On Tuesday, Reddit announced a new feature that will offer its users more privacy when it comes to what they share on their profiles.
The company says it is launching an update that will introduce a “Content and Activity” setting that will allow users to decide what content from the subreddits they participate in appears on their profiles. This includes both post history and comment history.
By default, all posts and comments remain visible as before. However, the new setting allows users to hide all of their public posts and comments, including those made directly on their profiles.
In addition, users can choose to selectively display posts and comments from certain communities on their profile while keeping others hidden.
This option is available in the new Profile Settings section, where users can manage the visibility of their content. There’s also an option to enable or disable NSFW content and activity, as well as a “Followers” toggle that shows or hides the number of followers.
The update adds a level of privacy to Reddit that was previously unavailable.
Previously, many Reddit users created “one-time” accounts when they wanted to ask more personal questions. But as Reddit evolves into a more ad-focused tech company after the IPO, it likely prefers that user data – such as engagement and interests – remain linked to a single user profile for better ad targeting.
The addition of this feature may also encourage users to be more active on the site, as they will now know that they can hide their activity from the public to some extent.
For example, users may want to speak out or ask questions about a more sensitive topic, such as relationship or dating advice or health issues they are facing. In the past, they could simply read other people’s posts but not directly participate in them so that the information would not appear on their own profiles.
Reddit says that the ability to hide or show posts and comments is only available at the community level, not at the individual post or comment level. This makes it easier to manage your settings, even if it means you can’t choose which comments and posts to show and which not to show.
However, users should be aware that the curation option does not mean they have true privacy. Their username will still appear next to their posts and comments in the communities themselves. In addition, some moderators will have access to a user’s public post and comment history for 28 days, regardless of the user’s content visibility settings, according to Reddit.
This access is useful for moderators who may need to view a user’s history when they post or comment, as well as when they send a “modmail”, such as requests to join a restricted community or requests to join a restricted community.
Profile owners will also be able to temporarily see a user’s full post and comment history if another user comments directly on a post on their profile, the company says.
Along with this change, Reddit has introduced updated personal activity summaries that provide an overview of a user’s activity, including the amount of karma, total contributions, account age, and active communities. The latter will be based on their content and activity settings.
