Internet platform Reddit is about to experience a significant change. It will, according to co-founder Steve Huffman, “evolve…to being a primarily logged-in experience.” Previously, users could lurk on the platform and read comments and arguments (mostly the latter) without logging in to the mobile app or via a web browser. That’s going away.
But at least the platform isn’t being entirely sneaky about why it’s doing this. The change will supposedly improve personalisation, which will give users the “best version of Reddit.” But there are also a few benefits for the company.
Login? Reddit.
“We’re making the change because it’s better for user experience, better for our ads business, is more in line with safety regulations, and more protective of Reddit data,” said Huffman. It’s a refreshingly transparent announcement, but not entirely so.
The login requirement will help the company to filter spam and AI scraping. It’ll also force users into a neat targeted advertising box the platform can exploit for money. Which, to be entirely fair, is how most free online platforms work.
Huffman points out that incognito mode will be rebuilt. This read-only state will let users “browse and search Reddit without affecting your logged in account.” Personalised feeds can also be turned off, but it’s likely Reddit will still harvest data about you for targeted advertising. It’s already happening (everywhere) — the new login requirement will just add more data to your particular profile.
The internet isn’t a place where people go to be reasonable. As matter-of-fact as Huffman’s announcement is, it (predictably, since this is Reddit) has folks both annoyed and arguing. There’s still time for those online spats to resolve. “[S]elect markets outside the U.S.” are the initial targets for the login requirement, which rolls out in the next few months.
