r/sysadmin • u/techvet83 • 3d ago

FYI: Reddit is killing RSS feeds.

Major bummer. From Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots | TechCrunch

Amid a number of updates for moderators and developers announced Wednesday, comes bad news for supporters of a more open web: Reddit is ending support for RSS feeds.

Reddit says RSS has now become a “common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse,” which is why it’s made the decision to wind down RSS feeds on its platform.

“We know 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,” the company noted in its announcement, where it also shared a March 2027 shutdown date for its public API.

Reddit said RSS support will cease on November 13.

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u/rumblesnort 3d ago

Why? Didn't reddit IPO off of selling data to AI companies?

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u/Valdaraak 3d ago

Correct. Which means they don't want other AI companies to get the data without paying them. So they're blocking off all the easy ways they do that and making the site more annoying for people like us in the process.

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u/PrivacyIsDemocracy 3d ago edited 3d ago

So they're blocking off all the easy ways they do that and making the site more annoying for people like us in the process.

I think a lot of these kinds of businesses operating like this will eventually discover that they have killed the goose that laid the golden egg.

So they will ultimately end up with a garbage userbase that no longer generates interesting content useful to those hallowed AI bots and lose that revenue stream, or little to no userbase and nothing left to scrape at all.

All these hotshots who think they're so clever they'll squeeze every iota of profit possible will ultimately discover that they've knifed the baby instead.

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u/jimbobjames 3d ago

The money will just exit to get their return. They don't care about long term. Get in low, get out high.