Reddit will require you to log in eventually, CEO confirms

Reddit plans to move toward requiring users to sign in, with CEO Steve Huffman saying the company will begin testing the approach in select markets outside the United States in the fourth quarter. Results will help determine how a logged-in-only service might work globally. Reddit argues that accounts improve recommendations and engagement, give advertisers more targeting information, help protect its data from outside access, and support compliance with changing regulations. The company also expects sign-in requirements to help it retain newcomers and make Reddit a regular destination rather than a site people reach mainly through search.

The shift comes as search referrals weaken: they fell substantially in the third quarter, with October bringing an average loss of more than one million referrals a week. Huffman warned that, if the decline continues, daily active unique users - currently about 130 million - could fall by a low-double-digit percentage in the fourth quarter, despite 12 percent year-over-year growth in that measure during Q3. Reddit is prioritizing logged-in and app users, and its broader push includes testing prompts to move mobile web visitors into the app, restricting Old Reddit for logged-out users, and imposing costly API access that has largely displaced third-party apps. These measures also improve user tracking and ad measurement. Q3 revenue rose 53 percent year over year to $895 million, while net income reached $283 million.