Reddit Discontinues RSS Feeds to Block AI Scrapers and Bots

30 Sept 2026, 11:15 pm · 1d ago · 1 min read · TechCrunch AI

Social media platform Reddit is shutting down its traditional RSS feed support and further restricting public API access to counter automated data harvesting by artificial intelligence companies. The platform has intensified its content protection measures to prevent frontier AI labs and third-party web crawlers from scraping user discussions without licensing agreements. The deprecation of RSS feeds affects users and developers who rely on syndication protocols to track community posts and discussions. Reddit’s policy reflects a broader industry trend where user-generated platforms build strict paywalls and digital boundaries to commercialize and protect their proprietary training datasets.