Reddit plans to put more of its forums behind a login

Reddit is preparing to shift from open browsing to a primarily logged-in service, beginning with tests in selected markets outside the U.S. this quarter. The immediate problem is discovery: the company says referrals from search fell by more than 1 million a week on average in October, as AI-led search results increasingly answer questions without sending people on to Reddit. Requiring accounts gives Reddit a direct relationship with readers it used to receive anonymously from search, helping it personalize feeds and sell more targeted advertising. It also makes bulk scraping of its discussions harder, a useful safeguard when human conversation has become valuable material for AI systems. The trade-off is clear: a site built around being easily searchable will become less open to casual visitors.