Reddit has announced a new privacy-focused feature aimed at giving users more control over what appears on their public profiles. As part of this update, the platform is introducing a “Content and Activity” setting, allowing individuals to manage the visibility of their posts and comments across various subreddits.
By default, all user activity including posts and comments will still be publicly visible, just as before. However, users can now choose to:
- Hide all public posts and comments from their profile.
- Selectively display activity from specific communities while keeping others hidden.
These new privacy tools are available under a “Curate your profile” section, where users can also manage visibility settings for NSFW content and control whether their follower count is shown or hidden.
This update marks a notable shift for Reddit, which previously offered limited options for users to obscure their activity. As a result, many users resorted to using “throwaway” accounts for sensitive topics like mental health, relationships, or personal issues. With this new feature, Reddit is aiming to provide more flexibility without requiring users to leave their main accounts.
However, Reddit emphasizes that this feature doesn’t offer complete anonymity. While users can hide their activity from their public profile, their usernames will still appear alongside their posts and comments within subreddit threads. Additionally, subreddit moderators will retain access to a user’s recent activity for up to 28 days, even if it’s hidden from the public. This access helps moderators with moderation tasks like reviewing user behavior and handling join requests for restricted communities.
Reddit is also updating its personal activity summaries, offering a quick view of a user’s karma, contribution history, account age, and active community involvement all based on their selected visibility preferences.
By rolling out this feature, Reddit is not only offering enhanced privacy options but also likely aiming to encourage broader user participation, especially on sensitive topics, by letting users keep parts of their digital footprint more private.
Source: Techcrunch
