Reddit Tests TikTok-Style Audio And Video Formats For Posts
Reddit is testing a new audio and video experience that could give users an alternative way to consume posts, as the platform examines how its text-based content can be adapted into more visual and spoken formats.
The initial trial, announced this week, will cover selected English-language posts across a limited number of communities. Users will be able to choose between reading a post in its original format or playing an audio or video version where available.
The move follows comments from Reddit CEO Steve Huffman during the company’s second-quarter earnings call in July. Huffman noted that Reddit stories are already being repurposed on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, where creators frequently use text-to-speech narration or read posts aloud alongside other video footage.
Reddit is now testing whether it can offer a similar experience within its own platform. The company says the experiments are intended to establish which formats users find useful and whether they can be developed in a way that remains consistent with Reddit’s existing experience.
The new formats will not replace traditional posts. Users will continue to be able to read the original text and access comments, with audio positioned as an additional option for situations such as exercising, walking or carrying out other activities where users may prefer to listen rather than read.
The video element could also provide a way of bringing written conversations to life through a combination of narration and visuals, although Reddit has not indicated that it plans to replicate the short-form video feed model used by TikTok.
