Reddit doxxing: what to do if someone posts your personal information
Identity theft. Updated 2026-09-13. About 5 minutes to read.
Screenshot everything with links and times, report each post and comment as personal information, then hide your post history and remove your address from people-search sites.
Doxxing is when someone publishes your private details, such as your real name, home address, workplace or phone number, so that others can find or harass you. On Reddit it breaks the site's rule to respect the privacy of others, and Reddit bans accounts that do it.
If this is happening to you right now, start with the safety steps below, then report and lock down. The order matters: save evidence before you report, because once Reddit removes a post you can no longer see it either.
If you are being doxxed right now: the first hour
If anyone has threatened you, mentioned coming to your home or you feel unsafe, call emergency services: 911 in the US, 000 in Australia, 999 in the UK.
Take screenshots of every post, comment and username with the web address and time visible. Paste the links into a document with the date.
Report each post and comment to Reddit (details below), and message the subreddit's moderators with the links.
Block the accounts involved. Do not reply, argue or post your side in the thread, because engagement pushes it up the page.
Set your other social accounts to private and remove your phone number and workplace from public profiles.
Warn the people you live and work with. Ask them not to confirm your details to callers or visitors they do not know.
Do not try to identify or expose the person doxxing you. It can break the same rules and laws, gets your own account banned and often makes the harassment worse.
What counts as doxxing under Reddit's rules
Reddit's Rule 3 says to respect the privacy of others and that instigating harassment, for example by revealing someone's personal or confidential information, is not allowed. Reddit's help centre goes further: posting someone's personal information, or links to it, gets you banned. That includes links to a public Facebook page and screenshots where names are still readable.
Public figures are a partial exception. Posting a politician's office contact details is allowed, but inviting harassment of anyone is not.
Your real name linked to your Reddit username.
Your home address, photos of your house or directions to it.
Your employer, school or a phone number that is not public.
Links to your other social media accounts or screenshots of them.
How people get identified from Reddit posts
Most doxxing does not need hacking. Someone reads your post history and joins the dots. Posting in a city subreddit, a subreddit for your employer and a hobby group for a small local club can narrow you down to a handful of people.
Photos with street signs, a view from your window, school uniforms, number plates or a distinctive pet.
Reusing the same username on Instagram, gaming sites or old forums that show your face or name.
Details stacked across years: your age, job, suburb, a wedding date, a car you sold.
Old comments preserved by third-party archives and screenshots, even after you delete them.
Report it to Reddit the right way
On each post or comment, tap the three-dot menu and choose Report, then pick the option for sharing personal information. Reddit changes the wording from time to time.
Report the user profile too if the account exists mainly to harass you.
Send the subreddit moderators a modmail with every link. Moderators can often remove content faster than a site-wide report.
If the in-app options do not fit, use Reddit's reporting page at reddit.com/report, which its help centre points to for personal information violations.
Keep a log of each report, the date and any reply. You will need it if you go to police or a regulator.
Reddit says it does not share your name or contact details with the person you report.
Lock down your Reddit account and footprint
Hide your history: on the web open Curate your profile, or Profile curation in the app, and use Content and activity to hide your posts and comments from your profile. Reddit added this in June 2025.
Know the limit: hidden posts still exist in their communities, and moderators of a subreddit you post in can see your full history for 28 days after you interact.
Edit or delete old comments that mention your city, job, age or family, starting with the ones that were quoted in the doxxing thread.
Change your Reddit password, turn on two-factor authentication and remove any email address you also use publicly.
Search your name plus your city on people-search sites and opt out of every listing that shows your address.
For sensitive topics in future, use a separate account with a unique username you have never used elsewhere.
When to involve police, and who else can help
Go to police when there are threats, repeated contact, people turning up at your home or work, or your children's details are posted. Bring your screenshots and report log.
Australia: since December 2024 it is a federal crime to use a carriage service to publish someone's personal data in a menacing or harassing way, with up to 6 years in prison. Call the Police Assistance Line on 131 444. After reporting to the platform, you can also report adult cyber abuse to the eSafety Commissioner.
United Kingdom: harassment and stalking offences can cover doxxing. Call 101, or 999 in an emergency. Report Harmful Content can help when a platform does not act.
United States: there is no single federal doxxing law, but threats, stalking and harassment are crimes. Report to local police and, for online threats, to the FBI at ic3.gov.
Frequently asked questions
Is doxxing illegal?
It depends where you are and how it is done. Australia has a specific federal doxxing offence. In the UK and US, doxxing is usually prosecuted as harassment, stalking or threats. Publishing information alone is not always a crime, but it almost always breaks Reddit's rules.
Can Reddit tell me who doxxed me?
Not on request. Reddit only releases account information about another user through formal legal process, such as a subpoena or court order, which usually needs a lawyer or police involvement.
Will deleting my Reddit account stop the doxxing?
No. Deleting your account does not remove other people's posts about you, and your old posts may stay visible without your name attached. Report the content first, then decide about the account.
What if my details were copied to other sites?
Report on each platform separately and keep your evidence log. For people-search sites, use their opt-out forms. In Australia, eSafety can help with serious abuse that platforms fail to remove.