How To Find The IP Address of a Reddit User
How To Find The IP Address of a Reddit User
In a world full of noisy social media apps, Reddit stands out as one of the more interesting and less annoying social media platforms. The concept behind Reddit is simple- connect internet users by using sub-Reddits, which are like mini-forums dedicated to specific topics or themes.
There are sub-Reddits for just about any topic you can think of. If you create a Reddit account, you’ll be able to join groups dedicated to your favorite film or TV show, groups where you can ask engineering questions, hacking groups, dog training groups, relationship advice groups, and everything in between.
Users can sign up for their Reddit account using Facebook, Google, or by creating a separate email address and password. Each user selects an animated avatar or can upload a personal photo of themselves to serve as their profile picture (although the latter is less common).
So, for the most part, users on Reddit are relatively anonymous. However, there are a couple of ways that hackers or government agencies could find the IP address of a Reddit user.
In today’s post, we’re going to give you a brief overview of what hackers can do to find the IP address of a Reddit user and show you how to view your own IP address on Reddit for account security purposes. Then, we’ll give you some helpful tips for remaining anonymous while on Reddit, so that you can’t be tracked.
Let’s dive in!
Is It Possible To Track A Reddit User’s IP Address?
If you can here looking for a way to track other Reddit users by identifying their IP address, then we’ll start by telling you that it’s not a feature supported by Reddit. Overall, the platform has a high degree of respect for its users’ privacy and won’t show the IP address of its users to other users on the platform.
This means that Reddit users are pretty safe and don’t necessarily need to use a VPN to stay hidden while they’re on the platform.
So, without any technical hacking ability (which we don’t encourage, at all), you shouldn’t be able to track the IP address of a Reddit user. The only exception is if they make their IP information public by posting their IP address in a comment or post.
How A Hacker Could Find The IP Address Of A Reddit User
If you’re concerned about your account’s safety and your online anonymity, then you may be wondering how a hacker could find your IP address, to begin with. This is important because your IP address can be used to track you back to your exact location.
Obviously, most Reddit users wouldn’t take too kindly to the fact that any third parties might be tracking them back to their homes where they and their families live. However, it does happen from time to time. To be fair, these instances are very rare and are almost always the result of a direct attack by a hacker or a government agency seeking to spy on you.
That being said, here’s how a hacker could find the IP address of a Reddit User.
1. Hacking Into Your Account: The first (and easiest) way for hackers to access your IP address would be to hack into your Reddit account. This is fairly easy, as most Reddit users don’t have two-factor authentication enabled on their accounts (even though it’s an easy option to add-on).
If a hacker is able to guess your email and password through using a brute-force attack or guessing a weak password, then they can access your account information and see a list of all of the IP addresses that you’ve recently accessed your account from.
2. Hacking Into Reddit’s Admin Database: The other way that a hacker could find the IP address of a Reddit user would be for them to hack an administrative account or hack into the administrative database of Reddit. As Reddit is a large, secure organization, this is very unlikely and would have to be executed by top-tier professionals.
Can I View My Own IP Address In Reddit?
Yes! Reddit recently introduced an account security feature that allows Reddit users to view every IP address that’s recently been used to access their accounts. Not only will you be able to view the IP address but you’ll also be able to see the browser that was used as well as the ISP (internet service provider) associated with the IP address.
To, view your IP address on Reddit, first log into your own account as normal. Then, navigate to the following URL: www.reddit.com/account-activity. This will show you a list of all of the IP addresses that have accessed your account lately.
Here’s how the page should look:
How does this help keep your account more secure?
Well, it allows you to check for any outliers. Simply put, if you see that mysterious IP addresses associated with different regions, browsers, and ISPs have been accessing your account, you’ll know that your account has been hacked and compromised. This, in turn, gives you a window of opportunity to regain account control by changing your password and locking out any other users who’ve hacked into your Reddit account.
How Can I Be Anonymous On Reddit?
One of the most common questions we’ve been asked by Reddit users is, “Can I be anonymous on Reddit?”
As it turns out, you certainly can! You just have to take a few extra security and privacy measures on your end. Here’s everything you need to do to remain anonymous on Reddit and ensure that your account is always secure from hackers, peepers, government agencies, and other unwanted third parties.
1. Download and Set Up A VPN Service: First things first, the golden rule of remaining anonymous on Reddit is to use a VPN service to mask your IP address and location. If you’re new to VPNs, then we recommend checking out ExpressVPN or reading our list of VPNs that offer a free trial period.
For those of you who’ve never heard of virtual private networks (VPNs), they’re basically third-party external servers that are located in various regions from around the world. As a subscriber to a VPN service, you’ll be able to re-route your internet data and traffic through any of the VPNs global servers. This, in turn, will mask your real IP address and give your device an IP address associated with the VPN server.
This effectively allows you to remain anonymous online. For example, if you’re a US resident, you could connect your device to a Czech VPN server and it would appear as if your device was accessing the internet from the Czech Republic, not the US.
Additionally, all of your internet data will be encrypted with a military-grade encryption protocol. This means that nobody (not even the government) will be able to see what you’re doing online.
2. Sign Up With An Anonymous Email: Once you’re connected to a VPN, create an anonymous email address by signing up for a webmail account with a random username. Don’t give out any of your personal information while creating your email address; otherwise, this information can be used to trace who you are.
3. Don’t Use A Personal Picture As Your Avatar: Another good tip is to avoid using a personal profile picture when you sign up for your Reddit account. Instead, use one of the animated avatars provided by Reddit.
4. Set Up Two-Factor Authentication: To give your account an added layer of security, we recommend setting up two-factor authentication. This can be done by accessing your account settings and looking under the ‘Privacy and Security’ tab.
Basically, it will require any users logging into the account from an unrecognized IP address to enter a unique code sent to their email or phone number. This means that hackers will need to have access to your phone or email even if they do have your Reddit login credentials.
5. Use A Strong Account Password (And Change It Often): Another tip we have is to use a strong account password. If possible, consider using a random password generator. A strong password should consist of both upper and lowercase letters, numbers, special symbols, and should be at least 8 characters long. It also should not mention any personal details or terms associated with your life (i.e., your pet’s name).
Additionally, you should change your Reddit account password at least once every 3 months. This ensures that even if a hacker is targeting your account with a brute force attack, you’ll always be one step ahead of them, reducing their chances of accurately guessing your password.
6. Don’t Give Out Personal Details: Last but not least, avoid giving out personal information on the platform. Obviously, don’t provide personal information on your Reddit profile bio. However, you should also avoid alluding to overly personal details in your sub-Reddit communication and chats.
In Conclusion
If you’re concerned about getting hacked on through Reddit, then you can follow all of the steps listed in the previous section to keep your account safe, secure, and anonymous. On the other hand, if you’re trying to locate another Reddit user’s IP address, then you’re out of luck (unless you’re a blackhat hacker who’s willing to break the law, which we don’t condone).
Reddit is definitely one of the most secure social media platforms out there and they sell far less personal data and information than larger apps like Facebook and Instagram. Overall, if you’re security and privacy-conscious, then Reddit is one of the safest and most anonymous social platforms on the web!