New Reddit controls let you block your most-hated advertisers for a year

Reddit will likely continue increasing the amount of ads users see.

Reddit has shown a growing commitment to promoting ads on its platform, especially since going public a year ago. But in the interest of not completely alienating customers with incessant, irrelevant, or personally offensive ads, the social media company is giving users the ability to block advertisers for a year.

In a Reddit post last night, a Reddit employee known as cozy_sheets said that clicking “Hide” on an unwanted ad on Reddit will soon result in Reddit automatically hiding “future ads from that advertiser account for at least a year (you can re-hide the ad after that period of time).” The change will debut on the Reddit website and Reddit’s iOS and Android app throughout “the next several weeks,” according to the announcement.

Reddit didn't detail what limits it will use to ensure that users don't block every single advertiser for an ad-free Reddit. Some users have already reported seeing a daily limit for hiding ads, though.

Reddit's representative said the ad blocks are a response to users wanting “more control over the ads they see.”

The spokesperson noted that users can also “report” an ad if they believe it goes against Reddit’s policies. Reporting an ad also results in that advertiser being blocked from pitching to you for a year.

Reddit already lets people block advertising related to alcohol, dating, gambling, “politics and activism,” “pregnancy and parenting,” "religion and spirituality,” and weight loss. However, some users have complained about this system failing.

Reddit also lets users with accounts in the US and other select countries turn off personalized ads. The company made personalized ads mandatory in some geographies in September 2023.

Despite these ad controls, though, Redditors are likely to see more ads on the platform over the next few years. Reddit executives have pointed to the potential for more ads in comments and a greater focus on contextual ads based on the content around them. All of these ads will be harder for Redditors to avoid than they would have been a few years ago, as a successful war on third-party apps has made it difficult to access Reddit outside of its native apps or website. In 2024, advertising represented 92 percent of Reddit's revenue and grew 60 percent year over year.

Advance Publications, which owns Ars Technica parent Condé Nast, is the largest shareholder in Reddit.

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