It is not uncommon to find Reddit links in the results of Internet searches. If you click on a link to Reddit, one of two things may happen: the actual page on Reddit may open right away, and you may read the original post and the replies right away, or, the content may be blocked and you may get a prompt to either sign-in to an account or use the official Reddit app to access the content.
The first scenario happens on the desktop, the second exclusively on mobile at the time of writing. The screenshot below (on the left) shows the prompt that mobile users may get when they open a page in a mobile browser without being signed-in. It appears that the content is not blocked for all mobile users, but only a subsection of users.
Reddit states "to view posts in r/*** you must continue in Reddit app or log in" in that case. Others may see the list of topics in a subreddit or the homepage, but any tap on a link opens a sign-up page.
Reddit wants users to use the app on mobile or sign-in at least. While the company has not revealed why it is putting a block in place for some mobile users, it is likely that it wants more information about its users to boost revenue on the site.
As a user, it is a nuisance, especially if you followed a link to a specific discussion as you may have no interest to sign-up or install the official app just to read that one page on the site.
Ways around Reddit's mobile blocking
If you just want to access the content without having to sign-in or use the Reddit app on mobile devices, then you have the following options to do just that-
Option 1: "Old" Reddit
Reddit maintains two versions of the site currently. The new version that is loaded by default, and an old version. The latter may be removed at one point in time, but it works fine currently. The old version does not enforce the use of the app or an account to access content on the site. Even better, it is very easy to access, especially if you are on Reddit already.
All you have to do is replace the www part of the address with old, e.g. https://ift.tt/3dSQ9Z1 with https://ift.tt/3mvSFIw.
Option 2: Desktop Reddit
Instead of using the old version of Reddit, you may also load the desktop site. Some mobile browsers support this out of the box; this is the case for Brave or Firefox.
Just select Menu > Desktop Site in those browsers to request the Reddit desktop site instead of the mobile site. Downside to this is that the desktop site is not optimized for mobile use.
Option 3: A different browser
If you have multiple browsers installed, you may get the full view in some while others may be blocked. On my device, Reddit was blocking access in Brave by default but not in Firefox. Firefox displayed all posts and there was no block in place.
Closing Words
You may also install a third-party app, but many of those may display advertisement by default. Only some users experience the blocking of the content, those may use any of the methods listed above to access the content on Reddit without signing-in or using the official application.
Now You: do you use Reddit?
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