Reddit Looks to Shift Toward a Logged-In Experience
TLDR
Reddit's U.S. weekly active count fell in the third quarter and search referral traffic dropped significantly, though revenue rose more than 50%, as the company moves toward a logged-in experience.
Optimixed Overview
Optimixed's original report on this story.
Reddit's U.S. weekly active count was down in the third quarter, and search referral traffic saw a significant dropoff, even though revenue rose more than 50%, Social Media Today reports. The company is looking to move toward a logged-in experience.
How we got here: earlier coverage
Reddit first said it plans to make logins the norm for browsing, with CEO Steve Huffman wanting search visitors to see linked posts, and logged-out visitors made up 77.7 million of 130.3 million daily uniques in Q2. On October 30, Huffman told investors on the Q3 earnings call that Reddit will test a logged-in-only mode in select markets outside the US starting in Q4. Then, on October 31, Huffman said search referrals to Reddit fell by more than 1 million a week in October, which he blamed on Google's AI Mode. Now, Reddit reports that its U.S. weekly active count fell in the third quarter and search referral traffic dropped significantly, while revenue rose more than 50% as the company moves toward a logged-in experience.
Summary of earlier coverage
- Oct 31Reddit Search Referrals Fell by Over 1 Million a Week in October, Huffman Blames AI Mode
Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman says search referrals to Reddit fell by more than 1 million a week in October and blames Google's AI Mode, which he says sends no traffic to Reddit.
- Oct 30Reddit Says Search Referrals Are Falling and Its CEO Points to Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, as It Tests a Login-Only Mode
Reddit says its search referrals are falling and CEO Steve Huffman points to Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode, while Reddit tests a login-only mode.
- Oct 29Reddit Plans to Make Logins the Norm for Browsing Its Site
Reddit plans to make logins the norm for browsing, and CEO Steve Huffman wants search visitors to see linked posts. Logged-out visitors made up 77.7 million of 130.3 million daily uniques in Q2.
- Aug 2Reddit Reaches 130.3M Daily Active Users While Revenue Grows 61% Year-Over-Year
Reddit topped 130M daily active users in Q2 2026 with 61% YoY revenue growth, though the platform increasingly relies on search engine and AI chatbot traffic rather than direct visits.