# Reddit plans to require sign-in as search referrals decline

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/as-search-traffic-dries-up-reddit-announces-its-shifting-to-a-logged-in-experience/
- Published: 2026-10-29T20:08:31+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-29T20:20:53+00:00
- Original publisher: TechCrunch
- Original article: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/29/as-search-traffic-dries-up-reddit-announces-its-shifting-to-a-logged-in-experience/
- Topics: AI, Technology

## Key points

- Reddit plans to make its experience primarily logged-in.
- Search referrals fell by over one million a week on average.
- Third-quarter revenue rose 53% to $895 million.

## Summary

Reddit says it is moving towards a primarily logged-in experience as referrals from search engines decline, in part because AI search is answering more queries without sending users to websites. The change would give Reddit more control over access to its data for licensing and could help it earn more from users through targeted advertising.

In the third quarter, global daily active users were flat at 130.3 million, while US daily active users fell to 50.7 million from 53.2 million in the previous quarter, a 2% year-on-year decline. Reddit said search referrals were down by more than one million a week on average in October and warned daily users could fall by a low double-digit percentage next quarter if the trend continues. Revenue rose 53% year on year to $895 million, including $48 million from non-advertising sources such as AI data licensing.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.