Reddit CEO reveals plans to paywall “new types of subreddits”
Reddit is exploring new ways to generate revenue, and locking subreddits behind a paywall is one of the options on the table, according to CEO Steve Huffman.
Reddit today wrapped up its second earnings call, where the CEO revealed future plans for the social media platform. Huffman revealed plans to roll out AI-powered search results later this year, along with the idea of locking some subreddits behind a paywall.
“I think the existing, altruistic, free version of Reddit will continue to exist and grow and thrive just the way it has,” Huffman said, according to Engadget. “But now we will unlock the door for new use cases, new types of subreddits that can be built that may have exclusive content or private areas, things of that nature.”
More concrete details about paywalled subreddits are not known. A Reddit spokesperson declined to provide further details on Huffman’s remarks when contacted by Dexerto.
YouTube: OxfordUnion/RedditHuffman also revealed plans for AI-powered search. “Later this year, we will begin testing new search result pages powered by AI to summarize and recommend content, helping users dive deeper into products, shows, games and discover new communities on Reddit,” he said.
The last time Reddit revealed such plans, it caused chaos in the community. In case you’re not aware, Reddit started charging developers for API access, forcing many third-party apps to shut down.
Redditors didn’t take it lightly, leading to widespread protests and a blackout of popular subreddits including r/funny, r/science, r/gaming, r/aww, and r/Music.
In a bid to make more money, Reddit also reportedly struck a deal with Google in February, which would allow the search giant to use posts and comments for AI training.
Fast forward to July, the company also blocked search engines like Bing from accessing the site’s posts and comments unless they signed commercial agreements.