Reddit is locking down old.reddit.com. Starting within the next month, you will need to log in to access it.
The company says it is about security. A Reddit employee named boat-botany explained that the logged-out experience on Old Reddit is a "significant source of abusive scraping and automated traffic."
Fair enough. Old Reddit does not have the same security stack as the modern site. Forcing logins gives Reddit more signals to detect bots and rule-breakers.
But let us be real. This also ties every visit to an account. That means data. That means ad targeting. Reddit relies on advertising revenue, and connecting traffic to specific users is how that works.
Power users are not happy. For years, old.reddit.com has been the refuge for people who hate the redesign. It loads faster, uses less data, and does not shove a mobile app down your throat.
Speaking of which — this follows Reddit testing blocks on logged-out mobile web visits to push people toward the app. The pattern is clear.
There is also this: Reddit won’t promise old.reddit.com lasts forever. Boat-botany said it is not shutting down "right now," but stopped short of guaranteeing its long-term future. CEO Steve Huffman has said they will support it while people are still using it — but "while people are still using it" is doing a lot of work there.
If you value the old interface, log in and keep using it. Just do not assume it will be around indefinitely.
