How to Install Reddit and Keep Your Account Secure

Reddit is made up of thousands of communities, called subreddits, each devoted to one topic: a city, a video game, a hobby, a TV series or a question you didn’t know who to ask. Members post, comment and vote, and the best answers rise to the top.

What can you do on Reddit?

• Join communities: Follow the subreddits you care about, and their posts fill your home feed.
• Vote and comment: Upvote helpful posts, downvote off-topic ones and join the conversation in threaded comments.
• Post: Share text, links, images or videos, following each community’s own rules.
• Chat: Message other users directly or join community chat channels.
• Search: Many people use Reddit to find honest experiences and recommendations from other users.

Joining Reddit

1. Install the official app from Google Play or the App Store; reddit.com also links to both.
2. Sign up with an email address or a Google or Apple account. You don’t need to use your real name.
3. Pick a few topics to get started, then search for communities that match your interests.

Community rules

Each subreddit is run by volunteer moderators with their own rules, so read the community’s rules before posting. You can control what you see, including mature content, in Settings.

Protecting your Reddit account

Because Reddit lets you post under a username rather than your real name, people often build up years of history on one account, and that makes it worth protecting. Reddit offers two-factor authentication with an authenticator app, but at the time of writing it can only be switched on from Reddit’s website in a computer browser, not from the mobile app: in your account settings, look for Two-factor authentication and follow the steps. Save the backup codes Reddit gives you; they are the way back in if you lose access to the authenticator. If you sign in with a Google account or an Apple ID, two-step protection is set up with Google or Apple instead. Getting a new phone? You will need to disable two-factor authentication and set it up again on the new device.