[BUG] [Claude in Chrome] All tools blocked on reddit.com (and redd.it) with "not allowed due to safety restrictions" since 2026-09-18 — worked through 2026-09-17

Same thing on a different platform, so this isn't OS- or browser-specific: macOS 15, Microsoft Edge
153, extension 1.0.93. Worked through 2026-09-17, every reddit.com URL refused from 2026-09-18.

Two things that may narrow it down:

• No client update involved. My extension is a single version, 1.0.93, installed 2026-09-12 and

unmodified since. The string reddit appears nowhere in the bundle, so this isn't a shipped list.

• It's a positive server-side classification, not a lookup failure or an admin policy. The

navigate path calls POST https://api.anthropic.com/api/web/url_hash_check/browser_extension and
only emits "This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions." with errorCode
navigate_blocked_domain when the response category is category1 or category2. A failed
lookup returns category_unknown_error / navigate_category_lookup_error with different text,
and an org block returns category_org_blocked. I get the first one, so reddit.com is being
actively classified into a blocked category.

Also seeing this on macOS 26.6.2 + Google Chrome 153.0.8010.48 (so it isn't specific to Edge or to macOS 15), same extension version 1.0.93, driven from Claude Code through the Claude in Chrome tools.

• navigate to both www.reddit.com and old.reddit.com returns "This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions." In the same session tiktok.com and docs.google.com load normally.
• Opening reddit.com by hand in the same Chrome profile works fine, so it isn't a network or DNS block on our side.
• Last successful Claude-driven Reddit action here: 2026-09-16 22:42 UTC. First failure we saw: 2026-09-19 JST. We didn't try in between, so this doesn't narrow the start time beyond what's already reported.

Same here on Windows 11 with Google Chrome, driven from the Claude desktop app (Code tab) through the Claude in Chrome tools. I hit it on 2026-09-18/19 Pacific.

• navigate to both https://www.reddit.com/r/junkjournals/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/junkjournals/about.json returns "This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions." before any page loads.
• One new data point: the desktop app's built-in browser pane refuses the same URL with near-identical wording ("https://reddit.com is not allowed due to safety restrictions and cannot be opened in the Browser pane"). So it isn't specific to the Chrome extension.
• Other sites worked normally in the same session through the same tools, including youtube.com and etsy.com.
• I checked my user, project and managed Claude Code settings for any mention of reddit or a domain blocklist and found none.

I didn't note the extension version. My use case was read-only research (a subreddit's member count). A documented list of blocked categories, or a way to see why a domain is refused, would help a lot.

I want to add a confirmation here. I am hitting this exact same thing today (2026-09-20), still blocked, no change since it started.

I tried both reddit.com and old.reddit.com directly with Claude in Chrome. Both times I get the exact same error:

This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions.

Windows 11, site access set to On all sites, and reddit.com is in my approved sites list too, so this matches what is already reported here. It is not a per-site permission thing on my end.

This is blocking real work for me. It would help to know if this is an intentional policy change or a bug, and whether there is any timeline for a fix.

+1 — same here since 2026-09-18, on macOS (so not Windows-only), personal account.

• Claude in Chrome: navigate to www.reddit.com / old.reddit.com returns "This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions." (once on 09-18: "could not verify this site's safety category"). github.com, google.com and bogleheads.org load fine in the same tab. Still blocked 2026-09-20 13:40 UTC.
• The Claude desktop app's built-in browser pane refuses reddit.com with the same message.
• Worked daily through 2026-09-17 (read-only).

If this is intentional, please say so in "Use Claude in Chrome safely" so users stop debugging their own settings.

same here on macos. Reddit and Instagram

glad I built something for my own Reddit use last week that depended on this. /s

A local reverse proxy works as a workaround, altering the host name. I've built this to set up such reverse proxy fast for any hostname.

A judge just made a ruling sept 17 on reddit vs anthropic case regarding scraping. Based on the timing that seems highly relevant.

+1, still blocked as of 2026-09-22. macOS, Claude Code desktop app (Cowork/Claude in Chrome), two separate connected Chrome browser instances, both affected identically. navigate to www.reddit.com returns "This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions." Also can't add reddit.com to Settings > Claude in Chrome > Allowed sites, it's rejected there too with "This site can't be added due to safety restrictions." Other sites (github.com, linkedin.com) work fine in the same session. This is blocking legitimate read-only research and manual-posting workflows for us. Would appreciate any update on whether this is intentional or a fix is coming.

Reproduced on Windows 11 / Edge 153, extension 1.0.94_0 (newer than the 1.0.93 reported
above, and the only version installed), 2026-09-23. Same result: every reddit.com URL I tried is
refused before any page loads, with This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions.

• https://www.reddit.com/
• https://www.reddit.com/notifications/
• https://www.reddit.com/r/ClaudeAI/
• https://old.reddit.com/

Same session, same tab, same tool, navigating normally: news.ycombinator.com,
www.facebook.com/marketplace/, www.ebay.com. So it isn't a blanket block on social or
commerce sites. Facebook loads while Reddit doesn't.

Two things from reading the 1.0.94_0 bundle, since it bears on the "is this intended" question:

1. The navigate path is unchanged from what ddanijel's comment above describes for 1.0.93: a

POST /api/web/url_hash_check/browser_extension, refusing on category1/category2. Nothing
Reddit-specific ships in the client, so the change is on the server.

