Reddit's official app is currently experiencing significant user dissatisfaction due to aggressive tactics to force app downloads, numerous bugs, and recent UI changes that negatively impact usability, despite a strong underlying community and content R1R3R15.
The Reddit app is currently facing strong negative sentiment from recent users, primarily due to its aggressive strategy of forcing mobile web users to download the app, which many find intrusive and frustrating R7R8R10R11. Users also report a variety of persistent bugs, poor UI design choices, and unwanted algorithmic changes that detract from the overall experience, despite acknowledging the platform's valuable content and communities R1R3R15R214.
What users like
- Offers a vast array of communities and content for diverse interests, learning, and entertainmentR96R149R184R202
- Provides a platform for genuine human communication, sharing ideas, and quick answersR61R115R148R179
- Many users still find the app enjoyable for engaging with content and specific communitiesR32R33R43R110
What users complain about
- Aggressively forces mobile web users to download the app, making the mobile site unusableR7R8R10R11
- Suffers from frequent and annoying feed refreshes, making it difficult to read or engage with contentR1R15R26R45
- New UI changes and swipe gestures are poorly implemented and disliked by usersR1R57R22R394
- Plagued by numerous bugs, including crashing, sound issues, and inability to open links or notificationsR2R214R340R390
- The algorithm is criticized for pushing unwanted or sponsored content and removing desired features like r/allR3R20R56R192
- Moderation is perceived as biased, inconsistent, and leading to unfair bans or echo chambersR9R17R27R40
Latest update · v2026.28.1
What the developer says changed (the verdict above weighs this against what reviewers report):
Thanks for updating the Reddit app! We've updated our iOS app with bug fixes and changes to improve your overall experience.
Recurring themes
Who it's for
The Reddit app is for users who prioritize access to Reddit's vast communities and content, are willing to tolerate numerous bugs and frustrating UI changes, and accept the aggressive push to use the official app over the mobile website R149R179R1R15. It is not for users who prefer using Reddit via a mobile browser, expect a smooth and bug-free experience, or dislike algorithmic feeds and intrusive ads R7R8R15R192.
Evidence note: The recent reviews skew heavily negative, which contrasts sharply with the high lifetime rating. This indicates a significant downward trajectory in user satisfaction, likely due to recent policy changes (forcing app downloads) and app updates (UI changes, bugs). The developer's notes mention 'bug fixes' but many recent reviews directly contradict this, reporting persistent or new bugs.
Frequently asked
Why is Reddit forcing me to use the app?
Are there many bugs in the Reddit app?
Has the Reddit app's design changed recently?
What reviewers actually said
Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.
- [R96] Valid: This is one of my favourite apps just because it has communities for everything for entertaining and learning purposes
- [R149] Reddit: Reddit has communities for every interest imaginable. It’s a great place to learn, share ideas, and stay informed.
- [R184] Something for everyone: People just like you go find them
- [R202] Various content and topics: Easy to navigate and not sure about the awards stuff but kept it honest and civil and no one gets hurt lol
- [R61] 👍: The People on here actually give accurate information because of experience and all of that stuff. I’ve been able to figure out a bunch of things because of it, and not to mention, the communities are funny af if you join the right one.
- [R115] Great: Place to vent and offer your unasked for opinion. Handy hive mind activity when you need answers.
- [R148] Having fun: I enjoy engaging with people in different topics, this is a great platform. Thank you for letting us play here.
- [R179] The Only Place Left: Literally Reddit is the only place genuine human beings are communicating and sharing ideas and opinions. Reddit protects our first amendment without AI running the system. Only place left that you can communicate with another human being directly
- [R32] Great community: Love it spend all my time here
- [R33] I love this app: im really on here to find new interests but I found out abt these videos for anime fans and they’re actually so cool!
- [R43] Reddit changed my life: Fav app on my phone
- [R110] Enjoy: I enjoyed the app
- [R7] This Site was Built on the browser: And now you can’t even look at Reddit posts without their ridiculous pop up forcing you to get the app. Definitely will do everything in my power to never get this app now.
- [R8] Only way to view Reddit on mobile?: Hey there, long time Reddit user here. I’ve noticed that the prompts to download the app happen almost instantly every time I try to access the Reddit website on mobile. It was mildly annoying when it’d happen every few clicks, but now it’s rendered the mobile site completely unusable. Are y’all about done with this experimental feature or is this mess the new s
- [R10] Have to use the app???: This trash company won’t let me read articles on the internet without downloading the app
- [R11] Forcing the app: I hate that they’re forcing me to download the app to read stuff. I try to keep my storage amount low and this isn’t something I use all the time but forcing stuff for capitalistic reasons makes me not want to even use it ever
- [R1] Bad Design and Annoying to Use: The app is poorly designed. The changes made to align with the ios theme are poor. Automatically opening up my own custom feed rather than the popular tab is annoying and I can’t change it. The app refreshes constantly even if I’m in the middle of reading or doing something which is VERY annoying. The only reason I still use it is because they’ve blocked every oth
- [R15] Constant feed refreshes: App has become borderline unusable. All it takes is to go back to the home feed and it refreshes immediately. Go away from the app for a moment and come back. refresh. It’s such a painful experience.
