Reddit is preparing to make its platform primarily accessible to logged-in users, as the company faces declining traffic from search engines and growing concerns about unauthorised data scraping. CEO Steve Huffman announced the planned shift during Reddit’s third-quarter earnings update on October 29, 2026.
The company says it will begin testing the approach in selected markets outside the United States in the fourth quarter. Reddit has not yet set a timeline for a wider rollout or confirmed exactly which pages will remain accessible without an account.
Search Referrals Drop by More Than One Million a Week
Reddit said search referrals fell by more than one million per week on average during October. The company attributed the broader trend to changes in online search, including AI-powered results that can answer questions directly rather than sending users to websites.
Reddit warned that if the trend continues, its daily active unique visitors could fall by a low double-digit percentage in the fourth quarter from its third-quarter base of 130.3 million.
US Daily Users Decline
Reddit’s global daily active users were flat quarter over quarter at 130.3 million. In the United States, daily active users fell from 53.2 million in the second quarter to 50.7 million in the third quarter, a 2% year-over-year decline.
The company’s revenue nevertheless grew 53% year over year to $895 million. Advertising revenue rose 54% to $847 million, while non-advertising revenue, including data licensing, increased 35% to $48 million.
Login Requirement Could Help Ads and Protect Data
Reddit says logged-in users tend to engage more with the platform and provide signals that can help personalise feeds and improve ad targeting. The company also wants to limit unauthorised scraping of its discussions and posts, which are valuable to AI developers.
Reddit will continue licensing its data through commercial agreements, but says those deals will include safeguards for users and its business.
Some Browsing May Remain Available Without an Account
The company has not finalised the boundaries between logged-in and logged-out access. Reddit has said that keeping a logged-out front page and allowing visitors to view content from search results or shared links remain important considerations.
Huffman also said Reddit is rebuilding its in-app incognito mode. The company says the planned change is not intended to require users to reveal their real-world identity.
The shift would mark a significant change for a platform that has long attracted visitors through public search results. Reddit says the initial tests will help determine how a primarily logged-in experience could work globally.
