I simply need to use Reddit at the moment. Since beginning my privacy journey several years ago, I haven’t posted since accounts get shadowbanned if accessed via VPN, but now I know I cannot do without anymore. I don’t just need a throwaway account, but an account which isn’t going to be blocked.
If I simply turn off my VPN to create account/post on Reddit, I feel this whole privacy journey has been one of the biggest wastes of time in my life. Whatever I’d be posting on Reddit is more sensitive than anything else I’ve used the internet for.
I’m considering visiting a cafe and using their WiFi whenever I want to use Reddit. But I’m starting to think this could be only further wasting my time considering…
I’m now starting to appreciate how IP address isn’t even such a strong identifier. Without a VPN, Reddit merely knows my internet provider/general location. Based on the content of my posts, Reddit would know my general location anyway, where there are only a few internet providers serving a few million people.
Then there’s the risk of losing privacy in relation to my ISP. But all they’ll see is that I’m using Reddit, one of the most popular websites in the world. Isn’t everything I post protected by HTTPS?
I really feel like I’ve wasted so much time and money on this privacy journey. I feel like I’ll be giving up if I start posting sensitive stuff on Reddit from my home without a VPN, but I’m not sure if I see the point anymore.
First, a good VPN will still do all that the tech is capable of and what it is meant to be used for. This means Reddit will not know your real IP when you use it but the website will still fingerprint you so I recommend using Mullvad Browser for a more ephemeral use to mitigate fingerprinting.
Reddit will have its own algorithm that will evaluate you and your activity for their own purposes. Nothing you can do about that.
I have never had a problem with creating an account or using reddit with an account. If you are even blocked from creating an account, then I would go use your local coffee shop WiFi to create an account and make sure its active and then always use a VPN to access that at home or anywhere you want going forward. Reddit will or can block access to itself if you’re not logged in but you can always log in to use it.
To answer and address your titular questions - you can’t use reddit privately but you can access it privately for sure. And yes, it does matter if you use a VPN because you’ll benefit from the same things that a VPN offers (your ISP won’t know where you’re going and reddit won’t know your real IP. And if you use it with an ephemeral set up, you will severely limit reddit’s capacity to fingerprint you and definitely not beyond your reddit browsing/accessing sessions.
Your ISP will only know you’re on reddit. They won’t know what you’re doing on it (thanks to HTTPS). But if you want to obfuscate the websites you visit, use a VPN.
Why exactly? I don’t follow you thinking here.
I don’t see your point because there is no way you can’t access reddit with a VPN if you log in. You may not be able to browse it without one but you can absolutely access and use reddit if you make an account.
Hope my comments help and make you understand what’s what and how. You’re somewhat misguided it feels from what I read and understand in your post.
Really? I’ve tried several paid VPNs, several locations, and always the account will be shadowbanned. These posts seem to suggest it’s the same for others. If you, or anyone else, can test account creation and posting now with VPN it’d be a lot of help to see if any IP addresses work. But even if so, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until Reddit bans them all.
But it doesn’t matter if Reddit knows my account/posts are tied to a particular IP address. It means absolutely nothing. And it means nothing if my ISP knows I visit Reddit. Really, I just don’t see how my privacy is being compromised in such a case.
Sure, if Reddit knew, through its various layers of fingerprinting, that various different accounts where tied to the same person, then sure, you could say my privacy is being invaded if I had intended for each account to represent a different entity. But that’s not the case in my case. I just want one account.
And sure, if my ISP knew I was visiting not only Reddit, but a bunch of unpopular and potentially sensitive websites, then sure, I can see the invasion of privacy there. But I’m only talking about using Reddit in this instance.
I have used Mullvad VPN in the past and currently use it to view and access reddit under a different alias I have. It works fine.
Well, there is no real security compromise here but depending what you value and how you want things to be, this may or may not be a privacy compromise to you. If you’re okay with your ISP knowing you visit reddit, then that’s fine. If not, using a VPN helps here.
It only doesn’t matter if you’re using a VPN. If not, then reddit will still know where you live and build a profile via their algorithm and serve you ads compromising privacy as I see it.
And if you don’t care about any of it, then simply make a reddit account as use how you want it. I am not here to convince you that you absolutely need VPN to use reddit. But there are privacy forward ways to access and use reddit if you want to.
I think I have answered and addressed most if not all things about why and why not a VPN will be helpful. If you have any specific concerns or question, let me know.
I have used Mullvad VPN in the past and currently use it to view and access reddit under a different alias I have. It works fine.
I’ve used Mullvad VPN & Browser together and always account will be shadowbanned upon creation. This person reports the same. I’ve never had an issue viewing/accessing Reddit with Mullvad… but my point is about contributing.
It only doesn’t matter if you’re using a VPN. If not, then reddit will still know where you live and build a profile via their algorithm and serve you ads compromising privacy as I see it.