- [R26] Garbage: Why is the app refreshing it’s self all the time? I open the app and start looking through a post, set my phone down for 5 minutes, come back and the app decided I wasn’t reading that post and refreshed everything. Also there’s no view history, so good luck finding that post back. Garbage app
- [R45] Baconreader was better: The forced auto refresh is infuriating.
- [R57] Generally Good, but new swipe feature sucks: I’ve been using the app forever and I’ve never had any issues with it until their recent update changing the swipe function. Just like everyone else, clicking on a picture or video and swiping up would bring up the comments. Well, now Reddit wants to be like TikTok and Instagram and create an infinite scrolling feature, except they did it so poorly. Bri
- [R22] New UI is ugly, takes up space, and along with it it’s now harder to type: The completely incorrect and unrelated autofill that happens when you just so happen to type with the same starting letter more than once on the app ever isn’t new, but it’s gotten worse. You can also no longer double tap to select a word. Great. Also can’t tap the screen to move the cursor. Which is wonderful for an app
- [R394] Getting worse: If you were to ask me a year ago i would have said the app was decent enough. Now however, they’ve removed categories and now swipe to go back is gone. Or rather it doesn’t work like standard apps that support swipe, you have to swipe from completely off the screen. This makes it hard to use for those with smaller hands. Can’t believe that feature was removed.
- [R2] Dud: 3 updates in the last 2 weeks and the app still will not work.
- [R214] Works but lots of bugs: Issues like sound repeatedly turning off in a video, to always refreshing to the top of the page even if you’re on a post. These bugs have been around for so long and still are present. For such a major app it has a surprising number of issues.
- [R340] iPad app keeps crashing: The app keeps freezing and only way to fix it is shut it down and reopen again. Luckily don’t lose where you were as you can go on your profile and history, but it’s damn annoying and happens every single time I’m on the app
- [R390] New update has left me unable to use app: Doesn’t scroll, can’t click on notifications - or anything. Feed refreshed when I reopen app. I can open support community when clicking on app support via the App Store but then can’t click on anything. Tried removing and downloading again but same issue.
- [R3] Ruining the best part of the internet: Please stop making this worse. The algorithm to keep one engaged just makes the experience bland and monotonous. The need to push poor or sponsored content is making the same posts appear and drive you away. Bring back r/all. Stop tracking everything a user does if you’re gonna stick ads everywhere. I use the app less and less each day and am patiently awaiti
- [R20] We still want /r/All: I hate this app. I much preferred alien blue or Reddit is Fun. They took away /r/All. I don’t want an algorithm to tell me what I want to see. I just want to be able to happen across cool subreddits or browse by what has recently been posted everywhere like in /r/All. Give it back!
- [R56] Not my speed: Honestly, not a fan. It doesn’t open links properly, the algorithm makes no sense and seems to default to throwing content at you after you look at it once while ignoring stuff you check every day, and now it requires you make an account while I really only go on to read posts and don’t interact. Shame they seem to be killing their mobile site to promote this.
- [R192] Riddled with ads: Reddit is awesome! The app is trash. It’s full of, what feels like, deceptive ads. The ads are styled to look like genuine post; and, the ads seem more sensitive to touch than everything else. I’m constantly accidentally clicking on ads.
- [R9] Left wing mods ban: Sub reddits are filled with left wing moderators who will ban anyone that has a non left wing bias.
- [R17] Random unknown ban's: I got banned for no reason after having an account of 6 YEARS and they won't even respond or give me a reason!
- [R27] Can’t Believe They Haven’t Been Sued: This app allows private individuals to police its network of communities. Discrimination runs rampant and there is no way to report moderators who abuse the system.
- [R40] Banned for reporting fraud and impersonation: I’ve been on Reddit over 7years, and minded my business and have enjoyed the app for the most part. But today I reported someone who was defrauding other redditors and was impersonating someone and I got kicked out and no message, no email, no nothing as to why?? The moderators are ruining this application.
- [R38] Not good!: Not very good men are creeps on here talking bad about women and bullying you not answering questions either so every time you would post them they gotta be like this and that so that’s why I gave it one star and we tried to warn women cause of creeps of men being on their but they didn’t listen so they 1 blocks and two ban u to! So if ur women please stay from men especially on here! I
Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store