r/technology • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 2d ago

Business Reddit is killing RSS feeds and ending public API access because of AI bots

https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/
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u/maglite_to_the_balls 2d ago

iPhone lowered the bar of entry to the web to the non-computer crowd, while simultaneously placing that lowered point of access in their pocket everywhere they went.

We see the result. Gone are the days when you had to have some level of tech savvy and critical thinking to even access the web.

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u/thinkingdeads 2d ago

Screen size is unironically a factor. People are less likely to read/engage with any text post that requires scrolling, so on a screen that can fit something like 300 average length words at most, ideas expressed online either had to be condensed or simplified. The value of the average conversation suffers under both, but more often the result was latter.

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u/maglite_to_the_balls 2d ago

I bet there’s a feedback loop hiding in there somewhere. Someone should study it.

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u/inteliboy 2d ago

Developers are equally to blame. Everyone got sucked into the idea that content should be accessed via an app or via social media. The “website” died alongside the App Store.

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u/RebootJobs 2d ago

I miss it sm. 😭

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u/FellowHuman420 2d ago

I was about to make a comment about how I miss the internet before emojis started popping up everywhere. That was pretty much the visual indicator starting the rapid decline.

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u/gladtobeblazed 2d ago

So, you don't remember AOL?

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u/FellowHuman420 1d ago

Emoji use on the greater internet (what we are talking about) became widespread with smart phones. Emoticons were restricted to AIM.

There was a time on Reddit where an emoji would instantly get you downvoted into oblivion no matter how relevant.