Got Your Reddit Account Banned? Here’s What to Do
Has Reddit banned your account? You’re not alone. The social media platform is not shy about banning users. In the second half of 2023 alone, it issued 3,930,885 account bans, some temporary and others permanent.
What do you do when you find yourself in this unfortunate situation? First, find out why you’ve gotten the ban and try to appeal the platform’s decision if you think it’s unfair. If you’re unable to recover, create a new Reddit account and exercise caution so as not to raise any red flags.
In this guide, we take a deep dive into Reddit account bans. We’ll look at how to tell if your account is banned, why Reddit bans accounts, and how to recover or start afresh without drawing admins’ attention.
Is My Reddit Account Banned?
Reddit is very clear about account bans. When you can’t log in or interact with the platform, it usually means the account has been banned. In this situation, Reddit sends a private message explaining why the ban happened and how long it will last.
A subreddit ban works a bit differently. It blocks you from posting or commenting in a specific community, and the moderator will send you a private message with the reason for the ban and the length of the restriction.
However, subreddit automoderator bans and shadowbans are not always apparent or communicated. You typically have to do some digging to determine if you’ve fallen victim to either.
A subreddit automoderator ban is issued by AutoModerator, a Reddit bot, instead of a human moderator. The bot automatically removes comments or posts if they go against Reddit’s rules, usually without letting you know. This type of ban is temporary, so your account is technically still secure.
A shadowban is the hardest to detect since it doesn’t affect what you see. You can still post and comment, as you usually do, but your content will not be visible to others. To determine whether Reddit has shadowbanned you, look for your profile or most recent post using another account and device. If you don’t get any results, you’ll know you’ve been banned. This type of ban is also temporary.
Why Does Reddit Ban Accounts?
Reddit is pretty strict about its community rules. If your account gets banned, odds are, it’s because you’ve violated one or several of them. Some of the most common causes of account bans include:
- Inappropriate content: Sharing or encouraging others to share abusive, sexual, or predatory content.
- Harassment: Bullying and threatening other users, marginalized communities, and vulnerable groups.
- Impersonation: Using other people’s information to create fake accounts.
- Infringing on others’ privacy: Sharing or encouraging others to share users’ personal information.
- Spamming: Posting irrelevant or repetitive content.
- Manipulating votes: Using multiple accounts to post, downvote, or upvote content.
- Illegal business: Posting or soliciting illicit services.
Check if your account ticks any of these boxes if you receive a warning or temporary ban notification. If so, quickly rectify the issue to avoid a permanent ban. For example, if you post spammy content, delete any post that may be considered irrelevant or repetitive.
Can You Recover a Banned Reddit Account?
Sure. Though the chances of getting a positive response are slim, it doesn’t hurt to try. After all, some people have gotten their accounts restored..
Here’s how to overcome a Reddit account ban:
1. Find the Ban Message
Admins and subreddit moderators send private messages when they ban your account. These messages typically detail the duration and reasons for each ban.
Check your ban’s duration to determine what to do. If you’ve gotten a temporary ban, a good rule of thumb is to wait it out. Be sure to follow the platform’s guidelines when you recover your account.
If you’ve gotten a permanent ban, go through the reasons for the ban. If you believe it’s unfair, submit an appeal (more on this below).
2. Appeal the Ban
As with most platforms, Reddit allows users to appeal bans. If you believe your ban was unjust, log in to your account and fill out an appeal form. You’ll need to provide your username (the platform automatically fills this out for you) and make your case in the “Brief Description” box. Make sure you remain respectful and keep your argument concise.
If there was no mistake in banning your account, admit you messed up and request another chance. Though your odds may be slim, you could get lucky.
To increase your chances of positive feedback:
- Don’t threaten Reddit admins.
- Avoid over-explaining yourself.
- Don’t make too many follow-ups — a few well-spaced follow-ups could help your case, but too many may come off as spammy, hurting your chances of account recovery even more.
