Reddit is shutting off RSS and its public API. Here’s what still works.

The timeline

Date	What happens
Sep 30, 2026	Reddit announces the changes in r/modnews and r/redditdev.
Oct 31, 2026	Reddit stops accepting new requests for public API access.
Nov 13, 2026	RSS feeds stop working. Reddit says there is no replacement outside communities you moderate.
Nov 30, 2026	Applications close for Reddit’s $1M App Migration Program, which pays eligible apps to move onto its Developer Platform (Devvit).
Jan 12, 2027	Apps and users that haven’t registered or answered Reddit’s outreach begin losing API access.
March 2027	Remaining public API access closes. Programmatic access will generally need a commercial agreement.
“Coming months”	Old Reddit (old.reddit.com) is limited to logged-in users who used it in the last six months, plus moderators.

Why Reddit is doing this

Reddit’s stated reason is abuse: it describes RSS as a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated traffic, and logged-out Old Reddit as a major source of it. The commercial backdrop matters too. Reddit licenses its data to AI companies, and coverage of the announcement notes that the revenue line holding those deals grew 24% year over year to $43 million in Q2 2026. Closing free programmatic access protects that business.

This continues a path that started in 2023, when Reddit began charging for API use and apps like Apollo shut down. It also explains why GummySearch, one of the best-known Reddit research tools, announced its own shutdown in late 2025 after failing to reach a commercial data agreement — more on that in our GummySearch alternatives guide.

Who this breaks

• RSS readers and automations. Subreddit feeds in Feedly, Inoreader, NetNewsWire, Zapier, IFTTT, Make, and n8n stop updating on November 13.
• Moderator workflows that pipe new posts or mod queues into Discord or Slack via RSS. Reddit points moderators to its Discord Relay app.
• Scripts built on PRAW or raw API calls — research pipelines, dashboards, bots — unless they register before January 12, 2027, and even then only until the March 2027 closure without a commercial deal.
• Social listening and Reddit research tools that rely on the free API. Expect some to raise prices, change how they collect data, or shut down.
• Old Reddit users who browse logged out or haven’t used it in six months.

What still works

Nothing in the announcement changes what you can do in a normal browser session. You can still read any public thread, search, save posts, and copy what you see. That leaves several practical ways to get comments out of Reddit:

1. A browser extension that reads the page you opened

The Reddit Comment Exporter Chrome extension doesn’t use a developer API key. It reads the same thread data your browser already loaded when you opened the page, using your own session, then exports it as CSV, JSON, Markdown, or a Google Doc. That also means it can export threads only you can see, like a private community you belong to.

2. A free web tool for one-off threads

For a quick grab without installing anything, paste a link into our free Reddit comment export tool. It returns the first 100 comments of any public thread as CSV, Excel, JSON, or text.

3. Reddit’s own data request — for your own content

If what you want is your own history (posts, comments, saved items, votes), request it from Reddit’s data request page at reddit.com/settings/data-request. It arrives as a download of CSV files. It doesn’t cover other people’s threads.

4. A commercial data agreement

If you run a product or a pipeline that needs Reddit data continuously, at scale, unattended, the honest answer after March 2027 is a licensing deal with Reddit or a vendor that has one. Browser-based tools are for people reading and researching threads, not for bulk collection.

Add the extension — Free Try the web tool

Options compared

Approach	After March 2027?	Setup	Best for
Browser extension	Works — reads pages you open	30 seconds	Researchers, marketers, founders, journalists
Free web tool	Works for public threads	None	One-off exports, any device
Reddit data request	Works	Days to arrive	Your own posts and comments
PRAW / public API	Closed without a deal	OAuth app, code	Registered apps until the cutoff
RSS	Ends Nov 13, 2026	—	—
Commercial license	Works	Contract	Products and data pipelines

One caveat

Browser-based tools depend on how Reddit serves its own website, and Reddit can change that. The announcement doesn’t touch normal logged-in browsing, and restricting it would break Reddit for its own users, but it’s worth knowing the dependency. If you rely on Old Reddit specifically, log in and use it at least once every few months so you stay inside the “recent user” window.

Quick answers

Is Reddit shutting down its API completely?

The public, free API is closing in March 2027. Reddit’s Developer Platform (Devvit) and commercial data agreements continue.

Will Reddit RSS feeds come back?

Reddit says there is no replacement for RSS outside communities you moderate.

Can I still download comments from a Reddit thread?

Yes. Open the thread and use a browser extension, or paste the link into a web tool. Neither needs an API key. Our guide to exporting Reddit comments to CSV walks through it.

Does this affect the Reddit app or website?

No. Reading, posting, and commenting work as before. The changes target programmatic access and logged-out Old Reddit.

Sources

• TechCrunch — Reddit is killing RSS feeds, ending public API access (Sep 30, 2026)
• Decrypt — Reddit is killing RSS feeds and public API access (Oct 1, 2026)
• GummySearch — The final chapter (Nov 6, 2025)