Reddit Shifts to Logged-In Experience Amid AI Search Changes

Reddit announced on its third-quarter earnings call that it is transitioning to a primarily logged-in experience. The company stated this shift is designed to protect its data from AI scraping and facilitate licensing deals with model providers. Additionally, the move aims to help retain new users and provide more signals for better ad targeting. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman confirmed the decision in a letter to shareholders, describing it as the right choice for the platform and its business.

The change comes as Reddit faces declining search traffic referrals, which dropped by more than one million per week in October. The company warned that if this trend continues, daily active users could decline significantly. Despite these challenges, Reddit reported a 53% year-over-year revenue increase to $895 million in Q3, with net income rising 74% to $283 million. Advertising revenue grew 54% to $847 million, while nonadvertising revenue, including AI data licensing, increased 35% to $48 million.

Reddit will begin testing the login requirement in select non-US markets in the fourth quarter to determine the global rollout strategy. The company has not yet provided a timeline for when the change will reach all users worldwide. Reddit also noted that being logged in does not require users to give up anonymity, as an incognito mode is being rebuilt.