Reddit Kills RSS Feeds November 13, Blames AI Bots

Reddit announced on Wednesday that it will end support for RSS feeds on November 13, citing the feeds as a target for abuse by AI bots. The company also confirmed it will terminate public API access in March, according to a report by TechCrunch's Sarah Perez. The changes were revealed alongside a series of updates for moderators and developers.

The decision follows Reddit's broader efforts to control how third parties access its data, particularly after its controversial API pricing changes in 2023 that sparked widespread protests. RSS feeds, which allow users to syndicate content, have been a staple of the open web for decades. Reddit claims the feeds are being exploited by automated AI bots, though specific details on the nature of the abuse were not provided.

The move is likely to draw criticism from open web advocates and developers who rely on RSS and public APIs for research, moderation tools, and content aggregation. It also underscores a growing trend among major platforms to restrict data access in the age of generative AI. Reddit's upcoming changes could prompt similar actions from other social media companies, further impacting the accessibility of public online content.