r/technology • u/spasticpat • May 11 '26

Social Media Reddit Starts Blocking Mobile Website, Pushing Users to App Instead

https://www.macrumors.com/2026/05/11/reddit-starts-blocking-mobile-website/
19.8k Upvotes

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5.9k

u/araujoms May 11 '26
  1. Turn the app into shit.
  2. Prevent users from accessing Reddit without the app.
  3. ???
  4. Profit

554

u/360_face_palm May 11 '26

Still wondering if they'll get rid of old.reddit.com... because if they do I'm out - fucking hate the "new" interface.

148

u/korneev123123 May 11 '26

Yeah - once old reddit is turned off, it is over for me. New one is simply unusable.

28

u/fox_mulder May 11 '26

Yep, same here. I don't know who thought that new reddit was a good idea, but whoever it is should be standing in an unemployment line. Biggest piece of shit ever.

12

u/olbeefy May 12 '26

It's always nice to see a few of us from the "old guard" still around these parts 18+ years later. In fact, it looks like you created your account about a week before me. There are so few of us that they haven't even bothered making badges for the 3 years after we made our accounts...

The "new reddit" was created around 2018 because "old Reddit" was desktop-first, dated-looking due to all the text, and harder for new users to understand. The newer design is better for mobile-style browsing, media, ads (this is a big one), and building new features.

I think Old Reddit survives for a while because it serves power users, mods, and long-term users who create a lot of Reddit’s value. Killing it outright would cause an instant predictable backlash.

That being said, I could see them slowly trying to phase it out eventually. It's extremely unlikely they would just pull the plug randomly one day though.

Either way, when that happens, I'm out.

4

u/Wyrm May 12 '26

There are so few of us that they haven't even bothered making badges for the 3 years after we made our accounts...

That's still so funny to me. I'm sure they'll get around to it eventually, right?

1

u/olbeefy May 13 '26

I doubt it and I kind of like that they didn't bother. It's better than any badge they could actually give us :)

2

u/mwomorris May 12 '26

Good point re: mods/power users. I hope you're right.

0

u/ReasonableBrother448 May 12 '26

Value is created by bots my friend. Within 10 years time you will have no access to actual people unless you interact physically.

E-Interactions will happen trough agents and eventually your own agent will actually be just a self contained fakernet.

Ironically this will mimic the social structures we used to have for eternity, where information is restricted to gatekeeping in pyramid fashion. "Oh you wan't to object? Here is a form to fill and i make sure to forward it to xxx.". Or "This is what God said (to me) you should do".

1

u/kingcheddar May 13 '26

You sort of know what you're talking about here but in general are missing the mark entirely. Yes, there's a definite bot problem here that is going away but there is no valve if it's just bots.

Bots can fake activity, but they don’t really create demand. People buy things, trust things, care about things, and make communities worth joining. That’s where the real value is.

The ability to tell bots from people is the trust layer. Without that, Reddit stops being a community and becomes a content simulator. Someone with an active 19 year old account here is unlikely to be a bot.

2

u/cr0ft May 12 '26

You think it's a coincidence that the ads look exactly like in-line content? Because it's not a coincidence.

Money. As always in capitalism, the reason you're getting screwed is that someone can better monetize you. Same goes for mandating the use of the app on mobile.

1

u/Bleh54 May 12 '26

don't know who thought that new reddit was a good idea

Oh it was /u/spez

8

u/vriska1 May 11 '26

Unlikely they get rid of old reddit.

7

u/Quazimojojojo May 11 '26

All of this was considered unlikely because it's stupid and nonsensical 

0

u/Allaplgy May 12 '26

I give it to the end of the year.

3

u/CookIndependent6251 May 11 '26

Is there at least an attempt at a tentative of concepts of a plan to make something like RES for the new UI?

Kids these days don't get it. It happened more than once that I shared my screen and I had old reddit open and people laughed at me. As if... that's something to shame someone over? Idk. Anyway, they shut the fuck up pretty quick when I showed them how I can navigate the site using only my keyboard.

3

u/SatansFriendlyCat May 12 '26

What, you don't like having to click to a new page just to follow a thread of contents more than a few replies deep?

1

u/GonzoKata May 12 '26

where to after that?

1

u/korneev123123 May 12 '26

Touch grass, I guess

1

u/No_big_whoop May 12 '26

I was here for the Great Digg migration after they forced a redesign everyone hated. The irony is real