Reddit is a popular social media content aggregator platform with hundreds of millions of users. Content on Reddit is as varying as the thousands of communities on the platform; some are wholesome, some are annoying, and some are not for the average internet consumer. This is the article for you if you want to scour through Reddit anonymously so Reddit does not associate your account with specific content.
Going incognito enables users to enjoy Reddit anonymously such that the platform does not track their actions. Enjoying this feature on your mobile app requires that you turn on anonymous browsing instead for the same effect. However, you can simply log in to Reddit on your preferred web browser’s private or incognito tab to enjoy the feature via Reddit’s desktop platform.
Desktop browser
You can open an incognito tab by clicking the three-dot icon at the top-right corner of the screen (If you use the Chrome browser). This will reveal a window below; look for and click on the “New incognito tab” on the window. Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shift+N (Ctrl+Shift+P for Firefox) to open the incognito window. Paste the link in the address bar when you have opened the window.
The next step is to log into your account on the private tab. You can log in through this link. Input your username and password in the relevant text boxes, then click on the “Log in” box.
Once logged in, you can enjoy Reddit anonymously, and the app will not track your history or any of your information. Similarly, your browser will not track your history and make suggestions based on it.
Anonymous browsing
Because an app obviously has no provisions for a private tab, Reddit app users employ anonymous mode on their apps instead. It has similar functions and is relatively easy to use. The first step is to click your image icon at the top right corner of the screen to begin. This will reveal a panel that displays your username, “my profile,” “create a community,” and others. Click on “Settings” at the bottom of the panel. Click on your username.
After clicking your username, a small window will pop below, asking whether you want to log out or use Reddit anonymously. Click on the latter. This will reveal a prompt explaining a bit about anonymous mode, requesting your confirmation before you fully get into it.
You can leave anonymous mode by clicking on the icon at the top right corner. This will reveal a prompt asking if you want to “Leave anonymous browsing.” Click on it, and you will be directed to your regular mode.
Effects of anonymous browsing
When you switch to Anonymous Browsing, your Reddit browsing, activity, and history stop being associated with your account. Likewise, actions or features connected to your Reddit account will be unavailable while you are on anonymous mode. These features include your home feed, the ability to join communities, post or comment, upvote and downvote, and message and chat. Furthermore, you will also be unable to broadcast on RPAN, share your awards, and use your mod tools.
When you discontinue anonymous mode, Reddit will clear your browsing and search history from the anonymous session, returning you to the account you were using. Furthermore, Reddit will return you to your regular account if you are inactive for more than 30 minutes, ending your anonymous session.
However, Reddit advises users to note that anonymous mode does not change how your internet providers, other in-app websites you visit, or your mobile device handles your activity. For instance, a third-party website you visit during anonymous browsing may track your activity and visits on their site. Furthermore, your mobile device may still monitor how long you spend using Reddit, despite being on anonymous mode.
Deleting your Reddit history
Deleting your Reddit history is one way to clear your tracks off the platform, especially if you have not been using anonymous mode. Reddit does not have any one-sweep approach to deleting your Reddit history – which is just deleting your posts and comments. You will have to delete your posts and comments individually as a result. Nevertheless, there are also third-party apps that you can use instead to clear your Reddit history in one go.
Nevertheless, you can automatically delete your Reddit history using the third-party app Reddelete. To do this, go to this page via google chrome on your PC or Mac. Here you will find the extension that will help with the deletion. Click on install to install it. You may need to opt-out of the new design for the extension to work. Otherwise, the extension will switch your browser automatically to the old design.
Deleting your Reddit search history
Another manual method to clear your tracks off the platform is deleting your app search history. You can delete your Reddit search history via the Reddit app or desktop browser.
Reddit app
To clear your search history on the Reddit app, click your image icon at the top right corner of the screen. This will reveal a panel that displays “my profile,” “create a community,” and others. Click on “Settings” at the bottom of the panel.
After clicking on “settings,” scroll to the “advanced” category and search for “clear local history” underneath “open links.” Tapping it will reveal a pop-up asking if you want to clear your local history – click on it.
Desktop website
Clearing your search history via desktop is slightly tricky due to how your search history is saved. Your computer stores your search history within your web browser when you use the desktop website version of Reddit instead of the Reddit website. Likewise, the primary Reddit website keeps your history in the browser cache. Meanwhile, all your searches on the old Reddit website get saved in the browser’s autofill history.
To eliminate all your Reddit search history, you require clearing or deleting autofill and cached data through your web browser settings. Doing this removes every autofill data you have entered on all the websites you have visited, including Reddit’s. However, you can also delete specific search terms If you would rather not delete all your search history. Selecting a search field on old and new designs will bring up a list of old searches. Clicking the X or trash icon beside a search term will delete such term from your browser’s autofill history or cache.