Reddit has a brand new privateness characteristic that provides customers extra management over the content material that seems on their consumer profiles. The update announced by Reddit on Tuesday now permits customers to selectively disguise posts and feedback from subreddits they take part in as an alternative of getting all their actions uncovered to anybody who clicks on their profiles.
That setting, which has helped drive Reddit’s status for being an open platform, will stay the default choice, leaving all public posting and remark historical past seen on profiles until the consumer decides to curate it. Many customers typically create “throwaway” accounts to keep away from being recognized, given how simply different individuals might expose delicate info and embarrassing habits inside their put up and remark historical past — with sometimes viral attention.
A handful of latest customization choices are rolling out and may be accessed below the “curate your profile” tab within the settings menu. These embody “content material and actions” settings that disguise all public posts and feedback, together with these made immediately on consumer profiles, or selectively disguise posts and feedback made in particular subreddit communities. There’s additionally a “NSFW” toggle that hides posts and feedback in subreddits which are flagged as NSFW.
Customers can not choose particular person feedback or posts to cover from their profiles. These settings additionally gained’t disguise feedback or posts within the subreddits through which they have been revealed.
The privateness settings embody some carveouts for neighborhood moderators, who typically must evaluate consumer profiles earlier than taking motion in opposition to accounts. Mods may have full entry to a consumer’s profile for 28 days after they put up, remark, ship modmail, request to be an authorized poster, or request to hitch a non-public subreddit. A consumer’s chosen visibility setting might be honored after 28 days, however that timer might be reset in the event that they work together with the subreddit once more.
Reddit is probably going introducing these adjustments to encourage individuals to interact with the platform with out utilizing throwaway accounts — one thing that makes it more durable to gather engagement and curiosity information for particular person customers, given its post-IPO concentrate on advertisements and AI coaching. Judging by the feedback on Reddit’s FAQ thread, nonetheless, some individuals are apprehensive in regards to the privateness options.
“This looks like it’s going to result in dangerous actors with the ability to extra simply disguise their habits from the typical consumer,” one user commented. “Until you’re a mod, you gained’t have the ability to see that they’re posting inflammatory misinformation throughout a dozen totally different subs, for example. Much less transparency isn’t good.”