Thinking of Moving On? How to Delete Your Reddit Account Now

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PUREVPNPureVPN UpdatesThinking of Moving On? How to Delete Your Reddit Account Now

It’s becoming increasingly hard to see unfiltered opinions on the Internet. Most of the popular social media platforms have street community standards that are still not quite smart enough to understand when the members are engaging in sarcastic commentary. Hence, sites that still allow a fair degree of unfiltered content and opinions are highly sought after. Reddit is one such site, at least for now. Thanks to its dedicated subreddits, it’s easy to find the exact community you’re looking for. Be it hunting or water fasting, chess or noise-canceling headphones, mechanical keyboards to conspiracy theories, there is something for everyone on Reddit. So, why is there a sudden interest in how to delete a Reddit account?

Well, it turns out Reddit is sliding into the same problems that have plagued most other social media platforms. There is evidence that Reddit has been exceeding its oversight of user data and cooperating with government agencies on several occasions. This, coupled with Reddit’s own security vulnerabilities, have forced several Redditors to give serious thought to delete their Reddit accounts.

If you’re someone who has decided to move on from Reddit or are just curious to find out more about Reddit’s past controversies and what other options you have to keep yourself safe on Reddit, read on below:

Reddit’s Past Controversies

Reddit’s popularity over the years has grown tremendously. With millions of Redditors using its dedicated subreddits, the service offers the closest thing to a digital lounge as you’re likely to get online. However, it has not been without controversies of its own. While every app is likely to find itself in hot water sooner or later over some issues, most of Reddit’s past controversies have been related to privacy and security concerns.

The biggest one was undoubtedly back in 2016 after Donald Trump’s victory in the US election. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman discovered in one pro-Trump subreddit r/The_Donald, that he’s a popular butt of jokes in that community. This was unknown to Redditors at the time but Huffman could edit out any part of the site and insert code that would replace his name with the username of the commentator.

You can bet that Redditors were seriously upset about the blatant manipulation of their data.

Afterwards, there have been instances where Reddit re-enabled user tracking without notifying its users and it has shared their data with third-parties. Users can opt-out of it if they want, but manually. Considering how most Redditors aren’t notified of this default setting, it’s unlikely they’ll ever opt out at all. Furthermore, it ominously removed its warrant canary in 2016 without any explanation whatsoever. Other controversies include the celebrity nudes hack scandal on top of rebellious content moderators.

Deactivate vs Delete

If you’re seriously considering whether to delete your Reddit account or not, you need to think long and hard if you really want to: it’s a permanent and irreversible decision. Most other services provide an actual deactivation option, allowing users to sign back into their accounts whenever they want in the future.

With Reddit, that is not the case. Similarly, there is no way to download your Reddit data as well. You need to specifically write to Reddit and request a digital copy of your data. And even in that case, your request can be rejected.

I should state that this confusion of whether you can deactivate instead of delete a Reddit account comes from how Reddit defines a deleted account. As you’ll see in the guide below, while Reddit may use the term “Deactivate”, it effectively means permanently delete since you cannot recover your account once you deactivate it.

Delete Reddit Account: Step-by-Step

Here is a step-by-step guide if you’ve decided that the best option for you would be to delete your Reddit account. Follow these steps diligently and you’ll have your account permanently deleted in no time:

  • Log in to your Reddit account.

sign into Reddit

  • On the top right-hand corner, click on your user icon and select “User Settings” from the drop-down menu.
    go to user settings on Reddit
  • Scroll all the way down to the page and click on “Deactivate Account
    Click on deactivate account
  • Re-enter your login information. This to verify whether it is really you deleting your account. You’ll be asked to provide a reason why you want to deactivate your account. Once done, click on “Deactivate”.

    Re-enter your username and password

  • Once done, you’ll be asked to provide a final confirmation. Click on “Deactivate” once again and voila! your Reddit account is now deleted.

    Press deactivate for permanently deleting your Reddit account

Keep Yourself Safe Online

As mentioned earlier, there have been revelations in the past about how Reddit has been able to monitor its users’ data. Furthermore, the service appears more than willing to provide this data to government agencies. As fun as Reddit is, I don’t think it’s worth it to risk your digital privacy over the service.

If you feel like you can’t deactivate or delete your Reddit account, the next best thing is to get a reliable VPN. My recommendation would be PureVPN. Its combination of AES 256-bit encryption, 6500+ servers in 78+ countries, and an independently certified no-logs policy make it the best VPN service in the market. It’ll keep your digital activities safe and private while ensuring that all your traffic is properly obfuscated.

author

Yasir Nawaz

date

June 20, 2023

time

9 months ago

Yasir Nawaz enjoys writing on issues related to cybersecurity, digital privacy, and online streaming. A firm advocate of digital equality and freedom of access throughout the web, he believes no piece of consumable information should be restricted online. When he’s not busy writing on such immensely important issues, he finds solace in chess, reading, and staring into the abyss in his best Luke Skywalker impression.

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