Reddit account suspended vs banned: what each means

Reddit's help pages barely say "suspended" anymore. They say banned, for a while or for good.

So when people say suspended, they usually mean banned from all of Reddit. When they say banned, they might mean that, or a ban from one subreddit. And a shadowban and a locked account are two more things again.

Here is each one side by side, in 4 parts, with 2 things you can copy.

Save this. Find your row before you do anything else.

Short answer

A Reddit suspension is a ban from the whole site by Reddit's admins, either temporary with an end date or permanent. A subreddit ban comes from that subreddit's moderators and only covers that room. A shadowban is a spam flag that hides your account without a message. A locked account is a security step you clear by resetting your password. The message you got, or didn't get, tells you which one you have.

Key takeaways

• A suspension is now called a ban in Reddit's own help pages: temporary or permanent, from all of Reddit.
• A subreddit ban comes from mods and covers one room. You can still read it.
• A shadowban comes with no message. A lock comes with a password reset prompt.
• Real Reddit notices come from u/reddit, or by email from reddit.com, redditmail.com or redditforcommunity.com addresses, and never ask for your password.
• Using another account while banned is ban evasion, and it can turn one ban into several.

1. What is the difference between suspended and banned on Reddit?

Who did it and how far it reaches. A suspended account is one Reddit's admins banned from the whole site, for a set time or for good. A subreddit ban is one community's moderators shutting you out of that room only. Reddit's help pages use "banned" for both, so the message matters more than the word.

Reddit's page on banned accounts spells out the difference. Banned from Reddit means you can't take part anywhere. Banned from a community means you can't post or comment there, but you can still read it and stay a member.

In my experience, plenty of bans start with an account that moved faster than a person would. Rankhog warms up accounts you own, slowly, in your own browser.

Here is every state side by side. Copy it.

Reading isn't on Reddit's list of what a ban takes away, so the "read" entries are my inference, not a promise. The banned accounts page lists what it does take away: voting, posting, commenting, chat, reports, creating communities, editing wiki pages, editing your own posts and comments, and self-serve ads. If you moderate a community, you lose the mod tools too, and a permanent ban may remove you as a mod.

2. How do you tell which one you have from the message?

Look at who sent it. Reddit's admins send account notices from u/reddit, whose name shows in red with an admin mark, and by email from reddit.com, redditmail.com or redditforcommunity.com addresses. Moderators send subreddit bans as a chat from the mods of that room. A lock shows a red warning when you log in. A shadowban sends nothing at all. Anything asking for your password is fake.

Reddit's page on official messages is specific. Account notices arrive in your inbox from u/reddit, and admin names show in red with a Snoo icon or an admin mark. Emails come only from @reddit.com, @redditmail.com or @redditforcommunity.com addresses. Reddit never asks for your password or two-factor codes, and never contacts you about your account on another platform.

Fake suspension notices are a common phishing trick, so here is the check I would run on any message about your account. Copy it.

1. It arrived in your Reddit inbox from u/reddit, or by email from one of those three domains.
2. Every link in it points to reddit.com.
3. It doesn't ask for your password or a two-factor code.
4. It names a rule and, for a temporary ban, an end date.
5. If it is about one subreddit, it came from that room's mods, not from u/reddit.

If any of the first three fail, it isn't from Reddit. Report it where you got it and don't click anything.

If there is no message at all and your profile is missing when you are logged out, that points to a spam flag. The shadowban checks take a few minutes.

3. How long does a Reddit suspension last?

As long as the notice says, for a temporary one. Reddit's enforcement page describes a common ladder: a warning, then a 3-day ban, then a 7-day ban, then a permanent one, though serious breaks can skip straight to permanent. A permanent ban has no end date. A spam flag has no published length. A subreddit ban lasts as long as its mods decide.

That ladder is on Reddit's page on enforcement and appeals. It also says the choice depends on how serious the break was and on the account's past violations, so earlier bans can make the next one longer.

The same page gives the appeal window: six months from the notice, for a ban from Reddit.

A temporary ban leaves your profile looking normal to everyone else, according to the banned accounts page. A permanent one adds a message to the profile, which is why you sometimes see it on other people's accounts.

4. What should you do for each one?

Read the notice first, then follow the route for your row. Wait out a temporary ban you earned, or appeal one you think was a mistake. Appeal a permanent ban or a spam flag at Reddit's appeals page. Write to the mods for a subreddit ban. Reset your password for a lock. And in every case, stay off your other accounts while it is open.

Here is the short version for each.

• Subreddit ban: send one polite modmail from the banned account. How to appeal a Reddit ban has a message you can copy.
• Temporary Reddit ban: if you broke the rule, let it run out and read the rule. If it was a mistake, appeal within six months.
• Permanent Reddit ban: appeal once, briefly, showing why the call was wrong.
• Spam flag: log in and appeal at reddit.com/appeals, as Reddit's spam flag page says.
• Locked account: reset your password, as Reddit's locked account page says. It only works if the email on the account is current.

The rule that covers every row: don't post from another account to get around it. That is ban evasion, and Reddit's banned accounts page says it can lead to sitewide bans. The Reddit rules that get marketers banned has the rest of the rules that cause these in the first place, and the Reddit marketing guide covers coming back as a company without tripping them again.

What I don't know yet

• Reddit doesn't publish how long a spam flag lasts or what triggers one. I treat it as lasting until someone reads an appeal.
• I don't know how often Reddit reverses a ban on appeal. It doesn't publish a rate.
• The ladder of 3 and 7 days is the common case Reddit describes, not a promise for every account.

Who this is not for

If your posts vanish in one subreddit only and nothing else changed, you likely have a removal, not a ban. Check that room's rules and AutoModerator first.

If someone else's account says it's banned, there's nothing for you to do. That message is for visitors.

What to do next

Today, in this order:

1. Find the message, or confirm there isn't one.
2. Run the five-point check on it.
3. Find your row in the table.
4. Follow that row's route, once.
5. Stay off your other accounts until it is settled.

Find. Check. Match. Act. Wait.

Thanks for reading. If you are starting again with a fresh account, give it a slow start this time. Rankhog warms up accounts you own, slowly, in your own browser.