Reddit users, moderators, and third-party developers who rely on open data access to the platform will lose that access in two stages ending in March 2027. Reddit confirmed on September 30, 2026, that it will stop supporting RSS feeds on November 13, 2026, and close its remaining public API access in phases running through March 2027.
The changes were detailed in an announcement in Reddit's r/modnews community and a companion technical post in r/redditdev, with dates, migration instructions, and next steps for moderators and developers whose workflows depend on the retiring systems.
RSS Support Ends November 13 With No General Replacement
Reddit stated in its September 30 r/modnews post: "Because RSS is now a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse, we'll stop supporting RSS feeds on November 13, 2026 while preserving moderation workflows that depend on it through supported alternatives."
Reddit confirmed there is "no replacement" for RSS use outside of a community a user moderates. For moderators who relied on RSS-based alerts, Reddit is offering a specific path forward. Reddit has suggested moderators and their teams switch to the Discord Relay Devvit app and advised them to review their setups and migrate workflows before November 13 to avoid disruption.
Public API Shutdown Proceeds in Phases Through March 2027
Researchers, social listening tools, and AI assistants that pull Reddit data through the API will need commercial deals with the platform after the shutdown. Reddit's r/redditdev post laid out a firm phased timeline for the transition.
New requests for public API access will no longer be accepted after October 31, 2026. Starting January 12, 2027, Reddit will begin removing API access for apps and users that have not registered or responded to its outreach. A further progress update is scheduled for February 23, 2027, and public access will close for all remaining apps and users in March 2027.
Reddit's Developer Platform, known as Devvit, replaces the public API. Where the public API allowed developers to run their code on their own servers and pull Reddit data from outside, Devvit hosts code on Reddit's own infrastructure, with Reddit controlling which APIs are available.
Developer Migration Program Offers $1,000 Per Eligible App
Reddit said more than 14,000 apps and bots have registered, and it described the migrations of DeltaBot, MagicEyeBot, and RemindMeBot as completed or near-complete.
A $1 million App Migration Program pays $1,000 to each eligible app that migrates and offers free hosting and technical support. Registration for the migration bounty program closes on November 30, 2026. Developers seeking migration funding must act before that deadline, which precedes the January API access changes.
AI Licensing Revenue Provides Financial Context
The timing of these restrictions coincides with Reddit's growing revenue from data licensing. Reddit's "Other revenue" category, which includes its data licensing business, grew 24% year-over-year to $43 million in Q2 2026, with the company's two biggest data licensing partners being OpenAI and Google. That figure is confirmed in Reddit's Q2 2026 Form 10-Q filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which shows Other revenue of $43.28 million for the three months ended June 30, 2026, compared to $34.84 million in the same period a year earlier.
By restricting free, automated access to its site, the company aims to move businesses and developers toward paid, commercial agreements.
Old Reddit Access Also Restricted for Scraping Reasons
The RSS and API changes are part of a broader set of access restrictions Reddit announced on September 30. Reddit said Old Reddit will be limited to logged-in moderators and users who have accessed the classic interface within the last six months, citing "abusive scraping and automated traffic." Logged-in moderators are exempt from the six-month activity requirement and retain access without restriction.
Implications for Marketers and Social Listening Tools
Social listening platforms, brand monitoring tools, and research applications that currently aggregate Reddit conversations through the public API or RSS will need to either migrate to Reddit's Developer Platform or enter into commercial data licensing agreements before March 2027. Tools that have not registered with Reddit by January 12, 2027, face earlier access termination. Marketers using RSS to monitor subreddit activity in third-party dashboards have no platform-supported alternative outside of moderation use cases.
Reddit's content deals with Google and OpenAI are reported to expire next year, making the controlled data access framework established by these infrastructure changes commercially significant beyond the developer and moderation communities directly affected by the November and March deadlines.
