Reddit’s Ceo Says R/popular ‘sucks,’ And It’s Going Away

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.

Reddit is “moving away” from r/popular, nan default provender for caller users, and plans to switch it pinch “better, much applicable and personalized feeds,” according to CEO Steve Huffman (aka Spez). Huffman besides notes that r/popular “sucks.”

“For a agelong while, we were known arsenic nan ‘front page of nan internet,’ but we’ve outgrown a singular beforehand page for everyone,” Huffman says. “You person different interests than I do, and your Reddit should look different from mine. And from your neighbor’s, aliases your coworker’s, aliases your champion friend’s.”

Regarding r/popular, he says that “in theory, it’s what’s astir celebrated connected Reddit, but it’s really what is liked by nan astir progressive users connected Reddit—which is not nan aforesaid thing. Having it arsenic a default provender gives nan mendacious belief of a singular Reddit culture, 1 that is neither typical of Reddit nor appealing to caller users (or anyone astatine all, IMO).” So, successful nan “near future,” Reddit is going to “stop showing it to caller users, and unless you publication it regularly, we’ll region it from nan halfway group of feeds successful nan app.”

The changes to r/popular will commencement showing up to immoderate users arsenic early arsenic this week, spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt tells The Verge. Reddit primitively made r/popular nan default for logged retired users in 2017.

Huffman didn’t spell into item connected what nan improved feeds mightiness look like, and Rathschmidt says that nan institution is “still successful early-stage testing and don’t person much to stock astatine nan moment.” However, Huffman did reply to a station asking for nan return of News provender filters by saying that he’s “fully aligned here” and that “when I talk astir much personalized and applicable feeds, this benignant of functionality is what I’m referring to.”

Reddit is besides successful nan process of changing its policies for moderators to forestall users from overseeing a ample number of high-traffic communities, seemingly to trim nan number of so-called “powermods.” As announced in September, opening March 31st, 2026, users will only beryllium capable to mean up to 5 communities that person complete 100K play visitors. The institution says that nan alteration will effect “less than 0.1% of progressive mods.”

“Distinct communities require chopped leaders,” Huffman says. “A business wherever personification moderates an unlimited number of monolithic communities is not that, which is why we’re making a fewer changes.”