3. Adjust Your Behavior
If you successfully recover your banned account, review Reddit’s guidelines to understand what you can and can’t do on the platform. Repeating your mistakes could result in a permanent ban and eliminate your chances of future recovery.
What Do You Do If You’re Unable to Recover Your Banned Account?
The only option is to create a new Reddit account. It’s worth noting, however, that Reddit isn’t too receptive to banned users creating new accounts. In fact, it doesn’t allow people with details linked to banned accounts to sign up for new ones.
Luckily, there are workarounds. To create a new account after a ban:
Use New Information
When Reddit bans your account, it will flag previously used personal details when you attempt to register a new one. So, create a new username, email address, and password.
Change Your IP Address
Reddit may connect your new account to your old one if you use the same IP address. So, invest in a good VPN or proxy service. VPNs and proxies mask your IP address, making it seem like you’re in a different location.
If you plan to open multiple new accounts, use different proxies to reduce your risk. While Reddit has no issue with creating multiple accounts, you may end up losing them all if you violate the platform’s policies in one.
Change Your Device
While this may seem extreme, it’s necessary if you get a permanent ban. Reddit’s system might connect your new account to your old one through device fingerprinting, resulting in another ban.
We know what you’re thinking; buying a new mobile device to create a Reddit account isn’t financially practical. And, you’re right. The good news is that you don’t have to. With cloud phone solutions like GeeLark, you can create cloud phone environments that mimic your actual phone. To Reddit, it’ll seem like each new account originates from a different device.
With GeeLark, you can also add proxy information to change each cloud phone’s location. This seals any gap that could leave you exposed to other account bans.
How to Protect Your New Accounts
Once you create new accounts, be careful not to attract Reddit’s admins’ or AutoModerator’s attention. You can reduce your risk of future bans by doing the following:
Avoid Repeating Banned Behavior
Reddit will continually ban your accounts if you break its rules. So, be sure to review and follow all its guidelines.
If your previous accounts were banned for spammy content, check what you post, where you post, and how often you post to avoid the same issue. If you were flagged for improper content, review the kind of content Reddit allows before you start posting again.
Track Your Account Health
Reddit makes this relatively easy by providing a karma score for every account. The score essentially reflects your reputation.
A high score means you’re posting high-quality content and receiving a lot of positive engagement from other Reddit users. Conversely, a low score indicates your content isn’t popular. It may be brought on by too many downvotes or a guideline violation.
If you notice a drop in your score, review your account for unpopular or risky content and adjust your strategy.
Separate Multiple Accounts
Again, Reddit does allow you to create multiple accounts. But it’s essential to keep them separate. If you don’t, you may end up losing them all if you violate the platform’s guidelines in one of them.
How do you separate your accounts? Here are some top tips:
- Use GeeLark: Our antidetect phone solution lets you assign a distinct cloud phone and IP address to each account. This ensures each profile stays isolated, so other accounts won’t be affected by activity in one.
- Avoid engaging with your own posts using multiple accounts: Reddit may see this as an attempt to cheat the system. Instead of engaging with your own content, interact with other users’ posts to gain organic engagement.
- Adjust your posting strategy: Avoid posting the same content, at the same time, in the same style. While human admins may not catch on, Reddit’s automated tools might. One of the best ways to reduce your risk of detection is to use GeeLark’s AI. Our Reddit AI account warmup solution simulates human-like interactions by varying engagement intervals and mimicking actual human browsing behavior.
Protect Your Reddit Accounts With GeeLark
Reddit account bans are relatively common. To protect your accounts, be sure to follow the platform’s community guidelines. If you have multiple Reddit accounts, isolate them using an antidetect phone service like GeeLark.
With GeeLark, you can create a unique cloud phone for each of your Reddit accounts. This way, your other accounts stay safe even when you get in trouble in one.
Beyond providing antidetect solutions, we also offer Reddit AI account warmup to help you get new accounts up and running quickly. Our AI simulates normal human behavior, so you don’t have to worry about triggering Reddit’s bot detection systems.