TL;DR (this is a lengthy post, but stay with us until the end: as a lawyer, I am not allowed to be brief):
We are, unfortunately, seeing more and more commercial entities collecting public data, including Reddit content, in bulk with no regard for user rights or privacy. We believe in preserving public access to Reddit content, but in distributing Reddit content, we need to work with trusted partners that will agree in writing to reasonable protections for redditors. They should respect user decisions to delete their content as well as anything Reddit removes for violating our Content Policy, and they cannot abuse their access by using Reddit content to identify or surveil users.
In line with this, and to be more transparent about how we protect data on Reddit, today we published our, which outlines how we manage access to public content on our platform at scale.
At the same time, we continue to believe in supporting public access to Reddit content for researchers and those who believe in responsible non-commercial use of public data. This is why we’re building new tools for researchers and introducing a new subreddit, . Our goal is for this sub to evolve into a place to better support researchers and academics and improve their access to Reddit data.
Hi, redditors - I’m , Reddit’s Chief Legal Officer, and today I’m sharing more about how we protect content on Reddit.
Our Public Content Policy
Reddit is an inherently public platform, and we want to keep it that way. Although we’ve shared our POV , we’re publishing this policy to give you all (whether you are a redditor, moderator, researcher, or developer) a better sense of how we think about access to public content and the protections that should exist for users against misuse of public content.
This is distinct from our , which covers how we handle the minimal private/personal information users provide to us (such as email). It’s not our , which sets out our rules for what content and behavior is allowed on the platform.
What we consider public content on Reddit
Public content includes all of the content – like posts and comments, usernames and profiles, public karma scores, etc. (for a longer list, you can check out our public API) – that Reddit distributes and makes publicly available to redditors, visitors who use the service, and developers, e.g. to be extra clear, it doesn’t include stuff we don’t make public, such as private messages or mod mail, or non-public account information, such as email address, browsing history, IP address, etc. (this is stuff we don’t and would never license or distribute, because we believe).
Preventing the misuse and abuse of public content
Unfortunately, we see more and more commercial entities using unauthorized access or misusing authorized access to collect public data in bulk, including Reddit public content. Worse, these entities perceive they have no limitation on their usage of that data, and they do so with no regard for user rights or privacy, ignoring reasonable legal, safety, and user removal requests. While we will continue our efforts to block known bad actors, we can’t continue to assume good intentions. We need to do more to restrict access to Reddit public content at scale to trusted actors who have agreed to abide by our policies. But we also need to continue to ensure that users, mods, researchers, and other good-faith, non-commercial actors have access.
The policy, at-a-glance
Our policy outlines the information partners can access via any public-content licensing agreements. It also outlines the commitments we make to users about usage of this content, explaining how:
We require our partners to uphold the privacy of redditors and their communities. This includes respecting users’ decisions to delete their content and any content we remove for violating our Content Policy.
Partners are not allowed to use content to identify individuals or their personal information, including for ad targeting purposes.
Partners cannot use Reddit content to spam or harass redditors.
Partners are not allowed to use Reddit content to conduct background checks, facial recognition, government surveillance, or help law enforcement do any of the above.
Partners cannot access public content that includes adult media.
And, as always, we don’t sell the personal information of redditors.
What’s a policy without enforcement?
Anyone accessing Reddit content must abide by our policies, and we are selective about who we work with and trust with large-scale access to Reddit content. We will block access to those that don’t agree to our policies, and we will continue to enhance our capabilities to hunt down and catch bad actors. We don’t want to but, if necessary, we’ll also take legal action.
What changes for me as a user?
Nothing changes for redditors. You can continue using Reddit logged in, logged out, on mobile, etc.
What do users get out of these agreements?
Users get protections against misuse of public content. Also, commercial agreements allow us to invest more in making Reddit better as a platform and product.
Who can access public content on Reddit?
In addition to those we have agreements with, Reddit Data API access remains free for non-commercial researchers and academics under our published usage threshold. It also remains accessible for organizations like the Internet Archive.
Reddit for Research
It’s important to us that we continue to preserve public for researchers and those who believe in responsible non-commercial use of public data. We believe in and recognize the value that public Reddit content provides to researchers and academics. Academics contribute meaningful and important research that helps shape our understanding of how people interact online. To continue studying the impacts of how behavioral patterns evolve online, access to public data is essential.
That’s why we’re building tools and an environment to help researchers access Reddit content. If you're an academic or researcher, and interested in learning more, head over to and check out ’s first post.
Thank you to the users and mods who gave us feedback in developing this Public Content Policy, including u/abrownn, , , , , , , , , , and , among others.