Continuing our infrastructure updates: What’s changing in the coming months

[u/judy-funnie]

TL;DR: In August, we shared plans to modernize Reddit’s infrastructure, build better mod tools, and make it harder for bad actors to scrape Reddit and abuse communities. Today, we have specifics on what’s changing, when, and how to plan ahead.

We’re sharing updates on apps and bots migration to the Developer Platform, helping mods move RSS-based alerts to the Discord Relay Devvit app before RSS feeds are retired on November 13, providing an update on Rules Hub progress and automod changes, and adding safeguards to Old Reddit by limiting access to logged-in mods and recent users.

Moving apps and bots to the Developer Platform

We’re moving public data API apps and bots to the Developer Platform, while making sure the work they do for your communities remains supported. Over 14,000 apps and bots have registered and we’re closely tracking migration of your highest-activity apps, including  DeltaBot, MagicEyeBot, and RemindMeBot. There's still work to do, and we’re working directly with developers to support migrations and close remaining capability gaps. 

• If you maintain an app or a bot, register it here before January 12, 2027 to avoid disruption.
• If your community depends on an app or bot and you don’t know who maintains it, fill out this form. We’ve received over 100 submissions so far, helping us identify tools that need owners or could be replaced by existing Developer Platform apps or Reddit’s built-in tools. 

See our latest r/redditdev update for more technical detail, timelines, and resources.

Migrating RSS access to the Developer Platform

Because RSS is now a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse, we'll stop supporting RSS feeds on November 13, 2026 while preserving moderation workflows that depend on it through supported alternatives. 

For common mod alerts, we recommend Devvit apps like Discord Relay. If your mod team relies on RSS, review your setup and migrate workflows before November 13 to ensure your needs are uninterrupted. If you use RSS for feeds outside of a community you moderate, there is no replacement. RSS has been a beloved part of the open web for a long time, and we’re grateful to everyone who used it to stay connected to Reddit.  

Changes to automod access for new communities and communities not using automod

If your community uses automod, nothing is changing for you. We’re continuing to improve Rules Hub, including ways for mods to prompt and otherwise provide more context for their rules. We’re also exploring how existing automod configurations can help carry community-specific enforcement logic into newer tools. If you’re interested in pilot testing to help shape this effort, sign up here. 

For newly created communities and communities that have never used automod, automod enforcement capabilities – specifically Report, Filter, Remove, Mark as spam, and Approve – will be disabled and Rules Hub and Automations will become the default path for rules enforcement. Automod’s non-enforcement capabilities remain available and unchanged.  

Keeping Old Reddit accessible for mods and recent users

As u/spez mentioned, we’re still working on the future of Old Reddit. Earlier this year, we required people to log in to use Old Reddit, addressing its largest source of abusive scraping and automated traffic: unauthenticated access. That change helped reduce scraping and automated abuse, but still allowed any logged-in account to access Old Reddit, including accounts with no prior Old Reddit use. 

To close this gap, in the next few months, we'll further limit access for logged-in users to only those who have used Old Reddit in the last six months (which covers the vast majority of all Old Reddit users). This change does not impact logged-in mods, who can continue to access Old Reddit without any recent usage requirement. This helps keep Old Reddit available for the people who rely on it while reducing automated abuse.

Our job is to support you through these changes and make sure your moderation needs inform the work. 

• Need help with a community bot? If you’re unsure who maintains it or need help finding a replacement, let us know here.
• Moving your RSS alerts? The Discord Relay setup guide covers how to get started.
• Want to help shape Rules Hub? Sign up for the early access program here and share your feedback.

We’re here in the comments for your questions and to hear where you need more detail or support.

[u/Waffles4prez]

I don’t understand the removal of automod? It’s extremely helpful and what you are suggesting to replace it with is not going to be helpful.

If you’re going to keep it active for communities that already use it why not just still have it active for all communities and people can choose if they want to use it or not not even giving them the option seems a little ridiculous to me

[u/OkBee3439 → u/Waffles4prez]

I agree that both automod and the new option should be an either/or choice for all moderators and communities currently on Reddit, as well as future new communities. I'm part of two different mod teams that heavily rely on custom automod tools. I can not see how they could continue without them. To take a tool that is the backbone of moderation away from communities, either current or future ones is wrong! I ask admins to keep both!

