Asger Risom
Welcome to the internet.
Reddit is preparing one of its biggest homepage changes in years, with CEO Steve Huffman telling users that a long-standing element of the site is on its way out as the company reshapes how people discover content.
Reddit moves away from r/popular
Huffman announced that r/popular will be removed from the homepage for new users and hidden from the sidebar unless someone reads it regularly. He said the feed, which aggregates the most-liked posts sitewide, does not reflect Reddit’s real diversity of communities.
“In theory, it’s what’s most popular on Reddit, but it’s actually what is liked by the most active users,” Huffman wrote, adding that this gives newcomers an inaccurate sense that Reddit has a single culture. His blunt verdict: “r/popular sucks.”
Focus shifts to personalization
According to Huffman, Reddit wants users to see content tailored to their interests rather than a catch-all feed dominated by a small portion of the user base. He emphasized that Reddit’s strength lies in the individuality of its communities and the ability for anyone to build their own space on the platform.
Reddit sees about 116 million daily visitors, and its stock price has risen around 44% over the past year as the company refines its strategy.
More changes to moderation and community display
Huffman also announced several policy adjustments. Reddit will limit how many large communities one person can moderate and will change how community sizes are shown. He said the updates are intended to make the platform more aligned with how people use Reddit today.
This shift follows earlier moves to push users toward smaller, focused groups. In October, Reddit removed its public chat feature and encouraged private group chats instead.
Sources: Reddit, Business Insider
