r/cybersecurity Will Temporarily Go Private from June 12–14 to Protest Reddit’s API Policy and the Shutdown of Third-Party Applications

Title: r/Cybersecurity to Go Private: Community Stands Against Reddit’s API Changes

In response to overwhelming feedback from our members, the r/cybersecurity subreddit will temporarily transition to a private format from June 12th to June 14th. This decision is aimed at protesting Reddit’s recent alterations to its API policies, which threaten the existence of third-party applications that many users rely on.

After extensive discussions both in our community forum and through modmail, it’s clear that a significant portion of our participants strongly opposes Reddit’s current direction. If the platform does not reconsider its stance on the API restrictions, r/cybersecurity will actively engage in a two-day blackout. This will allow our community to voice its demands concerning Reddit’s recent decisions.

During this blackout, the subreddit will not be accessible to non-registered or unauthenticated users. To further amplify our protest, we encourage all users to refrain from visiting Reddit during this period. Your thoughts are invaluable; if you have any suggestions on how we should proceed — whether it’s emphasizing alternative communication platforms like Mastodon or Bluesky, or creating a dedicated thread for discussion during the blackout — please share your ideas in the comments section.

It’s uncertain how Reddit might respond to this protest. They could choose to withdraw their API changes, or conversely, they may take measures that could further erode trust, such as removing moderators or insisting that our subreddit remain public. Regardless of the outcome, it has been a privilege serving as your moderators.

For those interested in understanding the broader context of this situation, we have assembled further resources and links, including an informative infographic and letters addressing API pricing and its implications for users:

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