How to Join a Private Reddit Community
Key Takeaways
❗Private subreddits aren't displayed anywhere, not even on the web version, and users can't find them. The only way to find them is to request access to be part of that private community.
❗After they are granted access by one of the moderators and take part in that particular private Reddit community.
You enjoy using Reddit daily but feel like you are missing out on something more fun and engaging in those private Reddit communities.
Private Reddit communities are tempting to many Reddit users, and I am also one of them. I think that’s because I believe people there are more real and free to share something that we are not used to hearing, something intriguing and personal, which can be a lot of fun at times.
If you, too, are intrigued about joining a private Reddit community, you’ve landed on the right page, because here, you will learn the steps to do it from scratch.
How to request to join a private subreddit
Important Note: To be able to send messages to a private subreddit community, Reddit users must log into their profiles from PC - they cannot do it from the Reddit app on iOS and Android. Also, unlike public subreddits, they won’t be able to find private subreddits through the search option.
- Open Reddit and log into your account there.
- If you don’t have a Reddit account, you can also log in via Google, Apple, or a link sent to your email.
- Click on the bell icon next to your username.
- When the dropdown menu opens, click on ‘Messages’.
- Click on ‘Send A Private Message’ (next to the inbox tab in the top-left corner).
- When the pop-up window opens, fill in the blank spaces to start a new private message.
- In the ‘To’ field, type in ‘/r/[name]’ of the private subreddit moderator (once you enter the subreddit moderator’s name, it will send your message to all its moderators).
In the ‘Subject’ field, enter your subject so you can type something like ‘Request to Join Community’. - In the 'Message' field, write down a message that will express how much you want to join that private subreddit and why by making a polite request for an invite from the moderators of that private subreddit community.
- In the last step, click on ‘Send’.
Quick Note: Before you send the request to join, read the About Community and the Rules tabs on the subreddits to ensure there are any membership requirements, so you know that you need to include any relevant information in your message request.
Keep in mind that there is no guarantee that you will be granted access and you will be approved to join that private subreddit community.
After this, you need to wait and check your Reddit inbox to see if there is a reply from the moderators who are supposed to approve you. Once your request is approved, you can receive an invite link from one of the moderators and join their community.
How to find a private subreddit
Before we start explaining the steps to find a private subreddit, we must mention that private subreddits are not displayed in the search results when users try to find them. The moderators must invite users to be able to join a private subreddit.
Also, there is another alternative when trying to find a private subreddit; if you try searching for it in the /r/findareddit subreddit community. It was created to help users find a community they like.
If you try it this way, you might be able to find a private subreddit in the comment section, and it might be linked by users who are already in that private subreddit community or those who know that it is private.
You should also know that some private subreddits have standards that must be met:
Why are some subreddits private?
There are several reasons why some subreddits are private. Usually, it is because they contain discussions of sensitive topics or personal content that may be inappropriate for the whole world to see.
For example, you are part of a private subreddit community where someone shares an embarrassing story or shares some personal details about someone’s identity or location. That’s why information like this should be only for a close group of friends.
That is why private subreddits are shared among a small group of people who don’t want to be attacked or shamed for sharing such information.
Bonus read: How to delete a subreddit?
How to create your own private community
Note: To be able to create your community, first, you need to join at least one other community. Otherwise, Reddit won’t give you the ‘Create Community’ option.
In addition, to be able to create your private community on Reddit, you need to have an account that has existed for at least 30 days and has “positive karma” (members earn karma points when they post popular links and comments, and nobody knows the minimum amount of karma points you need for that).
- Open Reddit and log in to your account.
- On your front page, click on the Home tab until you see the ‘Create Community’ option on the right side, and click on it.
- Start with creating a unique subreddit name (it has to be 20 characters or less, something memorable and short). Also, you should check to see if your name idea is available.
- Then, proceed by filling out the rest of the form, and in the ‘Topics’ section, choose the topics that you want your community to cover > Click on ‘Add a Primary Topic’ and choose a topic by your preference.
- In the ‘Description’ section,
- In the ‘Community Type’ section, choose between the three options to set your subreddit's privacy: Public, Restricted or Private.
- In the ‘Adult Content’ section, you can set age restrictions for your subreddit community.
- After setting your preferences, click on ‘Create ‘Community’ (bottom section).
And that is how you create your private subreddit community. If you like, you can proceed by promoting it to other Redditors and submitting a link to your subreddit to the /r/newreddits community.
Or, you can post links in other subreddits related to your community topic for others interested in that topic to engage with it.
How to tell if you are a member of a private subreddit
You can check if you are a member of a private subreddit by first checking the subreddits you are subscribed to. So, it would be best to go to your Reddit profile and the subreddits section, where you’ll see a list of your subscribed subreddits on the right.
On that list, you will see that the private subreddits you are a member of will have a blue key and a blue pencil as opposed to the ones you moderate, which have a green shield and blue key.
So, if you follow this method, you will be able to see all of the subreddits that you are a member of, plus you can select those that are private by looking at the shields.
What other types of subreddits are there?
When one Redditor creates their subreddit community, they can choose between the three basic types, which are the Public, Private and Restrictive communities, plus one more which is the Premium-Only type, if they subscribe to a Premium Reddit account.
Public Communities - the public communities on Reddit are those where anyone with a Reddit account is allowed to view, comment, and share a post.
Restricted Communities - anyone can view and comment in the restricted communities, but only the members with moderators can share a post. Also, the moderators in the restricted communities are those who can add and remove approved members.
Private communities - to become a member of these communities, you must be approved by other moderators to be able and participate in those communities. Also, moderators are those who can remove approved members.
Premium-Only community - those are reserved only for Premium Reddit members, and only those who are Premium subscribers can create, view, and participate in the Premium-only communities.
Conclusion
Now you know that you can only join a private Reddit community if you are invited and approved by one of the moderators of that community. The way to get approved and invited by these moderators is by first sending them a request that you want to join their community, as the steps mentioned above explain the process for you to do that yourself.
You can explore other things on Reddit, such as how to see who you follow, or how to get a flair on Reddit - we share easy-to-follow info on those too.
Or, if you've blocked someone on Reddit, you can easily unblock them, and we can show you how it is done.
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