TIL, Reddit will make you sign in to read posts.

The front page of the internet will soon require a password. 

In Reddit’s quarterly meeting, company leaders announced that the site will transition to a primarily “logged-in experience,” beginning with tests outside the United States.

The platform has drawn millions of visitors through Google results. Reddit is so trusted that people frequently add “+ reddit” to their search bar, because they want real answers from real people.

But as AI summaries overtake standard search engine results, the forum’s organic traffic has started to dry up. To maintain its leverage and protect its data from AI scraping, Reddit will require an active account to view most posts. However, users will still be able to maintain anonymity (when they want) through a new-and-improved incognito mode. 

And looking at the numbers, it makes sense. Search referrals fell by more than 1M per week in October, while US daily users dropped from 53.2M to 50.7M within the quarter. But what’s interesting is Reddit has become much better at monetizing its audience. In fact, revenue increased to $895M, or 53% year-over-year. 

So where does this growth come from?

The payoff of a loyal userbase:

Reddit is betting that a logged-in (albeit smaller) community is more valuable than drive-by traffic. Especially when building long term relevance in the age of AI. 

For starters, registered users are worth more to advertisers. Each username is tied to a series of interests and behaviors. This means sponsors can get more targeted with ad campaigns, while Reddit can offer curated feeds to keep folks on the site.

So the beloved forum isn’t going anywhere. But the lurkers' lounge is closing.

Upvote … for now. -TL