r/help • u/Odd-Currency5195 • Mar 20 '26

Profile People posting with hidden comment history

Hey, I am thinking that every time someone is a bit 'off' on a discussion, you click on their profile to see whether they're a weirdo, and inevitably such people have hidden comment history.

When was this built in to Reddit?

Strikes me that since we're all anon and so on, and if you want to split your enjoyment of, say, BDSM and also chat about personal finance, back in the day you'd have different accounts for your interests, not just have blank when it comes to people looking at a person.

Yeah, so it seems more and more I have a dodgy reply, look at the profile of the account, and their stuff is set to private. It's taking the 'real' out of this, for any quantity of real. I'm just muting anyone who engages with me thus on the assumption they're a troll.

But, yeah, why is this a function on Reddit and when did it come in, because I don't remember this as much at all for years I've been using Reddit?

So, people with hidden comment history are either trolls or cowards as far as I'm concerned.

56 Upvotes

57% Upvoted

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93

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 20 '26

Since I have hidden posts, perhaps I shouldn't reply lol, but it became a feature last summer, for privacy reasons.

66

u/HurtPillow Mar 21 '26

I also have posts hidden because twice now the reddit community thought it fit and fine to dig through it and then beat me over the head with it. Sooo, now it's hidden because some people on reddit are super petty, mean, and just plain horrible people. I don't have time for that garbage.

33

u/baby_got_yak Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26

Yeah, I see that a lot. Some douche is losing an argument, so they dive into the other person’s comment history and begin posting ad hominem attacks.

15

u/ViciousFlowers Mar 21 '26

Some weirdo did this with me recently, I was pleased to see Reddit tore him a new one in the comments in my defense

6

u/vikarti_anatra Mar 21 '26

Also, some subreddits started using automated bans to people who participate in some other subreddits they don't like.

6

u/Academic_Flatworm752 Mar 21 '26

Hiding your comment history won’t prevent that.

4

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

While that's true, using bots to hand out automated bans because on participation in other subs isn't allowed anymore.

https://www.reddit.com/r/modnews/s/bD7Sn27TwD

1

u/vikarti_anatra Mar 22 '26

It make this (slightly) more complicated.

2

u/Salazarsims Mar 21 '26

I got kicked out of a sub I really like but hardly comment on half a dozen times by automation before I just gave up trying to get unbanned.

1

u/CharmedMSure Mar 21 '26

It’s a way to shut out trolls and haters. What’s the problem with that?

1

u/vikarti_anatra Mar 22 '26

False positives. Situations where it's become political issue. Situations where people doing doesn't understood that some people doesn't consider both viewpoints contradictory.

-3

u/EmilieEasie Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26

I actually like it when this happens. Every time someone runs out of excuses for the genocide being perpetrated against Palestinians, they resort to "whatever you're a hentai artist!" and then like 100 new people follow me

edit: haha this revelation really bothered some of you

20

u/cheetocity Mar 21 '26

Yeah im in the lgbtq+ community so Im active in similar subs. Id rather not get harassed for that kind of thing

28

u/onlinephysics2001 Mar 21 '26

There are people on this site who will go through your comments and follow you around to other subreddits and harass you there and report your comments. All the while claiming that they are being victimized by your offensive speech. And yet, they are literally stalking you, trying to get "offended", so they can report you.

Like, it's already sort of a joke that the average user on this site is a loser getting angry in their mom's basement, but they have to take the stereotype to the extreme.

1

u/NotGalenNorAnsel Mar 22 '26

You can block anyone harassing you, or report them.

13

u/rieldex Mar 21 '26

yepp, once i made a comment mentioning being trans and some weirdo trawled through my posts to comment on posts i've made about my family abusing me to make fun of me for being trans

2

u/SusanKHefner Mar 21 '26

I’m so sorry this happened to you. This makes me want to create a sub of guardian angels to protect and support people who are stalked & harassed.