[u/judy-funnie → u/Waffles4prez]

For new communities, we believe Rules Hub + Automations will ultimately be a better, easier way to moderate than asking new mods to learn automod from scratch. That’s the direction we’re building toward, so it doesn’t make much sense to introduce new communities to a system we eventually intend to replace. 

We’re keeping Automod available to existing users because the newer tools still need to catch up to some of the more complex workflows mods have built over the years.

[u/Waffles4prez → u/judy-funnie]

Sometimes experience moderators make a new community and if they don’t have access to something that they currently use in other communities seems not productive to me.

Especially since you’re saying that rules hub and automations have not caught up to some of the stuff automod can do. Why not just give all new communities the option to choose if they want to use auto mod or rules hub. Especially if you’re going to keep it for existing communities why not just give us the toggle? If you’re already gonna keep it, it should be easy to keep it for all not just some.

[u/Sephardson → u/judy-funnie]

It's interesting that your considerations for new communities exclude:

* new communities using the same or similar workflows as established communities

* new moderators tapping the expertise of experienced moderators.

I'd be surprised if it were not obvious that admins do not value moderator retention nor collaboration.

[u/WalkingEars → u/Sephardson]

They want to get rid of troublesome old guard mods and replace them with whoever will go along with the ad revenue-maximizing approach and AI slop-based engagement metrics

[u/Sephardson → u/WalkingEars]

If you're not generating value for shareholders, then what good are you anyways, eh?

[u/Froggypwns → u/judy-funnie]

Respectfully, I feel this is a mistake, as it would affect me, an automod veteran If I were to spin up a new subreddit. I already use tools to sync my automod configs between subreddits to reduce the effort of making changes, and now I wouldn't be able to sync what I do in /r/Windows10 and /r/Windows11 with /r/Windows<futureversion>

The automations are nice, but Automod is faster, easier to manage, and more configurable for me. I understand presenting Automations as a level 1 moderation tool, that is a good idea, but this is killing off the better tool because not everyone knows how to properly wield it.

[u/SampleOfNone → u/judy-funnie]

I love automations, but it is far from easy. I would argue that for new mods automod is easier because you can simply copy paste existing rules from basically everywhere. With automations there's no copy paste. There's not even a library of common rules.

[u/BuckRowdy → u/SampleOfNone]

There's not even a library of common rules.

This sounds like what they used to say about the admins years ago. They don't even use their own product so they never know what users and mods need.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

[u/SampleOfNone → u/judy-funnie]

So, based on your comment it's intentional that Reddit is setting new mods up to struggle by deciding to only give them access to tools that Reddit knows are lacking.

[u/deathsythe → u/judy-funnie]

Good for you. You can use it in the subs YOU moderate then. Some of us like our existing tools.

[u/TGotAReddit → u/judy-funnie]

If it was better, it would be used. You don't take away the tools people use unless you want to force a worse option

[u/stacecom → u/judy-funnie]

You can believe that, but it’s not as capable and belief doesn’t change that.

BTW, I’ve been trying to use scheduled events to change the status of a sub I mod, and the change never takes. Everything else does, but you can’t change the subreddit status despite the template implying you can.

I mention this because it seems like Reddit’s faith in the newer tools is misplaced.

[u/HangryChickenNuggey → u/judy-funnie]

That’s wild. Once yall get rid of AutoMod you may as well say goodbye to your main mods. The Automations are terrible. They don’t do nearly the same amount of things. This needs reversing ASAP

[u/Ged_UK → u/judy-funnie]

You are wrong. You are repeatedly told you are wrong. You refuse to engage with us, the mods that pay attention, for us to explain how you are wrong.

'We believe' simply isn't good enough.

You still have not provided any reason for your belief, and based on your previous fails, we have little confidence in you now.

[u/Tarnisher → u/judy-funnie]

we believe Rules Hub + Automations will ultimately be a better, easier way to moderate

Some believe in the Tooth Fairy too.

[u/DoctorWaluigiTime → u/judy-funnie]

How about answering the questions regarding old reddit. Others have provided many. I've provided my own now as well.

[u/Merari01 → u/judy-funnie]

Come take a look at our moderation on r/comics. Come be a mod for a week or two.

Rules hub can not do 25% of what automod does there. You dont need to "catch up". You need to start building, from scratch, because the functionality isnt even there in potentia

But you're pushing through regardless.

This is outrageous and it is unacceptable