Reddit Shadowban Checker

What is a Reddit shadowban?

A Reddit shadowban is a site-wide, silent penalty. Your account still looks normal to you: you can log in, post and comment. But nobody else sees any of it. Your profile, posts and comments are invisible to other users, on every subreddit, and Reddit sends no notice.

It is different from a regular ban. A subreddit ban comes from that community's moderators, applies to that community only, and usually arrives with a message. A shadowban comes from Reddit itself, most often from its automatic anti-spam systems, and applies everywhere.

How to check if you're shadowbanned

With the checker above. Enter the username. The checker asks Reddit for the public profile, the same way a logged-out visitor would. If Reddit returns the profile, the account is visible. If Reddit answers that the profile does not exist, the account is either shadowbanned or not a real username, so check the spelling first.

By hand, in thirty seconds. Log out of Reddit, or open a private window, and go to reddit.com/user/yourusername. If you get "page not found" while you can still log in to that account, it is hidden from the public.

For a single post. Open the post's link in a private window. If it is missing there but fine when you are logged in, that post is being hidden, even if your account is not.

Shadowban or something else?

Many things look like a shadowban from the inside: you post, and nothing happens. Only one of them is a shadowban. The difference is scope.

• Account shadowban. Everything you post, in every subreddit, is invisible. Your profile is "not found" when logged out. Only an appeal to Reddit can lift it.
• AutoMod removal. One subreddit's automatic rules removed your post or comment, often for account age, low karma, a link or a keyword. Your posts in other subreddits are fine. A moderator of that subreddit can approve it.
• Spam filter on one post. Reddit's filter held one submission for review. The rest of your activity is visible. A moderator can release it.
• Subreddit ban. A moderator banned you from one community. You usually get a message, and you can still post everywhere else.
• Suspension. Reddit suspended the account. Unlike a shadowban, Reddit tells you, and the profile shows a suspension notice.

If only one community swallows your content, it is almost never a shadowban. Check that subreddit's rules, or message its moderators.

Why Reddit shadowbans accounts

Shadowbans are mostly automatic. They hit behaviour that looks like spam or manipulation, even when the intent was good:

• The same link posted across many subreddits in a short time.
• Mostly promotional activity: posting your own links with little or no normal participation.
• Vote manipulation: asking for upvotes, voting with several accounts, or joining upvote exchanges.
• Link shorteners such as bit.ly, which hide the destination.
• A new account used to get around a ban, which Reddit calls ban evasion.

New accounts are the most exposed. An account that is a few days old and starts by posting links matches the spam pattern closely.

How long does a Reddit shadowban last?

There is no set duration and no countdown. A shadowban usually stays in place until an appeal succeeds. Some accounts flagged by mistake are restored after an appeal. Accounts flagged for spam, ban evasion or repeated violations are rarely restored.

How to appeal a shadowban

The only official route is Reddit's appeal form at reddit.com/appeals.

1. Make sure the email on the account is verified, so Reddit can answer you.
2. Submit one appeal. Give your username and a short, factual explanation. No anger, no long story.
3. Wait. Sending many appeals in a row looks like spam, which is the behaviour that triggers flags in the first place.

Do not open a new account to post in the meantime. That is ban evasion, and the new account usually ends up banned too.

How to avoid a shadowban

Behave like a member of the community before you behave like a marketer. Comment in threads where you have nothing to sell. Share different links, and full URLs, not shorteners. Never ask for upvotes. Keep your own links a small part of what you post.

If you use Reddit for your business, the safest pattern is to reply where people already ask for a product like yours, instead of posting your link everywhere. A Reddit lead generation tool finds those threads for you, so each reply is welcome and none of them looks like spam.