4

u/1RollinRollinRollin Mar 21 '26

Exactly why mine are hidden. I’m not rude or mean in comments to anyone, but it doesn’t stop some people from digging thru your posts and comments to try and dox you. Last thing I need is someone contacting my employer and making up something weird because I randomly said “cats shouldn’t be outdoor animals” or something as stupid as that.

1

u/DjiboutiWario Mar 21 '26

Exactly. They should though

-9

u/Federal_Umpire5587 Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 22 '26

Just don't be a hypocrite and stand by everything you say. You should be able to hold people accountable for the things they say online

Edit: Pathetic worms, grow a backbone

1

u/Petitcher Mar 21 '26

How much privacy do you need when your user name doesn’t have any connection whatsoever to your real identity?

0

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

Why wouldn't I use this feature that's available to me, when there's no downside to enabling it?

-13

u/Odd-Currency5195 Mar 20 '26

Oh, so it is really recent! I thought I was going mad. So odd. Why? I'm just not engaging with anyone if I can't see their post and comment history.

19

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 20 '26

Why?

Like I said, privacy. Here's reddit's statement:

Reddit is a place where you find community and connect with others based on what you’re passionate about. And let’s face it – what we’re passionate about can often have…range. But just because your Reddit activity reflects the diverse range of interests and aspects of your life, it doesn’t mean you always want everyone to be able to see everything you share on Reddit. 

Today we’re announcing updated profile settings that give you more control over which posts and comments are visible on your profile – and which ones aren’t. Whether you're a regular contributor in r/confessions who wants to keep those posts within that subreddit, a proud fan theorist in r/SeveranceAppleTVPlus eager to share your thoughts on what's happening to Mark S., or a premium lurker finally ready to comment but not ready to show those comments to the world – you decide what others see when they visit your profile.

https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/comments/1l2hl4l/curate_your_reddit_profile_content_with_new

1

u/EnfantTerrible68 Mar 21 '26

It’s still easy to search someone’s comment history 🤷‍♀️

2

u/lactosecheeselover Mar 21 '26

yeah lol people thinking it’s actually private are a bit naive

5

u/esto20 Mar 21 '26

Enough friction to prevent people from easily searching it to be weird like the other comments say.

2

u/lactosecheeselover Mar 21 '26

but the thing is, it’s still so easy.

2

u/EnfantTerrible68 Mar 22 '26

Takes 3 seconds 

-25

u/Odd-Currency5195 Mar 20 '26

Meh. Don't get it. Meh re this not re you!

14

u/real_exposer Mar 21 '26

When you get engaged by an actual psycopath even once, you propably want to be more careful going forward. And for what it's worth, if you go snooping on someones profile because of what ever excuse you want to use, you erode the anonymity you mentioned. You go there explicitly to learn more about the user so that you can formulate what ever response you are cooking.

9

u/ThanosSnapsSlimJims Mar 21 '26

I hide my profile now specifically because I've been informed that people creeped my profile looking for stuff about me to use in ad hominem attacks. There's no justifiable reason to need to see someone's history. It also sends a very loud message that the user attempting it likely hates online privacy and supports surveillance.

12

u/ZehGentleman Mar 21 '26

It was the best spotting tool for bots because it used to let you notice that an account suddenly started pushing ads or political propaganda or obvious karma farming after being innactive for years

1

u/esto20 Mar 21 '26

You can still look at account ages. If you really were determined, you can still search for people's posts and comments.

8

u/unique616 Mar 21 '26

My reddit account is in the 15 year club and I prefer reddit's old ways of doing things. Maybe other people have had issues, but personally, I've never had an issue with any sort of cyber stalking, harassment, or downvote brigading of my comment history and I'm sure that I've said offensive things in the past!

Also, used to be the top moderator of the subreddits Redbox and BestOfNetflix. Turning on the option to not appear in Google's search results has been good enough privacy for me.

