Summary
Reddit is a large group of forums in which registered users can talk about anything you can imagine. It varies from news, to pop culture, to technology, to film, to books, to the weirdest and darkest things in the world, including Not Safe For Work stuff. The online community is usually a safe place, but be wary if you do not want to see certain things.
Breach History
Has there ever been a breach or data leak?
Date of last breach
August 2020
Hackers gained access to Reddit channels and subreddits, and placed Trump support messages for his re-election campaign. No personal information was stolen.
Privacy Checklist
Is any kind of biometric data collected (health, heart, voice, etc.)?
Are you able to delete your data / the data collected about you?
Does it use cookies, telemetry, or third-party tracking scripts?
Is the privacy policy user-friendly (easy to understand)?
Does it have parental controls?
Does it use encryption to protect your data both in-transit and at-rest?
Does it get regular software and / or firmware updates?
Does it require you to create a strong password?
Is there a system in place for managing security vulnerabilities?
Does it have a privacy policy?
How Can It Snoop?
Does it have a camera or request / require access to a camera?
Does it have a microphone or request / require access to a microphone?
Does it track your location or request / require access to location data?
Account Requirements
Does it require an email address to use?
Does it require a phone number to use?
Does it require an address (home or office) to use?
Payment Options
Are you able to use a credit card as a payment option?
Are you able to use a cryptocurrency as a payment option?
Are you able to use PayPal as a payment option?
Are you able to use cash or gift cards as a payment option?
What Could Go Wrong?
There is a lot of NSFW items that appear on Reddit, so please be aware that your children under the age of 13 should not be seeing this content. Reddit does allow those under the age of 13 to use Reddit, so please be aware of this risk if your children are using it.
How Does It Share Your Data?
Reddit's advertising partners and networks may use cookies and related technologies to collect information when ads are shown to you, but Reddit does not provide them with your Reddit account details.
Good Things
- The online community is known to be a great place to learn and talk with so many different types of people.
Bad Things
- Do not be trapped by those shady and creepy sounding users and what they say, many users already on reddit are conscious, but continue to do so.
- Watch out for the Not-Safe-For-Work items.
Final Thoughts
Reddit is a great online community that has privacy steps in place to protect their users. Reddit may share non-public information about you with your consent, so if you are not comfortable sharing any information, make sure not to consent. Also, make sure to use the two-factor authentication to provide an extra layer of security.