Is Reddit Safe? Yes, But Only with Right Precautions 

How safe is Reddit?

Reddit team tries to keep the platform a place where people can enjoy discussing all sorts of things as safely as possible. To automatically detect malicious and spammy links scattered around various subreddits, the platform uses Web Risk, a tool that finds dangerous posts with almost 100% precision, along with user reporting to flag harmful behavior.

While Reddit malware and phishing links are under constant watch of Web Risk, the site also has a strong Content Policy to fight cases of misinformation, fake news, hate speech, abuse, scams, and social engineering appearing from time to time in user-generated content on the platform. When Reddit’s monitoring team finds a post that violates the Content Policy, the post gets removed and the user’s account who post malicious links may be suspended.  

But since there are 130 comments posted every single second, it’s obvious that Reddit isn’t completely safe, so many security threats remain unattended. Let’s find out what exact risks you may face while surfing different subreddits.

Reddit privacy and security issues

When you visit Reddit, a security threat can ambush you from any subreddit, even if it’s about the quickest methods of ripening up an avocado. Beware of the following risks: 

Sharing private information 

It’s a very bad idea to write on Reddit any of your private information like address, phone number/email, social security number, and so on. Reddit is a hugely popular platform with 73.1 million daily active users, which means it is a honeypot for hackers and fraudsters. They can use your sensitive information against you for scamming, stalking, and impersonating you on social media sites.

Harmful content

Even though Content Policy is the law at Reddit, the moderation team can’t keep up with all unpleasant content posted. It’s quite possible you may feel uncomfortable bumping into posts that contain violence, hate speech, racism, or just utter lies about a subject of your interest. 

Phishing attempts 

Even the above-mentioned Web Risk tool isn’t a silver bullet and may miss Reddit scams and phishing links which you may be unfortunate to click on. Read our dedicated article to know what to do when you click on a phishing link.  

Cyberbullying/harassment online

Somebody is wrong on the Internet all the time. And it can be you all of a sudden. For example, just leaving an innocent comment spoilering the end of Dune: Part 2 can cause a tempest in a teapot amongst other Reddit users. 

Harassment online is a common threat, especially on a social media platform where a lot of different people discuss things. Verbal abuse, threats, or even attempts of doxxing you are possible as you can’t be sure how other users will react to your post. The Reddit monitoring team is likely to interfere soon enough, especially when users report inappropriate content, but you might have already suffered emotional damage.

All these things may sound scary, but there’s good news: they can be avoided. Bear with us to know how! 

Reddit safety tips

Following these tips will decrease your risks of facing Reddit dangers we’ve discussed above: 

1. Log in using an email designated solely for Reddit. Even if this email address leaks, you don’t use it anywhere else! The worst thing that can happen is the loss of your Reddit account. 
2. Create a username devoid of any hints to your real name. To be on the safe side, don’t give fraudsters any chance to identify you, so come up with a creative username. 
3. Set a complex password. Setting a strong and complex password is a must because it makes your account harder to hack. Deciphering a short simple password with brute force is obviously easier than a long one. 
4. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA). In addition to submitting a password, you’ll have to enter a 6-digit code generated by your Reddit mobile app. Logging in will take a little bit longer, but you can be sure that nobody will access your account even when they manage to crack your password. 
5. Disable Google to find your account. In Reddit settings, you can stop allowing search engines to index your account. In other words, your posts won’t appear in search when somebody googles a relatable topic. 
6. Refrain from disclosing personal information such as:

• Employment details
• Location
• Birthdate, names of your relatives, and so on
• Things your own

7. Don’t click on suspicious external links. When you see a link promising to lead you to an external resource or service, there are high chances it will download malware or take you to a spoofed phishing site. If a link should lead to a popular website like Amazon, read the URL carefully to be sure it’s not an imitation of its address with one symbol changed or added.
   
8. Use a virtual private network (VPN). A VPN application will encrypt all the traffic on the internet so that your identity remains anonymous to hackers and other online threats. Nevertheless, we highly recommend not to use free VPN applications because they collect and sell your personal data to third parties. Rather, use the services of a high-quality VPN like VeePN that adheres to a No Logs policy and provides the best online security without reducing the speed of the Internet connection. 

Using VPN is one of the most effective ways of protecting your Internet privacy while surfing Reddit. Let’s see why.  

Why should you use VPN for Reddit? 

These are the key advantages of a VPN in terms of your privacy when browsing Reddit: 

• Traffic encryption. A VPN program will encrypt all your Internet traffic and redirect it through a special tunnel to a remote server, and your information can no longer be intercepted and decoded.
• IP address masking. A reliable VPN application provides access to numerous remote servers, hiding your IP address. Consequently, hackers are unable to detect your actual whereabouts since you have the IP address of the country where a remote server is located.
• Ability to unblock websites while traveling. You may travel to a country where Reddit is unavailable due to local restrictions and censorship. But since VPN connects you to a remote server, you can access any website and use it as if you’re back home.  

VeePN offers all these security features and even more. The application comes with the AES 256-bit encryption standard, widely regarded as the most robust encryption method to date and trusted by the US government for shielding sensitive information. On top of that, you can add an extra level of security with the Double VPN feature that encrypts your traffic twice. 

With VeePN you can be sure your device is always safe thanks to NetGuard, antivirus software, and breach alerts that are included as a part of your subscription. And the best part is that one subscription works for up to 10 devices simultaneously, letting you browse Reddit safely from your phone, tablet, smart TV or else.
Try VeePN right now with a 30-day money-back guarantee!

Written by VeePN Research Lab VeePN Research Lab is dedicated to provide you latest posts about internet security and privacy.

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