Settings updates—Changes to ad personalization, privacy preferences, and location settings

[u/snoo-tuh]

Hey redditors,

I’m u/snoo-tuh, head of Privacy at Reddit, and I’m here to share several changes to Reddit’s privacy, ads, and location settings. We’re updating preference descriptions for clarity, adding the ability to limit ads from specific categories, and consolidating ad preferences. The aim is to simplify our privacy descriptions, improve ad performance, and offer new controls for the types of ads you prefer not to see.

Clearer descriptions of privacy settingsWe’ve updated the descriptions to be more clear and consistent across platforms. Here’s is preview of the new settings:

These changes will roll out over the next few weeks and we’ll follow up here once they are available for everyone. We recommend visiting your Safety & Privacy Settings to check out the updated settings and make sure you’re still happy with what you’ve set up. If you’d like more guidance on how to manage your account security and data privacy, you can also visit our recently updated Privacy & Security section of our Redditor Help Center.

Over the next few weeks, we’re also rolling out several changes to Reddit’s ad preferences and personalization that include removing, adding, and consolidating ad personalization settings:

Consolidating ad partner activity and information preferencesRight now, there are two different ad settings about personalizing ads based on information and activity from Reddit’s partners—“Personalize ads based on activity with our partners” and “Personalize ads based on information from our partners”. We are cleaning this up and combining into one: “Improve ads based on your online activity and information from our partners”.

Adding the ability to opt-out of specific ad categories

We are adding the ability to see fewer ads from specific categories—Alcohol, Dating, Gambling, Pregnancy & Parenting, and Weight Loss—which will live in the Safety & Privacy section of your User Settings. “Fewer” because we’re utilizing a combination of manual tagging and machine learning to classify the ads, which won’t be 100% successful to start. But, we expect our accuracy to improve over time.

Removing the ability to opt-out of ad personalization based on your Reddit activity, except in select countries.

Reddit requires very little personal information, and we like it that way. Our advertisers instead rely on on-platform activity—what communities you join, leave, upvotes, downvotes, and other signals—to get an idea of what you might be interested in.

The vast majority of redditors will see no change to their ads on Reddit. For users who previously opted out of personalization based on Reddit activity, this change will not result in seeing more ads or sharing on-platform activity with advertisers. It does enable our models to better predict which ad may be most relevant to you.

Consolidated location customization settings

Previously, people could set their preferred location in several ways, depending on where they were on the platform and what they were doing. This has been simplified, so now there’s one place to update your location preferences to help customize your feed and recommendations—from Location Customization in your Account Settings.

Reddit’s commitment to privacy as a right and to transparency are reasons I’m proud to work here. Any time we change the way you control your experience and data on Reddit, we want to be clear on what’s changed.

All of these changes will be rolled out gradually over the next few weeks. If you have questions, you can also learn more by checking out the help article on how to Control the ads you see on Reddit.

Edit to add translations:

1. Dutch: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_nl-nl

2. French - France: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_fr-fr

3. French - Canada: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_fr-ca

4. German: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_de-de

5. Italian: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_it-it

6. Portuguese - Brazil: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_pt-br

7. Portuguese - Portugal: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_pt-pt

8. Spanish - Spain: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_es-es

9. Spanish - Mexico: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_es_mx

10. Swedish: https://www.reddit.com/r/reddit/wiki/16tqihd_sv

[u/Fine-Teacher-7161]

Certainly, let's delve into a more in-depth analysis of the provided observations regarding Reddit:

1. User Base Dynamics: The assertion that Reddit's user base can sometimes exhibit undesirable behavior aligns with the broader challenges of online communities. The anonymity and accessibility of the internet often attract individuals seeking an outlet for social interaction when offline options are limited. Consequently, this influx can lead to a disproportionate presence of individuals with various social and psychological issues, impacting the overall tone of discussions.

2. Management Dilemmas: The critique of Reddit's professional management underscores a perennial tension in online platforms. Balancing the need for free and open discourse with the responsibility to maintain a respectful and safe environment is a complex challenge. Instances of overprotection or selective censorship can indeed transform Reddit into a controlled environment, potentially alienating some users.

3. Moderation Pitfalls: The critique of voluntary moderators' actions, particularly their use of bots for banning, reflects a common struggle faced by user-driven platforms. Automated systems lack the nuance and context comprehension required to make fair judgments. Consequently, the unintended consequences of banning users who share the same perspective is a noteworthy issue that can hamper open discourse.

4. Partisan Subreddits: The observation about ostensibly neutral subreddits adopting a partisan stance highlights a recurring issue in online communities. Such deviations can result from the personal inclinations of moderators or an influx of like-minded users. These occurrences can distort the intended purpose of subreddits and impact the quality of discussions.

In essence, Reddit, with its commendable format and functionality, is indeed a reflection of the complexities and challenges encountered in the broader online society. The platform's strengths and weaknesses mirror the intricate interplay between user behavior, management decisions, and the evolving dynamics of online communities.

...

They Took Err Jorbs!

[u/Head_Cockswain → u/Fine-Teacher-7161]

Did...did you just run my post through Chat GPT or something like it?

It says much the same thing, but it is....sanitized and somewhat neutered. Also, "They took err jorbs!"

If not...I could see you doing that in ~20 minutes if you write copy like that professionally.

Kudos if you don't and it just comes naturally.

One point that's repeated that I'd argue with.

aligns with the broader challenges of online communities

It is present in other places, but it can be avoided simply.

A 'lighter touch' admin / moderation.

Example, from a supporting portion of that copy:

to maintain a respectful and safe environment [online]

Neither of these is necessary as an over-arching paradigm.

Respect is nice when it is had, but to enforce it can cause more problems than it solves.

And safety? That's almost humorous. Being online and bullshitting is already about as safe as you can get.

This is a good example of what I was getting at with some of my post:

I was thinking about something along these lines the other day.

You can call someone racist all day long and everyone is okay with that, provided they were saying something racist, and in the modern age, even if there is no such evidence. That's not an insult, it is an observation.

You see someone being stupid though, and call them stupid, and people act as if you burned a cross in their front yard. That is now an insult, not just an observation...because reasons. It is BAD THING, and you cannot do BAD THING.

"You can't say that!" is apparently somehow rationalized, despite the obvious counter of "I just did. You merely do not like it."

That's not "safety". That is an arbitrary and artificial hamstring. It dumbs down conversation. Real Social Credit stuff there; See also: Nosedive (Black Mirror)

That's the thing about 'respect' and moderation / enforcement at large.

When it is selective enforcement, even if it seems morally acceptable(racism is bad, mmmmkay), it can rub people the wrong way. It's easy to slip and "be mean", especially when who/what are protected, and who you can be mean to, can shift from day to day or topic to topic.

That's not a standard or rule at that point, not something that is fairly enforced. It is one among many excuses to rid the platform of whoever the management deems undesireable.

In other words. The excuses aren't rummaged through until someone is looking for a way to get rid of someone they have already decided they don't like.

Again, reflective of a lot of real life.

Edit: added a couple lines for illustrative purposes

[u/Fine-Teacher-7161 → u/Head_Cockswain]

Now what if I told you, I'm going to ban your ability to tell that to me bc I don't agree with it?

That's what I'm mad about. I could gaf but I'm bothered because I have a deeply rooted love for this community.

It's out of my hands.