1. The request carries max_supported_category: 4, so the classifier has more categories than

the two that currently block. If this is intentional, documenting which categories exist and
which are refused would answer the question several people here are asking (including
whether an approved-sites entry can override it. Per an earlier comment it can't: adding
the domain is rejected too).

Practical effect for anyone running a scheduled or routine "open my notifications" flow: it
fails loudly at the first navigate, which is the good outcome, but there's no signal whether
to keep retrying or drop the site. A short note in the "Use Claude in Chrome safely" article
saying Reddit is currently restricted, and whether that's expected to last, would let people
plan around it.

same on Windows since 18 Sep

Same issue here as of September 25, 2026. I'm on Windows 11 with Chrome version 153.0.8010.53, and Claude in Chrome still can't access Reddit. Reading the page and taking screenshots both fail on reddit.com, while it was working fine before. Any update on whether this is a bug or an intentional block would be really appreciated.

Same issue here, and the dates line up with yours.

Setup: Windows 11, Chrome, Claude in Chrome extension, driven from a scheduled task in the Claude desktop app (Cowork). Personal account, no organisation.

Timeline:

12 Sep 2026: last successful run. It navigated to subreddits and read threads with get_page_text, the same weekly workflow that had worked for weeks.
19 Sep 2026: first failure. navigate to www.reddit.com returned This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions.
26 Sep 2026: still failing. Reproduced again with me watching.

Settings: extension settings → Site permissions → Default for all sites = "Allow all sites", and Blocked sites = "No sites added yet". So nothing on my side should be blocking Reddit.

Same here. Reproduced 2026-09-26 on Windows, Claude in Chrome driven from the Claude Desktop app (chat).

• navigate to reddit.com search returns This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions.
• Same session, no issues on facebook.com, nextdoor.com, broadbandmap.fcc.gov, and github.com.
• No permission prompt is offered. Google triggers the normal approval prompt, Reddit goes straight to the hard block.

Agree with the ask: if this is intentional, document it and name the category in the error. If not, please restore access. Reddit is a primary source for local market research.

Seeing Claude in Chrome tool failures as of 2026-09-26, though mine may be a related but separate problem.

Environment

• Claude in Chrome 1.0.94, used from the side panel
• Chrome 153, macOS

What I see

• On reddit.com pages, get_page_text, read_page and computer (screenshot) all fail. While a Reddit tab was active, tabs_context_mcp and tabs_create_mcp failed too.
• The error is always a generic Tool "<name>" failed in the extension. I never got the "not allowed due to safety restrictions" message.
• On a github.com tab, the failures come and go: tabs_context_mcp and javascript_tool worked at first, but get_page_text, read_page and browser_batch failed with the same generic error, and javascript_tool later started failing too.

So part of what I'm seeing isn't specific to Reddit, but Reddit is the only place where tab-level tools failed as well.

Asks

1. When a site is blocked on purpose, could the tool error say so, instead of the generic failure message?
2. Is the generic "failed in the extension" error on non-Reddit sites a known separate issue?

+1 from Switzerland, Windows 11, personal Max account. Same behaviour since 18 Sep, still blocked on 28 Sep: Chrome and Edge with the extension, and the Claude desktop app's built-in browser pane (so not extension-specific).

Use case: managing my own Reddit account (reading and answering comments in drone subreddits, in several languages), with every post approved by me before it is published. I have also asked support through the in-app chat today.

If this is intentional, one line in "Use Claude in Chrome safely" would let us plan around it. If it's a false positive, please restore access.

Same for me. Wish this would get resolved.

Same. Can't do research on equipment because claude-in-chrome is blocked by anthropic server settings from reaching reddit.

The most useless tool, ever. Grok has no issue. Once again, leaves claude in the dust.

Additional context: the block also stops ordinary read-only research, not just posting.

In a recent technical research task, Codex used Chrome to read public Reddit threads and subreddit rules that Claude's browser tools could not open. Those threads had relevant technical evidence and contrary observations that search results alone had not supplied. No posting, messaging or other account actions were involved. The block only prevented reading public information.

Still reproducing today (2026-10-05) on Windows 10, from the Claude desktop app (Code tab):

• Claude in Chrome, navigate to https://www.reddit.com/ and to https://old.reddit.com/:

``
This site is not allowed due to safety restrictions.
``

• The desktop app's built-in browser pane, navigate to https://www.reddit.com/:

``
https://reddit.com is not allowed due to safety restrictions.
``

Could someone from Anthropic say whether blocking Reddit is intentional or a regression? If it's intentional, please document the reason and scope. Please also consider allowing read-only access separately from actions that publish content.

Update from Anthropic support (2026-10-08): a support agent confirmed that Claude in Chrome / the built-in browser pane being unable to access reddit.com is a known bug, not an intentional restriction. The team is aware of it, there's no user-side workaround, and there's no fix date yet.

For the read-only research use case (summarizing threads, pulling complaints out of comments), here's a workaround that doesn't go through Claude in Chrome at all: you browse Reddit yourself, and Claude reads a local copy of what you opened.

Disclosure: I built the tool for this. It's called Nuttle (Windows, free). A browser extension saves the Reddit threads you open, full comment trees included, to a local database, and Claude queries it over MCP:

• Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http nuttle http://127.0.0.1:8787/mcp
• Claude Desktop: add npx -y nuttle-mcp to claude_desktop_config.json

Claude never navigates to reddit.com, so the block doesn't apply. It won't help with posting or managing an account, only reading what you've seen. https://nuttle.dev/en/claude-reddit/?src=gh-95326