The company confirmed to me that it is moving in a direction that other platforms have taken: converting users to the app. Reddit says that the test aims to find out if people like me—those who use the service but aren’t generally logged in—get a better experience with the app.
I often prefer the open web and don’t really want one more app cluttering up my phone. And while I’m open to learning about the “much better” experience in the app, hardball blocking tactics seem an odd way to educate users about something supposedly in their own interests. (After clearing cookies in my browser, I was able to access the mobile website again. It sounds like you can alternately log in to Reddit, though the overlay says nothing about this; I cleared cookies before I could try it.)
User reaction to the move seems somewhat negative. Futurism ran an angry article last week saying that Reddit “Intentionally Breaks Its Mobile Website.” And redditors have posted numerous complaints in places like r/bugs, r/help, and (naturally) r/enshittification. (Representative sample comment: “Reddit is a Website; why is it forcing me to the app?”)
Some of this carping does feel a bit strident for a free and (generally) useful service. Perhaps I should switch to the app. Perhaps I should browse while logged in to enable a truly customized feed. Perhaps I really would love the better search options.
But as I mentioned at the beginning, I often wonder if I could spend my Reddit time in more productive ways; signing up for a more targeted feed that better plays on my dopamine triggers doesn’t actually sound helpful. I think that’s one reason I resist these pushes to log in, to customize, to spend even more time on site. Indeed, if more force continues to be applied, perhaps the better choice would simply be to walk away altogether.
Disclosure: Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder in Reddit.