No, IP address only gives general location, not exact. Reddit will know general location even with VPN as I’d contribute to a local subreddit.
If you read what I said again, there is really no reason to disagree with me here. General location = where you live. I never claimed exact address.
Also, I don’t know what else to tell you. I’ve not had an issue with reddit. Perhaps try another VPN for the time being and then move to Mullvad. Reddit opens fine on Proton even if you don’t sign in but only to browse.
Sorry if I came across as unnecessarily antagonistic. I’m frustrated, not towards you, but this whole damn thing. It’s just a ridiculous amount of effort and inconvenience trying to maintain digital privacy and I can’t see the benefit.
Seriously. So what if Reddit knows my general location and my ISP knows that I use Reddit? This is as much a privacy invasion as the government knowing I drive a car and my car insurance company knowing I listen to the radio occasionally. It’s so trivial.
But it’d be less trivial if the ISP sold identifiable information to Reddit but that’s illegal under GDPR without explicit consent, which applies in my jurisdiction.
I wonder if I would’ve ever bothered with VPNs and so much of this privacy stuff in the first place had I known how relevant technologies and laws do provide decent protection.
But since I’m already deep in the rabbit hole, it’s hard to let go.
I’m thinking of going to a cafe for whenever I use Reddit, and maybe even installing Windows on the device so I blend into the typical crowd even more to avoid a shadow ban.
But wouldn’t this, like my initial move to Linux and VPN subscriptions, be more pointless inconvenience?
(Also: tried again to make reddit account with mullvad. Suspended, rather than shadowbanned, within 20minutes after a benign comment and message).
My suspicion is that those reporting no problems had accounts setup and active before Reddit starting clamping down on VPN users. I.e., I wonder if you guys have been able to set up new accounts without shadow banning issues.
After more research, I’ve found IP address is specific to each internet modem, rather than specific to each ISP building. (I wish somebody pointed this out!)
So by turning off my VPN, Reddit would be able to associate anything I post with the identity which posted things before I began my privacy journey.
This, combined with data collected by other websites and merged in the data markets, would constitute a non-trivial privacy violation.
I think my options are:
Setup a portable device/VM for the sole purpose of using Reddit with public wifi.
Setup a VM for the sole purpose of using Reddit with hotspot WiFi. This hotspot WiFi would be with a cheap phone and SIM card purchased specifically for allowing the VM to connect to internet without using my regular ISP.
Do you think these options will allow me to use Reddit without VPN without my usage being linked to my wider identity (assuming the content of my posts and stuff I browse doesn’t expose me either).
Perhaps there is another, more convenient, solution?
The only way is to use a residential proxy. Not exactly the easiest or most ethical thing to use, but is what you need
edit - I think you can also buy an account with monero on the internet and use that with a vpn. afaik reddit only shadowbans newly created accounts for using a VPN, older accounts or accounts not created with blacklisted IP addresses should be fine.
If you care about maintaining your habits and certain data private, then of course it’s worth it, despite all the inconveniences. But of course, only if you really want or need that privacy.
I also had my Reddit account banned for using a VPN (I use Proton). Now what I do, since I don’t want them to know everything I read and post, is skip the inconvenience of having an account and posting replies. Now I just consume Reddit without ads using RedReader on Android and redlib instances on PC.
Reddit is loaded with trackers. Google ad pixels are on every thread. Everything you do is tracked, and your account is then associated with your real name if you’ve ever been logged in to anything with your real name and reddit at the same time.
Using old.reddit.com reduces the ad pixels, but reddit still tracks what you do and sells that data.
As for VPNs, reddit shadowbans for lots of other reasons, but VPN use isn’t one of them typically. Are you use you don’t have a low Contributor Quality Score? It’s like the Chinese Social Credit system but for reddit.
Typically you’ll get the “Woah there, pardner” screen that asks you to log in and says if you’re getting this screen and don’t think you should, to contact the admins to unblacklist the IP address. It’s not a full blacklist, and if you’re not logged in, then there’s no account to blacklist, and all they want is for you to log in to show you’re not a scraping bot.
I’ve used reddit on a VPN for nearly a decade across a dozen accounts. None were ever shadow banned for VPN use. Sharing a link without the account being less than 90 days old and having less than 879832983 million karma? Instant shadow ban for a month.
It gives the general location to Reddit, but if you post something on Reddit that the Uzbekistan government doesn’t like, they can go to Reddit and your ISP and get your exact address. Even if they don’t, Reddit will know, for example, that someone who lives in this area of Tashkent has subscribed to r/monero, r/Tor, r/terrorism, r/howtohack, r/anarchy, r/antifascistsofreddit, r/guns etc. Do you trust Reddit to not give this info to the Uzbeki government? You get the idea.
Please don’t reply with “But I have nothing to hide.”