How do I check if I'm shadowbanned on Reddit?

Open an incognito/private browser window. Navigate to reddit.com/u/YOUR_USERNAME. If it says page not found, you're shadowbanned. Your posts and comments are invisible to everyone except you. Appeal at reddit.com/appeal.

Is Reddit Down? How to Check and What to Do When Reddit Isn't Working

Q: Is Reddit down right now?

Check DownDetector.com or ask someone nearby to try Reddit. If other people can use it but you can't, Reddit isn't down. Your account is likely shadowbanned, suspended, or your IP is flagged. This is the most common cause when only you are affected.

Q: Why is Reddit not working for me?

Four possible causes in order of likelihood: 1) Your account is shadowbanned (70-80% of cases). 2) Your IP is flagged (15-20%). 3) Browser cache/cookies issue (5%). 4) Reddit is actually down (<5%). Check by opening Reddit in incognito mode with a different account to narrow down the cause.

TL;DR

Is Reddit down for everyone? Check DownDetector. Is it just you? Then Reddit isn't down. Your account is shadowbanned, suspended, or your IP is flagged. Reddit shows a vague "server error" instead of telling you directly. Follow the diagnostic below.

The 60-Second Diagnostic

Step 1: Ask someone nearby to try Reddit. OR check DownDetector.com.

If Reddit is down for everyone: wait. Outages fix themselves in minutes to hours.

If Reddit works for others but not you: continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Open incognito/private window. Go to reddit.com/u/YOUR_USERNAME.

If "page not found": you're shadowbanned. Appeal at reddit.com/appeal.

If profile loads normally: continue to Step 3.

Step 3: Try logging into a different Reddit account from the same network.

If other accounts also fail: your IP is flagged. Switch to mobile data or a different network.

If other accounts work: your account is suspended. Check reddit.com/appeal.

Step 4: Clear browser cache and cookies. Try a different browser. If that fixes it, it was a cache issue.

When Reddit Is Actually Down

Reddit experiences genuine outages several times per year, usually during major traffic spikes (viral posts, AMAs, breaking news events) or during maintenance. Real outages affect all users simultaneously and are usually resolved within minutes to a few hours.

How to confirm a real outage: DownDetector shows a spike in reports. Reddit's official Twitter/X posts a status update. Your friends can't access Reddit either. You see the error on every device, every network, every account.

Action: wait. There's nothing to fix on your end.

When Reddit Is "Down" But Only for You

This is the more common scenario, especially for Reddit marketers. Reddit works fine for everyone else, but you keep seeing error messages, can't post, or can't comment. This is almost always one of three things:

Shadowban

Profile invisible in incognito. Posts/comments hidden. You don't know until you check.

Prevention guide

IP Flag

All accounts on your network affected. VPNs with dirty IPs. Shared proxies.

Clean proxy guide

Suspension

Reddit explicitly tells you. Formal process. Can appeal.

Appeal guide

Full breakdown of each cause and fix: "We Had a Server Error" on Reddit: What It Really Means.

For Reddit Marketers: Why This Keeps Happening

If you're doing Reddit marketing, you're significantly more likely to see these errors than casual users. The common pattern: you set up accounts, start posting promotional content, and within days or weeks, you hit "server errors" that never resolve.

The root cause is usually an unsafe marketing approach: automation tools, no warmup, aggressive posting schedules, or poor account hygiene. The fix isn't a technical workaround. It's changing your approach.

The safe approach: use tools that find conversations and draft replies (the intelligence layer) while you post manually from properly warmed accounts with healthy CQS scores. Reppit AI ($25/mo) is built exactly for this: finds buying-intent threads, scores them 0-100, generates smart drafts. You post manually. Account stays clean.