What Is a Shadowban?
A shadowban is a stealth ban where your account appears normal to you, but your posts and comments are invisible to everyone else. You can still browse, post, and comment — but no one sees your content. It's Reddit's way of dealing with spammers without alerting them.
Shadowbans are different from regular subreddit bans. A subreddit ban is visible and specific to one community. A shadowban is site-wide and invisible — you won't receive a notification that you've been shadowbanned.
Why It Matters for Marketers
Shadowbans are the biggest risk for marketers on Reddit. If your marketing activities trigger Reddit's spam detection — posting too many links, being too promotional, or using manipulative tactics — you can be shadowbanned without knowing it.
You can check if you're shadowbanned by visiting your profile in an incognito browser or using tools like r/ShadowBan. Prevention is key: follow the 90/10 rule (90% helpful content, 10% promotional), avoid posting the same links repeatedly, and never use vote manipulation.
Examples
- An account that only posts links to their blog with no community interaction gets shadowbanned within days.
- Using multiple accounts to upvote your own content triggers an immediate shadowban on all accounts.
- A marketer posts valuable comments for weeks, then shares one relevant link — no shadowban because of established credibility.
How RedShip Helps
RedShip helps you avoid shadowbans by finding conversations where your product is genuinely relevant. Instead of forcing promotional content into random threads, you respond to real people with real problems — the kind of organic engagement Reddit rewards rather than punishes.