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A comprehensive guide on Reddit’s safety issues
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Reddit is one of the most popular website on the internet. It has a vast amount of content and is often called "the front page of the internet." However, you may be wondering if Reddit is safe. This wikiHow article teaches you the risks associated with Reddit and if it is safe or not.
Is Reddit Safe?
Reddit may not be safe for children under the age of 18. Many subreddits contain pornographic, violent, and profane content. You can set your account to not allow inappropriate content, but this can easily be toggled off. Reddit may also collect information about your account, but you don't have to include private information.
Steps
Section 6 of 8:
How to Stay Safe on Reddit
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Do not allow minors under 13 to use Reddit. Reddit requires users to be 13 years or older to sign up for an account. However, they do not verify your age when you sign up. It's not hard for children to create an account and lie about their age. Monitor your child's internet usage and do not allow them to have a Reddit account if they are under 13.
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Monitor children over the age of 13. If you want to allow teenagers over the age of 13 to have a Reddit account, make sure it is highly supervised. Parents should create an account for their children and ensure they have full access to it. This will allow you to monitor what your children are doing on Reddit as well as monitor their direct messages and chats with other users.
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Do not share any identifiable information. Do not use your real name in your username or profile. Do not post your real name, address, location, job, school, or your schedule in any comments, profile, chats, or direct message.
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Be extra careful meeting people in person. Reddit and other social media platforms can be a great place to meet other like-minded people, but be careful meeting people in person. If you are a minor, do not meet anybody you met on Reddit unless your parents or guardians are with you. If you are an adult make sure you meet in a public area with lots of people around. Do not meet anyone in private unless you are sure you know them.
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Do not click on any suspicious links. To ensure that you do not accidentally download any malware or fall victim to a phishing scam, do not click on any suspicious links you see posted on Reddit. Verify the URL before clicking on it.
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Ensure the NSFW filter is turned on. The NSFW filter is turned on by default. This will keep you from accidentally viewing any adult or violent content. However, it should not be relied on as a parental control mechanism because it can easily be toggled off. Use the following steps to ensure the NSFW filter is turned on.
- Go to https://www.reddit.com/ and log in to your account.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings .
- Click the Preferences tab.
- Ensure the toggle switch next to "Show mature (18+) content" is turned off.
- Alternatively, you can click the toggle switch next to "Blur mature (18+) images and media.".
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Disable following. You can select if you want people to be able to follow you and see what your activity on Reddit. If you don't want people following you, use the following steps to disable following:
- Go to https://www.reddit.com/ and log in to your account.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings .
- Click the Privacy tab.
- Toggle off "Allow people to follow you."
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Don't allow people to chat or inbox message you. To prevent strangers from messaging you, you can opt to not allow chat or inbox messages. Use the following steps to disable these features:
- Go to https://www.reddit.com/ and log in to your account.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings .
- Click the Privacy tab.
- Set "Who can send you inbox messages" to "People I choose."
- Set "Allow chat requests from" to "Nobody."
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Limit your discoverability. Reddit allows you to set your profile to private so that it doesn't appear in the "r/all" list of users. You can also make it so that your profile is not searchable on search engines like Google. Use the following steps to do so:
- Go to https://www.reddit.com/ and log in to your account.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings .
- Click the Privacy tab.
- Toggle off "List your profile on old.reddit.com/users."
- Toggle off "Show up in search results."
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Don't allow users to see communities you are active in. To make it harder for users to stalk you on Reddit, you can disable their ability to see what communities and subreddits you are active in. Use the following steps to do so:
- Go to https://www.reddit.com/ and log in to your account.
- Click your profile icon in the upper-right corner.
- Click Settings .
- Click the Profile tab.
- Toggle off "Show active communities .
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