Many of us have been using Reddit for years now. Whether it be as a source to find advice for our world ending dramas as a teenager, or as an outlet to vent about our boss as a young twenty-something-year-old (and beyond), Reddit has been a resource that many of us have taken advantage of and enjoyed.
But if, like me, you’ve ever remembered back to some of the things you posted many moons ago and felt a hot flush of embarrassment reddening your face, then just know that you aren’t alone! Many of us have cringed to think of some of the comments we left in our youth, or some of the discussion threads that we were interested in (think “would pirates beat ninjas in a fight” levels of embarrassment).
Luckily for us with those embarrassing Reddit pasts, there are ways to delete your history on Reddit.
Read on to find out how you can clear your Reddit history, and no longer worry about anyone finding any embarrassing past activity.
How To Delete Your Local History on Reddit Mobile
Firstly, let’s clarify exactly what local history on Reddit is.
Your local history is all of your browsing history on that particular device. Through your local history, you can see what posts you’ve viewed previously or engaged with. You can look at your history by tapping your profile icon, and then tapping “History”. From there, you can sort how you view your history, whether by how many upvotes or downvotes it has, or how recently you saw it.
Clearing your local history means you won’t be able to see what posts you’ve previously seen. To do this, follow these steps:
- Open the App on your device
- Tap your profile icon, found at the top left
- Find and tap “Settings” at the bottom of your screen
- Scroll down to the Advanced section and tap “Clear local history”
- An option box will pop up. Click “Clear local history” again
Can You Delete Your Local History on Reddit Desktop?
The desktop version of Reddit doesn’t let you view your local history, so there’s no local history to delete! Being able to view your local history is only a feature on the mobile app.
Can You Use Reddit Without Posts Being Saved to Your Local History?
There are actually two ways you can do this. The first is to sign out and use Reddit in a browser without logging in.
The second way lets you continue using the Reddit app, without logging out. This can be done by setting your profile to anonymous browsing. To do this follow these simple steps:
- Click on your profile icon at the top left of your screen
- Tap the drop-down arrow next to your username
- Tap “Anonymous Browsing”
How To Delete Your Posting History
If you just want to delete one post, the method is simple:
- Log onto the app, tap your profile icon and tap “My Profile”.
- Go to either the posts or comments section, depending on which you want to delete
- Find the post or comment you want to delete and tap the … Icon next to it.
- Tap “delete post”
If you want to delete all of your posts, you’ll need the help of some external programs, as there’s no way to delete all of your posts at once within Reddit. Instead, you’ll have to download a program that does all the heavy lifting for you. These are generally easy to find, and you can check how reliable they are by just googling the extension.
Will Deleting My Account Delete My Posts and Comments History?
If you decide that you’d rather just be done with it and delete your Reddit account, there are a few things to bear in mind before you do.
Firstly, deleting your account won’t delete your posts or comments. However, other users won’t be able to see who posted them, so this could be of some benefit.
Secondly, by deleting your account, you’ll be losing all the accolades and rewards you’ve earned, including your Karma. If you’ve had your account for a long time, this could mean throwing away a lot of Karma. So think hard before deciding that this is the option for you.
Conclusion
As we’ve covered a lot of methods in this article, here’s a quick breakdown of everything we’ve taken a look at:
- The steps to take in order to delete Reddit local history on your mobile app
- Desktop Reddit doesn’t have a local history feature
- How to browse anonymously on Reddit, without creating any local history
- How to delete your individual posts and comments
- How to delete all of your posts and comments
- Deleting your account won’t delete your posts and comments. Other users just won’t be able to see who posted them
Now that you have all the tools you need to erase any past activity, I hope that you can enjoy Reddit again without the past hanging over your head!
