Certain subreddits will be placed behind paywalls, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman reports. The new paywalls, which will be introduced by the end of 2025, is aimed to allow the communities to monetise their content through subscriptions. This paywall feature was hinted at by Huffman last year, and confirmed on Friday.
The new paywall implementation will affect only certain subreddits, with Huffman clarifying that the majority of Reddit will still be freely accessible. Reddit reportedly aims to use the paywalls to explore new revenue streams and provide more options for community engagements. This includes allowing users to generate their own revenues through their subreddit platforms, and have better control over their platforms.
This confirmation comes after its controversial API fee increase back in 2023, which caused an increase in its Application Programming Interface pricing. The rise in fees led to several developers shutting down, such as iOS’s Apollo application. Reddit also applied for an IPO last year, selling their stock as a way to generate revenue, making the new paywall confirmations less than surprising.
Reddit COO Jen Wong also noted Reddit’s focus on its licensing deals with AI platforms such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAi’s ChatGPT, which brings in around 10% of its revenue. Reddit reportedly aims to leverage its user data and activity for AI training and marketing intelligence. Reddit also owns its own AI tool as well, Reddit Answers, which is currently only available in the US.
As of now, Reddit has a pre-existing paid premium version, Reddit Premium at US$6.99 a month (~RM31). This feature allows an ad-free experience, along with access to Reddit’s exclusive subreddit page, r/lounge.
(Sources: Mashable SEA, The Verge, Search Engine Land)
Manisha Dharmendra contributed to this article.
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