Reddit to Phase Out Public API and Restrict ‘Old Reddit’ Interface in AI Scraping Crackdown

Reddit Inc. is moving to phase out its public application programming interface and restrict access to its legacy desktop layout, accelerating a platform lockdown aimed at curbing unauthorized artificial intelligence scraping and forcing developers onto its tightly controlled infrastructure.

The social media company announced it will gradually restrict new requests for its public API, requiring third-party developers to operate on Reddit’s Developer Platform, also known as Devit. To accelerate the transition, Reddit is offering a $1 million app migration program, though developers will ultimately have no alternative as public API access is curtailed.

The move deepens a strategy initialized in 2023, when Reddit introduced paid API access to prevent technology firms from harvesting its vast database of human conversation to train large language models without compensation. That decision triggered site-wide blackouts and effectively forced major third-party apps to shut down. Since going public on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2024, Reddit has secured lucrative data-licensing deals with companies including Google and OpenAI, making control over its underlying data central to its commercial growth.

As part of its anti-scraping measures, Reddit is also preparing significant changes to “Old Reddit,” the 21-year-old desktop version still preferred by veteran users and community managers. The company has begun blocking logged-out access to the legacy interface, citing security risks.

“Old Reddit’s logged-out experience is a significant source of abusive scraping and automated traffic on the platform,” Reddit administrator boat-botany wrote in a post to users, noting that the platform “can’t promise it will be around forever.”

A spokesperson for Reddit confirmed the block is rolling out gradually and stated the company is “exploring different options” for Old Reddit without establishing a formal timeline for a complete shutdown. Reddit is currently working to migrate critical bots and moderator workflows from Old Reddit to its modern architecture.

In parallel with the developer and interface overhauls, Reddit is expanding tests of “Rules Hub,” an LLM-powered moderation tool. Designed to eventually replace the enforcement functionality of Reddit’s legacy AutoMod tool, Rules Hub uses generative AI to analyze user intent, natural language, and context rather than relying on keyword matching. Reddit stated that non-enforcement features of AutoMod will remain operational.