Reddit confirms an incoming paywall will be released later this year

Reddit has just confirmed it will be rolling out a paywall later this year, according to Reddit's CEO Steve Huffman, who dropped the news during a recent Ask Me Anything (AMA).

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Huffman has suggested previously that Reddit may look into introducing a paywall into the platform, and those who feared such news have now had their fears brought into reality, as Huffman has confirmed during the AMA that paid subreddits are on the horizon and are scheduled to release later this year. "It's a work in progress right now, so that one's coming. We're working on that as we speak," said the Reddit CEO. For those who don't know what that will entail, paid subreddits will require a fee to access their content, which is that aforementioned paywall.

At the moment, the specifics of how paid subreddits will work are up in the air, but we will presumably learn more about that closer to its rollout. Reddit introducing this new feature is part of the company's overarching plan to monetize the platform as much as it possibly can. It wasn't too long ago the platform signed licensing deals with both OpenAI and Google for access to its content. Around the same time, the company axed third-party apps from its API.

"But the next question is, can you share progress on the development of paid subreddits? For example, people creating content that only paid members can see. I mentioned that one a couple of quarters ago. It's a work in progress right now so that one's coming. We're working on it as we speak," said Huffman