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    Reddit accounts with ‘fishy’ bot-like behavior will soon need to prove they’re human
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    Reddit accounts with ‘fishy’ bot-like behavior will soon need to prove they’re human

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    48 Comments

    1. Wagamaga on

      Reddit is taking new steps to identify bots on the platform — a process that may require some users to confirm that they’re human. In a post on Wednesday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman writes that the company will introduce a labeling system for accounts registered as bots, and ask users with “automated” or “fishy behavior” to verify that they’re human using methods like fingerprint scanning or submitting their ID.

      With this update, developers can register automated accounts with Reddit, which will then receive an “[APP]” label. However, Reddit also notes that it will be on the lookout for unlabeled accounts with suspicious behavior. “If something suggests an account isn’t human, including automation (hi, web agents), we may ask it to confirm there’s a person behind it,” Huffman writes, adding that these cases “will be rare and will not apply to most users.”

    2. Hrekires on

      Disable the ability to make your posting history private. It’s one of the things that set Reddit apart from 4chan and made it very easy to tell if a poster was a bot or a shill.

    3. FollowingFeisty5321 on

      RIP accounts with 3 million submission karma and 6 comments, on their hidden profiles.

    5. FireInHisBlood on

      I AM TOTALLY NOT A ROBOT. YOU SHOULD LOOK AT r/totallynotrobots TO SEE MORE ORGANIC HUMANS LIKE MYSELF.

    10. Velvet-Thunder-RIP on

      Iv seen account posting nonsense for 24 hours straight. Some how these accounts leave there profile pages wide open and you can tell.

    11. KupoCheer on

      I’m already not thrilled about social media much anymore. Every site that tries to hit me with some kind of scheme to send them my ID is going to be dropped.

    12. Shot_Net3794 on

      “to verify that they’re human using methods like fingerprint scanning or submitting their ID.”

      I’m deeply uncomfortable with the idea of giving my fingerprint or actual ID to this site. After the Discord hack, I really don’t trust any platform to keep our personal data safe

    13. imaginary_num6er on

      > ask users with “automated” or “fishy behavior” to verify that they’re human using methods like fingerprint scanning or submitting their ID.

      Yeah fuck that. Couldn’t have gone with Captcha, didn’t they?

    14. jews4beer on

      Honestly, as someone who constantly gets accused of being a bot for stating my beliefs while having a *provocative username” – I welcome any opportunity to be able to prove I’m human. But I hope there are better ways than identity verification. It would ruin the very foundation of Reddit.

    18. SlaterVBenedict on

      This is great in-theory, but what it is actually is a thinly veiled attempt to begin “boiling the frog” of rolling out user ID requirements, that’s the very same invasion of privacy that every company and government is trying to roll out these days. That is bad, and we should let Reddit know that we do not accept it and they’ll hurt by losing users if they do this.

    20. Naghagok_ang_Lubot on

      My name translate to “Snoring my ass off”. Do you guys think I’ll have to prove my time in redditor court?

    21. PooInTheStreet on

      Sure spez. They will try and see it kills x% of all posts engagement etc. Shareholders no liky and stop it

    23. TehH4rRy on

      They’re everywhere. I saw a post recently on /r/legaladviceuk 5 year old account zero posts apart from that one. Completely unbelievable story about money laundering. Account and post since deleted. Whole thing felt like dead internet 

    24. 11ELFs on

      Y’all think this is going for the real bots, so naive. This is going for us, oh do you use a vpn to protect your privacy? Tough luck bot, prove you are a human by giving away your privacy.

    26. CrispyCassowary on

      As long as there is no ID verification needed, not sharing private info like that

    27. papabear1993 on

      Id rather not have a reddit account rather than give my ID or face ID or whatever 🙂

    28. Sleepy_Witch_Maple on

      The big question here is going to be how many people, not bots, get forced to do verification.

      Because idk about you, but I’m certainly not comfortable putting my ID on Reddit. Id probably just cut my usage and occasionally lurk without an account instead of submitting my ID.

      If there’s little to no false positives and it’s just bots that get hit with this, then it would be a great change. But I’m very skeptical.

    29. Mulchpuppy on

      I don’t know what to think about this. Hopefully a bot will put up a question in r/askreddit so I know what to think. And then maybe tomorrow a bot will put up the same question. And then maybe the day after that. And the day after that…

    31. FangornLeghorn on

      Translation: Redditors who say unapproved things will be hit with “Prove your identity” Admin actions while bots are left entirely alone.

    35. riotofmind on

      This is just a soft launch of everyone needing to provide ID / fingerprint scan. Goodbye reddit then.

    36. vriska1 on

      Everyone should read the reddit post on this first.

      https://www.reddit.com/user/spez/comments/1s3ezrc/humans_welcome_bots_must_wear_name_tags/

      > Both due to AI reshaping the internet and increasing regulation around the world requiring various forms of identity or age verification, we are exploring ways to confirm humanness and comply with these regulations without compromising user privacy. The best long-term solutions will be decentralized, individualized, private, and ideally not require an ID at all.

      > If we need to verify an account is human, we’ll do it in a privacy-first way. Our aim is to confirm there is a person behind the account, not who that person is. The goal is to increase transparency of what is what on Reddit while preserving the anonymity that makes Reddit unique. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice one for the other.

      > When confirming that there is a human behind an account, we prefer third-party tools that keep a distance between verification and Reddit itself. Any system we use will not expose your real-world identity to Reddit nor your Reddit username or activity to any third party. There are a handful of ways to do this, and I’m sure there will be more. Each have their tradeoffs:

      > Passkeys (which are well supported by Apple, Google, YubiKey, and various password managers) – These are lightweight, require a human to do something, and don’t require your ID. The tradeoff is that there is no proof of individuality or anything other than “a human probably did something.” Nevertheless, it’s a great starting point.

      > Third-party biometric services – For example, World ID (yes, the Orb company, though they have non-Orb solutions as well). This technology unlocks proof-of-individual without requiring your name, government ID, or a centralized database. I think the internet needs verification solutions like this, where your account information, usage data, and identity never mix.

      > Third-party government ID services – In some countries, such as the UK and Australia, governments require us to use these. These are the least secure, least private, and least preferred. When we are forced to do this, we design the integrations so that we never actually see your ID information, so your Reddit data cannot be tied to you.

    38. couldbefuncouver on

      Reddit can’t be trusted with personal information. Neither can Meta orr discord.

    41. BlueJay_525 on

      This is troubling – They don’t want your identity hidden they want tons of metadata to collect in the future to tie to you when they start sending people to camps for “wrong think”. They’ll look up your reddit posts when you’re at the airport and decide if you’re worthy to travel. Now is not the time give up privacy.

    42. Kind_Paper6367 on

      I would delete the app before uploading even justa selfie, let alone my fingerprint or license.

    45. Traditional_Sign4941 on

      Let me guess – “fishy bot-like behavior” = anyone critical of Trump and his ICE goons.

    46. eebro on

      Reddit has one simple feature for filtering out bots. You can find that feature by clicking the thumbs up icon on my comment.

    47. Public-Finger on

      I’m not a cybersecurity expert, but the internet is broken and something needs to be done to fix it. With AI, the proliferation of bots is unbearable. I’ve seen an incredible increase in russian propaganda in the past weeks. If they could find a way to truly secure identity verification, so that it’s not stored on a database anywhere, I would support it. I know that’s an unpopular opinion on here, but social media has been off the rails for years now with no regulation and you see the state of the nation.