Reddit API shutdown: every deadline and what still works

The Reddit API shutdown has four dates. Reddit stops taking new requests for public API access after 2026-10-31, turns off RSS feeds on 2026-11-13, starts cutting unregistered apps on 2027-01-12, and closes public Data API access for everyone left in March 2027. If a script, a bot or an agent of yours reads Reddit, one of those dates applies to you.

Reddit announced the plan on 2026-09-30 in admin posts on r/redditdev and r/modnews. Reddit's site blocks our fetchers, so the dates below come from TechCrunch and PPC Land, which quote those posts. This page lists every deadline with its source, says who each one hits, and shows the paths that still work after March 2027, including the limits of ours.

When does the Reddit API shutdown happen?

In four steps between October 2026 and March 2027. Each step closes a different door, so the date that matters depends on how you read Reddit today: through RSS, through a registered app, through an app nobody registered, or through a third-party data provider.

Reddit gave no day for the March step. PPC Land reports that more than 14,000 apps and bots had registered by the time of the announcement.

Why is Reddit closing its public API?

Reddit says RSS had become a common surface for large-scale scraping and automated abuse, and gives the same reason for the API, according to TechCrunch. TechCrunch adds the business side: Reddit's "other revenue", mostly AI data licensing, grew 24% year over year in the second quarter. Once public access ends, AI assistants that read Reddit will need a commercial deal with Reddit, according to both TechCrunch and PPC Land.

That second point is the one most coverage skips. The shutdown does not end access to Reddit data. It moves it from an open door to a contract.

What still works after the Reddit API shutdown?

Three paths stay open, and each fits a different reader. Pick by what you are building, not by which is cheapest today, because the free paths only cover narrow cases.

PPC Land also reports carve-outs for partners under written contracts, such as accessibility apps and mobile clients. If your app is one of those, your contract decides, not the public timeline.

Can an agent still read Reddit through looot?

Yes, today. looot resells Reddit search, subreddit and comment lookups from third-party providers, and your agent pays per call with one key. The table reads the cheapest live price for each job when this page loads.

Here is the honest part. These providers collect public Reddit data, and Reddit's March 2027 change is aimed at exactly that kind of collection. Any of the Reddit data providers looot resells may lose access when public access closes, or earlier if Reddit blocks them. The catalog shows whether each endpoint runs now and its measured success rate, but we cannot promise any provider keeps working past March 2027.

So treat a provider as a research tool for now, not as the base of a product. Re-check the endpoint status in the public catalog before a large job. The how-to for these calls, with what each one returns, is in Reddit API for agents, and the job page is Reddit search API. For a ranked view of the options, see the best Reddit APIs.

What looot cannot do

• It has no commercial licence from Reddit. It does not replace a contract with Reddit if you build a product on Reddit data.
• It cannot keep a provider working after Reddit closes public access in March 2027. A provider can stop at any time.
• It reads public posts and comments only: no private subreddits, no logged-in data, no messages, no removed content.
• It does not post, vote or moderate, and it cannot replace a Devvit app inside your community.
• It does not rerun a search on a timer. That needs scheduled runs, not available yet.

Last checked 2026-10-14 against the live catalog and the sources linked above.