Reddit Kills RSS, Ends Public API Access By March 2027 Amid Scraping Crackdown

Reddit is closing two long-standing routes into its content, even as it leans harder on AI to fight AI-driven abuse.

RSS support ends November 13, 2026, while remaining public application programming interface (API) access will disappear in March 2027 as Reddit pushes developers toward its Developer Platform.
 

TL;DR

 

• Reddit will stop supporting RSS feeds on November 13, 2026, citing large-scale scraping and automated abuse.
• New public API access requests end October 31, 2026, with remaining public access closing in March 2027.
• More than 14,000 apps and bots have already registered for migration.
• Old Reddit and Automod are also getting tighter access rules as Reddit expands anti-abuse controls.

 

Reddit RSS Shutdown Sets November 13 Deadline For Users And Moderators

The irony is difficult to miss. Reddit has been using large language models to fight spam and bot activity, and now it is also cutting off access points it says have become useful for automated abuse.

Reddit said Really Simple Syndication (RSS) has become a “common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse,” leading it to retire RSS feeds on November 13. Moderators using RSS for alerts are being directed to alternatives such as the Discord Relay Devvit app, but Reddit says there is no replacement for feeds used outside communities a person moderates.

“RSS has been a beloved part of the open web for a long time,” Reddit said.

The shift builds on Reddit’s earlier attempts to restrict large-scale scraping, including changes to its robots.txt file and efforts to block unknown bots and crawlers.
 

 

Reddit Public API Access Ends In March 2027 As Developer Platform Takes Over

RSS is only part of the shutdown. Reddit is moving public Data API apps and bots to its Developer Platform, with more than 14,000 already registered, including DeltaBot, MagicEyeBot, and RemindMeBot.

New requests for public API access stop October 31, 2026. From January 12, 2027, Reddit will begin removing access for apps and users that have not registered or responded to outreach, before closing all remaining public access in March 2027.

Reddit is also offering migration funding and technical support, including $1,000 payments for eligible successful migrations.

The changes reportedly affect services using Reddit conversations programmatically, including social listening products, research tools, and AI assistants.
 

 

Reddit Tightens Old Reddit And Automod Access To Curb Automated Abuse

Reddit is also tightening Old Reddit access. In the coming months, it will be limited to logged-in users who have used Old Reddit within the previous six months, while logged-in moderators remain exempt from that recent-use requirement.

Automod is changing too. Existing communities already using it will not be affected, but new communities and those that have never used Automod will lose enforcement actions such as Report, Filter, Remove, Mark as spam, and Approve, with Rules Hub and Automations becoming the default path.

Together, the changes move more access and moderation activity into systems Reddit directly controls.