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Reddit blocked by "network security": what the address changes

Reddit often refuses connections from VPNs and hosting providers. What triggers the block, what a mobile IP fixes, and what it does not.

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"You've been blocked by network security". Many people discover this message when opening Reddit behind a VPN or from a company network, sometimes without even being logged in. They did nothing: it is their address that is refused, not them.

What is going on

Reddit has not published its criteria, and we will not make them up. What users report is consistent:

  • the block mostly hits consumer VPNs and hosting ranges (servers, cloud);
  • it also hits visitors who are not logged in, and so have no history on Reddit at all;
  • switching VPN servers sometimes makes it go away, sometimes not.

The mechanism is the one described in Collective punishment: an address shared by thousands of people carries the reputation of all of them, including those who used it for spam.

What a mobile IP changes

A French mobile line goes out through the ranges of a national carrier, where thousands of ordinary subscribers are browsing at the same time. Blocking those ranges wholesale would mean blocking those subscribers, which a mainstream service avoids.

And the line is dedicated: you do not inherit whatever other customers might have done with it.

In practice, it is useful if:

  • your job requires a corporate VPN that goes out through a datacenter;
  • you travel and use a VPN for your security on public Wi-Fi;
  • you manage the official account of a brand or an association, which you want to keep separate from your personal account (see Compartmentalizing what you do).

What it does not change

An account suspension. It targets the account, not the address. The way out is an appeal to Reddit; your rights are explained in Automated moderation.

A ban from a subreddit. Coming back with another account is ban evasion, forbidden by Reddit's rules. We will not help you do it.

Community rules. Many subreddits filter recent or low-karma accounts. Those filters look at the account, not the address.

Several accounts backing each other up. Reddit tolerates multiple accounts, but forbids making them vote or comment for one another. One address per account does not make the practice acceptable.

And for collecting data?

Reddit offers an official API, with its own terms and rate limits. For a research project or a tool, that is the path to take: a proxy does not make authorized a collection that the service's terms forbid. See also Price monitoring and data collection for the general framework.

Plugging in the proxy

A fixed address is fine: the Essential plan is enough to read and take part.

FAQ

Can the block come back with a mobile IP?

Yes, if the line sends a volume of requests that does not look like human reading. Blocking by address is only one of the filters; pace is another.

Isn't a VPN enough?

Often, yes: many VPN servers get through. A VPN remains the right tool to protect your connection on public Wi-Fi, and it costs far less. The mobile line is only worth it if your VPN addresses are blocked repeatedly.

See also: Collective punishment · Why a French IP

Need a French mobile proxy? A real French 4G/5G line, one HTTP port and one SOCKS5 port, IP rotation on demand.

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