Reddit Account Banned, Suspended or Locked? What It Means and How to Appeal

Does this match what you see?

• A banner on Reddit says your account is banned.
• You can’t post, comment, vote or chat.
• Reddit asks you to reset your password before you can continue.
• Your posts and comments don’t appear for other people.
• You can’t log in and password reset doesn’t work.

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Based on eight Reddit Help articles on account status, supplied by the site owner on November 9, 2026. Reddit’s help pages say “banned”; many people call this a suspension.

Why this happens: the possible causes

Which action do you have? (Reddit Help)

• Breaking the Reddit RulesCheck this first

  Reddit bans accounts temporarily or permanently for sitewide rule violations.

• Spam, inauthentic activity or ban evasionCheck this first

  Including using another account to get around a community ban.

• “Technical irregularities” on your accountPossible

  Reddit may lock an account as a precaution against misuse.

What a ban from Reddit means

You’ll see a message at the top of Reddit and get an inbox notification with the reason and, if it’s temporary, how long it lasts. Reddit says that while banned you can’t:

• Vote, post, comment, or send chats to users or communities.
• Report content, create communities, edit wiki pages, or edit your posts and comments.
• Create self-serve ads.
• Moderators also lose mod tools and mod mail, and a permanent ban may remove you as a moderator.

Who can tell? A temporary ban doesn’t change your profile, so others won’t know. A permanent ban adds a message to your profile saying you’ve been banned.

How bans escalate: Reddit says it depends on the type and severity of the violation and your history. Some violations mean an immediate permanent ban; for others you may get a warning, then a 3-day ban, a 7-day ban, and then a permanent ban. Reddit can also remove content, take away privileges, or restrict creating new accounts.

Banned from one subreddit?

Subreddit moderators can ban you from their community, for example for breaking its rules, and they’ll send you a chat message. You can still view the community and stay a member, but can’t post or comment there. Only that subreddit’s moderators can lift it.

Reddit warns that using another account to keep participating is ban evasion, which can lead to a sitewide ban.

How to fix it, step by step

Work through these in order. They start with the quickest, safest checks and only move to steps that sign you out or remove data later.

Locked as a security precaution

If Reddit spots “technical irregularities”, it may lock your account to prevent misuse. You’ll see a red warning asking you to reset your password, and get an inbox message. This isn’t a ban.

1. Check the email on your account is right in Settings (if you can still get in). No email? Add one in Settings > Account.
2. Reset your password at accounts.reddit.com/password.

Reddit says it can’t help if the email on your account is out of date. Reset email not arriving? Check spam, and that you’re using the right email.

Can’t log in and password reset fails?

Reddit says your account may have been disabled, for suspicious activity or sitewide rule violations. Submit an account status inquiry through Reddit Help’s request form.

Think you were hacked? Reset your password first; if your email was changed, Reddit sends an email explaining how to change it back. Full steps: Reddit account hacked. Moderators can contact r/ModSupport by mod mail.

Posts not showing for anyone? (the “shadowban”)

Our note: many people call this a “shadowban”; Reddit calls it being flagged for spam or inauthentic activity. Reddit says the sign is that your posts, comments, chat messages and profile aren’t showing as expected. If you think it’s a mistake, appeal at reddit.com/appeals, logged in, in a browser.

Only one post missing in one community? That’s usually sorting, a moderator removal or a community spam filter: see Reddit post not showing.

Is that ban message really from Reddit?

• Official account messages come in your Reddit inbox from u/reddit. Admin names show in red with a Snoo icon or a red [A].
• Emails only come from @reddit.com, @redditmail.com or @redditforcommunity.com, and their links point back to reddit.com.
• Reddit never asks for your password or 2FA codes, never asks you to change your email by private message, and never contacts you about your account on other platforms. Report those messages where you got them.
• Reddit’s “verify email” and “remove my email from an account” links don’t need your password.

How to know it worked

• You know which action you have, and you’ve reset your password or submitted an appeal.

Still not working? Your next steps

1. Questions not covered here: Reddit suggests asking in r/help, where admins and other users answer.

Frequently asked questions