How to turn off Reddit's new 'For You' feature as users slam update as 'garbage'
Reddit is part of the old guard of social media, officially launching in June 2005 and arriving just months after YouTube hit the scene. Determined to prove it's still down with the kids and keep up with the times, it's introduced a new 'For You' feature that's supposed to create a more curated experience as you scroll through various opinion pieces and threads.
Moving forward, the Reddit homepage is split into 'For You' and 'Following'. The former will use AI-powered algorithmic recommendations to show content it thinks will be relevant to you, while the latter only shows things from communities you've already joined.
Until now, Reddit has steered clear of following other social media platforms by having a general feed that mixed both subreddits you've joined and recommended posts. Going with the mantra of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", users seemed pretty happy with how things had been running until now.
How does Reddit's For You feature work?
In a new blog post, Reddit explained the feed update and claimed it's being rolled out as a way to help us explore more communities while also supposedly giving more control over what appears in your feed. Reddit suggests the For You feed is the "first step in helping drive discovery that leads to something novel and relevant - an idea, a connection, a unique perspective, or even a new interest."
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It's fair to say the idea of Reddit adding its own TikTok-inspired FYP hasn't gone down well on...well, Reddit.
Replying to the news in the r/technology subreddit, one disgruntled user vented: "It is completely and unimaginably useless as a feature, and if it wasn't for the fact that I eventually realised you could just switch back to ‘Following’ in the tab at the top I'd have stopped using Reddit instead of being subjected to the dross that it recommended."
Another fumed: "Total garbage. Why does the internet constantly get worse?"
A third called out a potentially bigger problem, noting that Reddit seems like a new place for them following the update: "I've seen so many new posts and comments and realize I was in an echo chamber of positivity with my selective sub choices.
“Damn this place is worse than I thought seeing the recent changes to for you feeds. I might just sign off now."
Still, Reddit defends the update in its announcement post and says that a 'more human internet' is something that you don't sit back and watch, but instrad, is "something you find value in and want to participate in."
Reddit vows to keep experimenting with ways for us to more intentionally explore, pointing to new ways to navigate the platform based on your interests, as well as more controls to shape your feed.
Even though hiding posts and indicating what you want to see less of should shape your FYP as it continues to learn, this still sounds like a change some weren't ready for.
How to turn off Reddit's For You feature
Many said that choosing what they see on Reddit is the main reason they use it, but if you aren't a fan of the FYP update, there's no need to worry because there is a workaround.
You can still get your classic Reddit homepage experience and the ease of 'best', 'hot', 'new', 'rising' and 'controversial' by heading to old.reddit.com or finding it in settings.
Be warned that Old Reddit could soon be a thing of the past as the company tried to combat scraping and automated traffic. A September 2026 announcement confirmed that Old Reddit would be blocked for anyone who hasn't used it for six months.
Reddit previously limited Old Reddit to users who were logged in, and although the change didn't apply to logged-in platform mods, many fear this was another nail in the coffin as the company tries to eventually move away from Old Reddit.