Reddit began testing a login requirement in select non-U.S. markets after Google search referrals fell by more than one million visits per week in October, shrinking its logged-out user base.
U.S. daily users dropped from 53.2 million in Q2 to 50.7 million in Q3, and Reddit warned of a low-double-digit percentage decline in the following quarter as AI search erodes referral volume. Reddit said logged-in users are worth roughly three times logged-out users to advertisers, and a login wall could also pressure AI companies toward paid data licensing deals.