Reddit Plans a Primarily Logged-In Experience as Search Referrals Fall

Reddit announced a shift toward a primarily logged-in experience during its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 29, Sarah Perez reported for TechCrunch. The company said search traffic referrals fell by more than 1 million on average per week in October.

Karissa Bell reported for Engadget that Reddit plans to test the change first in “select markets” outside the US. Bell quotes CEO Steve Huffman calling the effort a shift to a “logged-in-only experience,” then describing the goal as “primarily logged-in.” The planned tests do not establish that everyone must already have an account to read posts.

Huffman wrote that logged-in users would give Reddit more signals for ad targeting and that being logged in generally leads to higher engagement, according to Engadget. He also cited protecting access to Reddit’s data and adapting to emerging regulations.