There may very well be yet another step required earlier than creating an account and posting on Reddit sooner or later. Based on Reddit's CEO, Steve Huffman, the social media platform is exploring other ways to confirm a consumer is human and never a bot. When requested by the TBPN podcast find out how to verify that it's a human utilizing Reddit, Huffman responded with a number of verification strategies with various levels of heavy-handedness.
RDDT requiring Face ID was not one thing I had on my bingo card however one thing has received to be completed about all of the pretend / botted content material — I simply don't know find out how to promote face-scanning to redditors and even lurkers. https://t.co/7e7K3Di4ip
— Alexis Ohanian 🗽 (@alexisohanian) March 21, 2026
"Probably the most light-weight manner is with one thing like Face ID or Contact ID," Huffman stated in the course of the interview. "They really require a human presence, like a human has to the touch, or do or take a look at one thing, so that really simply proves there's an individual there or will get you fairly far."
Moreover these passkey strategies that use biometrics information, Huffman stated there are different choices like counting on third-party companies which are decentralized or don't require ID. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, Huffman additionally talked about extra burdensome choices, like ID-checking companies.
Latest years have introduced an increase in bots flooding social media platforms together with Reddit, the place they've even been used to conduct secret experiments. It doesn't sound like Reddit has landed on find out how to confirm its customers' human identification but, however Huffman did emphasize that the platform nonetheless needs to prioritize anonymity for its customers. Nonetheless, verifying humanity via identifiable and private information might find yourself as a dealbreaker for Reddit customers who worth the anonymity of the platform.
"A part of our promise for our customers is we don't know your identify however we do need to know you're an individual," Huffman stated. "It'll be an evolution for us for some time, and possibly each platform to search out the precise center floor right here."
Reddit co-founder and former government chair, Alexis Ohanian, stated on X that Reddit requiring Face ID wasn't one thing he anticipated however agreed that one thing needed to be completed in regards to the pretend content material from bots, including that, "I simply don't know find out how to promote face-scanning to Redditors and even lurkers." We reached out to Reddit's communications crew and can replace the story once we hear again.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-is-weighing-identity-verification-methods-to-combat-its-bot-problem-195814671.html?src=rss