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Privacy & Security•5 min•

Reddit Privacy Guide: Protect Your Identity in 2020

Complete Reddit privacy guide for 2020. Learn how to protect your identity, avoid doxxing, and maintain anonymity on Reddit with expert tips.

By Karmdit Team

Reddit's pseudo-anonymity offers more privacy than Facebook or Instagram, but it's not bulletproof. This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to know about protecting your privacy on Reddit in 2020.

Understanding Reddit Privacy Basics

What Reddit Knows About You

Reddit collects:

  • IP addresses
  • Email address (optional but recommended for account recovery)
  • Browsing behavior on Reddit
  • Post and comment history
  • Voting patterns
  • Subscription list

What Other Users Can See

By default, your Reddit profile is public and displays:

  • All posts and comments
  • Karma scores
  • Account age
  • Active subreddits
  • Trophy case

Common Privacy Threats on Reddit

Doxxing

Doxxing is when someone pieces together your posts to identify you in real life. Even small details accumulate:

  • Mentioning your city + profession + hobby = identifiable
  • Photo posts with EXIF data revealing location
  • Commenting in local subreddits
  • Discussing unique personal circumstances

Account Linking

Using the same username across multiple platforms makes you easily searchable. If your Reddit username matches your Twitter or Instagram handle, your "anonymous" Reddit activity becomes linked to your real identity.

Data Breaches

If Reddit experiences a data breach, your email and password could be exposed. Using unique passwords and two-factor authentication mitigates this risk.

Social Engineering

Malicious users may attempt to extract personal information through direct messages or by posing as moderators.

Essential Reddit Privacy Practices

1. Create a Privacy-Focused Account

Choose a Unique Username Don't reuse usernames from other platforms. Avoid using your real name or birth year.

Use a Dedicated Email Create a separate email address for Reddit that doesn't contain your real name. Consider using email alias services.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication Protect your account from unauthorized access by enabling 2FA in Reddit's security settings.

2. Manage Your Post History

Regular Audits Review your post history quarterly. Delete posts that reveal:

  • Specific locations
  • Workplace details
  • Identifying personal stories
  • Outdated opinions you no longer hold

Use Bulk Deletion Tools Tools like Karmdit help you efficiently manage years of post history without spending days on manual deletion.

3. Limit Personal Information Sharing

What NOT to Post

  • Your city or neighborhood (say "major East Coast city" instead of "Baltimore")
  • Employer name or industry details
  • Photos of yourself or identifiable locations
  • Specific dates of personal events
  • Financial information
  • Phone numbers or email addresses

What's Generally Safe

  • General discussion of hobbies and interests
  • Broad location (country or region)
  • Non-identifying stories and experiences
  • Questions and advice-seeking
  • Professional expertise without company details

4. Use Multiple Accounts Strategically

Main Account: Professional interests, hobby communities, general participation Throwaway Accounts: Sensitive personal questions, relationship advice, controversial opinions Professional Account: Industry discussions, networking, reputation building

This separation prevents contamination if one account is compromised or identified.

5. Consider Using a VPN

A VPN hides your IP address from Reddit and encrypts your connection. This prevents:

  • Your ISP from seeing Reddit activity
  • Reddit from knowing your true location
  • Third parties from intercepting your data

Popular VPN options include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and ProtonVPN.

6. Manage Your Reddit Settings

Privacy Settings to Configure:

  • Make posts private: Settings → Privacy → "Make my posts private"
  • Limit who can message you
  • Disable activity tracking for ads
  • Control who can follow you
  • Hide online status

7. Be Cautious with Direct Messages

Red Flags:

  • Requests for personal information
  • Users claiming to be moderators asking for account details
  • Suspicious links
  • Requests to continue conversations on other platforms

Never share personal information via DM, even if the person seems trustworthy.

Advanced Privacy Techniques

Remove EXIF Data from Photos

Before posting photos, strip metadata that could reveal location, camera model, or timestamps. Use tools like ExifTool or online EXIF removers.

Vary Your Writing Style

If you're concerned about advanced tracking, vary your writing patterns across accounts. Avoid signature phrases or unusual vocabulary that could link accounts.

Regular Username Changes

Consider creating a new account every 1-2 years and deleting the old one. This prevents years of post history from accumulating.

Use Reddit Enhancement Suite

RES provides additional privacy controls and improved Reddit experience, including account switching and post filtering.

Responding to Privacy Violations

If You've Been Doxxed

  1. Document everything (screenshots)
  2. Report to Reddit administrators
  3. Report to subreddit moderators
  4. Contact law enforcement if threatened
  5. Delete the compromised account
  6. Change passwords on other accounts with similar information

If Someone Shares Your Personal Information

Report the post/comment immediately. Reddit's content policy prohibits sharing personal information. Provide context about why it's harmful.

If Your Account Is Compromised

  1. Change password immediately
  2. Check for unauthorized posts
  3. Review security settings
  4. Enable 2FA if not already active
  5. Consider creating a new account

Privacy Checklist for 2020

✅ Unique username not used elsewhere ✅ Dedicated email for Reddit ✅ Two-factor authentication enabled ✅ Privacy settings configured ✅ Regular post history audits scheduled ✅ No identifying information in posts ✅ Separate accounts for different purposes ✅ EXIF data removed from photos ✅ VPN considered for sensitive topics

Conclusion

Reddit privacy requires ongoing attention. Your privacy strategy should include both prevention (what you post going forward) and cleanup (managing existing history).

Use tools like Karmdit to efficiently manage your post history, enabling regular privacy maintenance without hours of manual work.

Remember: perfect anonymity is impossible once something is posted publicly, but these practices dramatically reduce your exposure to privacy risks.

Take control of your Reddit privacy today.