Tell HN: Reddit now blocks VPN access via browser, 'old' subdomain included

Hacker News Discussion ↗

Reddit has begun more aggressively blocking access from VPNs and hosting-provider IP ranges, including to old.reddit.com, prompting reports of inconsistent access, login walls, and 403 errors even for some residential users. Commenters debate whether this is primarily an anti-bot measure or part of a broader “enshittification” trend tied to monetization, scraping controls, and recent API changes that already drove away many power users and third‑party apps. Many say this is their cue to quit Reddit or drastically reduce usage, explore alternatives like Lemmy, Mastodon, Tildes, Discourse, or Lobste.rs, and worry about valuable niche knowledge being lost or locked away behind corporate and geographic barriers.

VPN / IP Blocking Behavior

  • Blocking appears IP-based and focused on “hosting/VPN/proxy” ranges rather than all VPNs.
  • Many report the “Woah there, pardner” block page on both www and old.reddit.com.
  • Several users say logging in or creating an account over VPN bypasses the block; others report 403s even when trying to sign up or logged in.
  • Some VPNs (Mullvad, AirVPN, some Surfshark endpoints) are frequently blocked; others (ProtonVPN, ExpressVPN, Windscribe, Astrill, AdGuard VPN browser extension) often work.
  • Switching VPN endpoints or countries can help; blocking is inconsistent and may be adaptive or A/B tested.
  • Some purely residential IPs are also blocked, suggesting overblocking or misclassification.

Tor, Onion, and Other Privacy Tools

  • Tor generally still works; Reddit’s onion service is reported as working even when VPN IPs are blocked.
  • Some expect the onion mirror might be removed under IPO-focused management, but this is speculative in the thread.
  • iCloud Private Relay works fine for some, triggers the block for others; behavior is inconsistent.

User Motivations for VPN Use

  • Many run all traffic through VPNs to avoid ISP tracking, protect on public Wi-Fi, or bypass national censorship.
  • For some, Reddit is specifically blocked by local governments, making VPN use essential.

Impact on Users and Habit Change

  • Several say this is their “final straw” and will quit Reddit, or are glad for extra friction that helps break an addictive habit.
  • Others shrug it off as a minor annoyance if logging in solves it; some argue VPN users are a tiny, low-value minority.
  • Some note this mirrors YouTube’s adblocker crackdown and Twitter/X’s login wall in driving them away.

Content Quality, Enshittification, and Data Lock-In

  • Multiple comments describe Reddit as increasingly bot‑driven, advertiser‑oriented, and less interesting than ~2013–2015.
  • API pricing, third‑party app shutdowns, and AI training deals are cited as breaking the implied social contract with contributors.
  • Many users have edited or deleted past posts in protest, causing frustration for those relying on old threads for obscure technical answers.
  • There is concern that we’ve passed “peak publicly searchable discussion” as content moves to Discord and behind login walls.

Alternatives and Migration

  • Alternatives mentioned: Lemmy (and its various instances), Mastodon/fediverse, Tildes, Lobste.rs, Discourse forums, Telegram, and RSS/blogs.
  • Redlib/Libreddit frontends and LibRedirect/uBlacklist are suggested for reading Reddit content or avoiding it in search results.
  • Consensus: no single replacement matches Reddit’s breadth and long‑tail niche communities; many alternatives feel fragmented or less active.