If you found yourself in the unfortunate situation to have your Reddit account blocked or suspended, then this can be the start of an account block nightmare for your newly added Reddit accounts.
Why Reddit blocks or suspends accounts in the first place?
This can happen by a myriad of things, but I will list below the most frequent causes of blocks, suspensions and bans:
Breaking any rule of the Reddit TOS. This includes doing spam, harassing people, posting what is not allowed or generally using the website in a way which is not permitted by the rules.
Breaking a rule of a given subreddit. Subreddit moderators are having the freedom to create their own rules for their communities. Breaking a serious rule multiple times can result in having moderators flagging your account. From here, you’ll be only one step away for the Reddit native filter to throw the ban hammer at you.
Using a device or IP that Reddit connected with suspicious or spam activity. Yes, if you are unlucky enough to login your account into a flagged/device or IP, you’ll quickly arrive on the ban hammer highway. You can’t know what those devices will be, so it’s better to keep your accounts logged only on your personal devices.
In this last case, what I would recommend doing is make an appeal to Reddit, explaining you didn’t intentionally broke any rules, and you’ll have your fair chances of having your account unblocked / reactivated.
How to avoid getting the account suspended for newly created or purchased accounts?
Now we’re getting to the interesting part. If you had your account suspended and now want to create a new one, or, if you just bought an aged Reddit account and want to use that, you might be tempted to use the same device… Stop and thing again, Reddit can still track you to your previously blocked account, and, it will keep blocking / suspending your newly added accounts too.
How they’re doing this? By simple tracking characteristics of your device, any remaining cookies and also the IP you’re using.
Using a phone or tablet:
Cookie traces and other identifiable mobile/token ID’s. If you’re on a mobile device, the first thing you need doing to get rid of your past tracks is getting your device factory reset. This will efficiently erase any cookies and cache that are linked to the suspended accounts.
Using a laptop or desktop PC:
Hiding your old tracks on a PC is different than on a mobile device. To put it simple, the browser/app you’re using to login gives away a lot of information about your PC than you might expect. So just changing your cookies and IP might not be enough. The solution?
- Medium-safety: Using Chrome/Firefox in Incognito/Private modes, and installing a canvas blocker addon.
- Highest safety: Using an anti-detect browser that will hide all your fingerprints.
The IP address:
Hiding your device fingerprints is just part of it. Next thing you want to make sure is different since your last account suspension is the IP address. If you have a home broadband connection with a fixed IP, then you need to use a VPN to get another IP for your Reddit login – this at least until the flag on your home IP will go away (there isn’t a certain known time, but usually around one month will suffice).
The safest way is using a VPN software which will change your system IP without a risk of leaking your original IP like using proxies might do. (WebRTC leak or other TCP stack or HTTP header information that can disclose you’re using a proxy and/or your real IP).
This is the VPN I use daily which makes my job easier working with many websites: Proton VPN
If you don’t afford a VPN, just use the methods below:
- For a mobile device with a data connection, just disable and enable data connection for a new IP.
- For a mobile device using the home WiFi router, by restarting the router, make sure you get another IP (check IP before restarting).
New email address:
Finally (if you didn’t bought a Reddit account which includes an email address), you will have to use another email address than the one registered with the previously suspended account. Having your account email verified will give a bit more trust to it, so I recommend doing that.
What about shadowbans?
A shadowban is very frustrating, as some actions you do will not show up or count for other Reddit users and Reddit upvote system. Checking your account for shadowban is a simple process: just log out of your account, and if your profile isn’t showing up then you are shadowbanned – your votes won’t count, and also you might not be able to post, or, your posts in any subreddit will only be visible to you.
Can you get rid of a shadowban?
The answer is not simple. Sometimes you might be able to avoid it by using another device and IP for your account. However, this is not always the case, and once an account gets shadowbanned there are slim chances it will recover again.
Final tips on avoiding getting your account suspended
- First obvious thing is following Reddit’s Reddiquette and the rules of subreddits you’re joining.
- Never mix your personal accounts with ones you use for other purposes, like anonymous posting or marketing.
- Never add a new account to a device where a Reddit account was blocked or suspended. Same thing goes for the IP address.
- Don’t upvote your posts or comments with a second account used on the same device/IP.
- If you’re getting a temporary block, slow things down and don’t insist on making the same action again that day.
- Reddit prefers original content over external links. Try to avoid posting links, at least during your first posts in a subreddit.