Reddit’s New Privacy Controls Will Let You Hide NSFW Content (Well, Sort Of)
While it adds some personal control, it doesn’t offer full anonymity.
Reddit is finally offering something users have quietly wanted for years: the ability to hide parts of their post and comment history from public view. For a platform that built its identity around openness and transparency — where everything you said was visible on your profile, for better or worse — this marks a pretty significant shift. Until now, every Reddit user’s profile was essentially a digital paper trail. Sure, usernames are often pseudonymous, but it wasn’t hard to scroll through someone’s comment history to get a feel for their interests, arguments, or embarrassing hot takes from 2013. This transparency helped moderators catch trolls and bad actors, and gave regular users a sense of accountability. But it also made the platform intimidating for people who wanted to participate in sensitive discussions, on topics like health, relationships, or identity, without broadcasting it to everyone who clicked their name.
With this latest update, Reddit is introducing a new “Content and Activity” section that lets users curate what shows up on their public profile. That means you can now hide all your posts and comments, or selectively hide activity from specific subreddits. There's even a toggle to hide NSFW content and your follower count. Notably, this won’t remove your posts from the subreddits themselves; your username will still be visible there, but it will keep that activity off your personal page.
It’s a win for user privacy, at least on the surface. But there’s a catch. Moderators can still access your full post and comment history for 28 days if you interact with their subreddit, like posting, commenting, or sending modmail. So while it adds some personal control, it doesn’t offer full anonymity.
This move seems tied to Reddit’s post-IPO ambitions. The company went public in March 2024, raising about $748 million at a $6.4 billion valuation. While that may seem like old news, the effects are still unfolding. Reddit is now leaning into being a more modern, ad-friendly platform.
Reducing the need for throwaway accounts helps keep engagement tied to one profile, great for ad targeting. Platforms like X and Facebook already let users control what shows on their profiles, so Reddit is, in some ways, catching up.
Still, it’s a notable step for a platform trying to balance community moderation, privacy, and monetization. Whether it encourages healthier participation or just hides more bad behavior remains to be seen.
Oyinebiladou Omemu
