claims, and Cloudflare previously accused Perplexity of disguising its web crawlers as ordinary browsers to bypass blocks.
To support developers in adapting to these changes, Reddit is offering a $1 million App Migration Program. This initiative includes payments for eligible apps that transition to Reddit's Devvit Developer Platform and provides free hosting. Applications for this program are due by November 30, 2026. The company stated that over 14,000 apps and bots have already registered, with popular tools like DeltaBot and RemindMeBot nearing completion of their migration. For moderators who rely on RSS for alerts, Reddit suggests a Devvit app called Discord Relay as an alternative. However, for general RSS use outside of moderated communities, Reddit acknowledges there is no direct replacement.