Reddit accounts with ‘fishy’ bot-like behavior will soon need to prove they’re human

Reddit is taking new steps to identify bots on the platform — a process that may require some users to confirm that they’re human. In a post on Wednesday, Reddit CEO Steve Huffman writes that the company will introduce a labeling system for accounts registered as bots, and ask users with “automated” or “fishy behavior” to verify that they’re human using methods like fingerprint scanning or submitting their ID.

Reddit accounts with ‘fishy’ bot-like behavior will soon need to prove they’re human

Human verification ‘will be rare and will not apply to most users,’ according to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.

With this update, developers can register automated accounts with Reddit, which will then receive an “[APP]” label. However, Reddit also notes that it will be on the lookout for unlabeled accounts with suspicious behavior. “If something suggests an account isn’t human, including automation (hi, web agents), we may ask it to confirm there’s a person behind it,” Huffman writes, adding that these cases “will be rare and will not apply to most users.”

Reddit will ask users behind suspected bot accounts to verify that they’re human, and is exploring several verification methods to do so without actually identifying who the person is. That includes asking users to complete a passkey check, such as scanning their fingerprint on a smartphone, or entering a PIN. It’s also looking into using third-party biometric services, like the Sam Altman-backed World ID, which uses an eyeball-scanning orb to verify humanness.

Huffman brings up third-party ID verification services as well, which he says are “the least secure, least private, and least preferred” verification method. He adds that the UK, Australia, and some US states already require it to support this type of verification. Suspected bot accounts that are unable to verify their humanness “may be restricted,” according to Huffman.

Last year, Reddit began testing account verification for brands and individual users. Huffman hinted at launching a bot verification system in a letter to shareholders in February, and floated the idea of using Face ID to verify a user’s humanness during an interview on TBPN this week.

Along with this update, Huffman says Reddit is going to make reporting suspected bots “easier and more flexible” — though the platform isn’t going to come down too hard on all accounts using AI to write. “We’ll monitor its usage and see what happens as we crack down even more on automated accounts,” Huffman says. “Our current focus is to ensure there is a real, live human behind the accounts you’re seeing.”