Reddit plans to make signing in the main way people use the platform. Co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman outlined the change on October 29. Tests will begin in selected markets outside the US in the coming months.
Huffman said keeping the homepage open is important. Reddit also wants people to share posts and visitors arriving from search engines or other external sources to see the content they have been linked to.
Huffman cited personalization, advertising, regulatory requirements and protection against unauthorized collection of Reddit data. He said most unauthorized access currently comes through the logged-out service. Reddit intends to continue licensing its data through commercial agreements that set conditions for its use.
Users will also be able to opt out of personalization, Huffman said.
Reddit is also re-releasing a rebuilt incognito mode in its app. Huffman described it as a way to browse and search without affecting the signed-in account. The mode is read-only, so it does not include voting or commenting.
