Reddit Blocks Mobile Website to Push Users to Its App
▼ Summary
– Reddit is testing a popup that blocks mobile web users and pushes them to download its official app.
– The company claims the app offers a better experience and helps users find communities of interest.
– Users have complained on subreddits, with some expressing concern about losing anonymous browsing.
– Critics describe the move as part of Reddit’s “enshittification,” or degrading service for profit.
– Reddit is pushing app usage for better ad tracking and monetization, as it has struggled to profit since its IPO.
Reddit has started blocking mobile web users from accessing its site, redirecting them instead to download the official app , and the backlash has been swift. If you try visiting reddit.com on an iPhone today, you’ll likely encounter a popup that cannot be dismissed, reading: “Get the app to keep using Reddit.”
A Reddit spokesperson described the move to Ars Technica as “a test for a small subset of frequent logged-out mobile users” who are already familiar with the platform. “We’ve seen that the experience is much better for them in the app,” the spokesperson added. “The app offers a more personalized experience and users can more easily find communities that match their interests.”
But the reaction from the community has been overwhelmingly negative. Users have flooded subreddits like r/bugs and r/help with complaints about being locked out of the mobile website. “Are my days of anonymous browsing over?” one user lamented.
Futurism’s Victor Tangermann called the aggressive ad a sign of the platform’s “enshittification” , a term coined by author Cory Doctorow to describe tech companies deliberately degrading their services to maximize profit.
Reddit’s push toward its app comes as the company continues to seek sustainable monetization. Despite boasting 121 million daily active users and steady growth since going public two years ago, advertising remains its primary revenue source. The app allows Reddit to consistently track user activity, something the mobile web does not offer as effectively.
In 2024, Reddit also signed a controversial deal with OpenAI, granting the ChatGPT maker access to user-submitted posts for AI training. The company is currently embroiled in legal disputes with Perplexity and Anthropic over alleged unauthorized use of its data.
According to the Financial Times, over half the U. S. population visits Reddit each week, but most of that traffic originates from Google searches. That reliance on external discovery puts Reddit in a precarious position: it must balance monetization efforts with the risk of stifling the very engagement that drives its growth. For now, many mobile users are finding themselves locked out , and they’re not happy about it.
(Source: MacRumors)