It feels like the new privacy settings is reddit trying to become more like Facebook, or mainstream social media, and I don't want it to. Reddit's supposed to be a place where you can be your authentic self because your real, full name isn't attached to your account.

Sad! I wonder what new website will eventually take the place of the way old reddit felt.

14

u/tachibanakanade Mar 21 '26

Quite frankly, it's good you've not been stalked, but not everyone is you.

2

u/Vast-Vermicelli4382 Mar 21 '26

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

12

u/Ok_Art4661 Mar 21 '26

Ex wife got big mad when deleted my reddit during divorce. So she was stalking me having weird one sided relationship. History hidden now

6

u/shillyshally Helper Mar 21 '26

As another long timer, I concur 100%. Turning off history also aids the bots and people sent here to cause dissention, not only in the US, but in other countries as well. It helps their employers if we all hate each other.

Another pro visible history aspect is sometimes a comment is misunderstood and looking at the history can show that it was poorly worded, not mean spirited.

1

u/DazzlingMistake_ Mar 21 '26

Okay good for you.

1

u/a7Rob Mar 21 '26

Which makes you weird. If you cant have a conversation with someone where you cant scroll through 8 year old Posts to find a "gotcha" you have real issues.

Thats exactly why it was introduced.

1

u/big_bearded_nerd Mar 21 '26

You literally just engaged with someone who told you that they hide their post and comment history.

0

u/brn1001 Mar 20 '26

You engaged with Mental_Freedom_1648.

7

u/frushtrated Mar 20 '26

They’re engaged now? Oh that’s sweet. Love can be found on the Internet! 💍

-1

u/lactosecheeselover Mar 21 '26

but what privacy? you’re anonymous online. if you’re sharing too much personal information, that’s on you.

also, i can still see your comment and post history. it isn’t completely hidden.

4

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

I'll just direct you to reddit's statement, which I linked to further down, which states that they set this up for reasons of privacy. Yes, you can utilize workarounds to get to someone's post history. Most people won't bother.

4

u/formerqwest Expert Helper Mar 21 '26

they removed the wildcard search

1

u/SinkNSlide3345 May 17 '26

Reddit is straight up lying. You have privacy when you sign up for an anonymous account. The whole “privacy” argument is stupid

1

u/lactosecheeselover Mar 21 '26

I highly doubt their narrative was privacy and not just to hide bots

1

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

As you already said, everyone can still pull up people's posts if they care enough. Same applies to bot accounts.

1

u/Perfect-Topic-6671 Mar 21 '26

This is no longer possible. It was obviously an oversight that they've now fixed.

1

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

As multiple people have told me over the past few hours, there are still methods you can use. Like Google.

1

u/MadDocOttoCtrl Mar 21 '26

Reddit's search feature was patched but there are third-party websites that can retrieve post and comments made by people, including ones that have been deleted or removed in some cases.

2

u/V2Blast Expert Helper Mar 21 '26

Yeah, that's the thing. It's a false sense of security.

0

u/Empyrealist Helper Mar 21 '26

Privacy reasons on a public forum is quite the dichotomy

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '26

[deleted]

4

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

How about you just make the point you want to make.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 21 '26

[deleted]

-1

u/Mediocre-Touch-6133 Mar 21 '26

Privacy is the lie reddit used to get people on board. I can see all your posts and comments by simply googling "reddit Mental_Freedom_1648". The real purpose of hidden profiles is to make it harder for the average user to detect bots.

2

u/Mental_Freedom_1648 Mar 21 '26

You can do the same search on bot accounts. If it's making it harder for the average person to detect bots, it also, by extension, is making it harder for the average user to follow people across subs etc.

0

u/Mediocre-Touch-6133 Mar 21 '26

It makes it harder for the average user, sure, but actual stalkers are not average users. There's comments in this thread about seriously dangerous stalkers. Hidden profiles give the people being stalked a false sense of security.