Reddit facts for kids
Logo used since November 2023
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Homepage (as of December 2023[update])
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| Type of business | Public |
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Type of site
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Social news |
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Traded as | NYSE: RDDT |
| Founded | June 23, 2005 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| No. of locations | 5 |
| Area served | Worldwide, except for Indonesia (without DNS) and China |
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| Key people | |
| Industry | |
| Revenue |  US$804 million (2023) |
| Operating income | ▲ US$-140 million (2023) |
| Net income | ▲ US$-90.8 million (2023) |
| Total assets |  US$1.596 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | US$-413 million (2023) |
| Employees | 2,013 (December 2023) |
| Parent | Reddit Inc. |
| Website |
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| Advertising | Banner ads and promoted links |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Optional |
| Users | 73.1 million DAU (Dec 2023) |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in |
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Reddit is a popular American website. It's like a huge online community where people share news, pictures, videos, and stories. Users can vote on what they see. If something gets lots of "upvotes," it becomes more visible. The name "Reddit" sounds like "read it," as in "I read it on Reddit."
People who use Reddit are called "Redditors." They can post content and comment on what others have shared. All the posts are organized into special groups called "communities" or "subreddits." Reddit is run by a company called Reddit, Inc., located in San Francisco. It's one of the most visited websites in the world.
Reddit was started in 2005 by Steve Huffman, Alexis Ohanian, and Aaron Swartz. Over the years, it has grown a lot. Big companies like Condé Nast and Advance Publications have owned parts of it. In March 2024, Reddit became a public company, meaning its shares can be bought and sold on the stock market.
Reddit's Story
Reddit began in 2005 with college friends Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian. They met a programmer named Paul Graham. He invited them to join his startup program, Y Combinator. Their first idea for a mobile food ordering app didn't work out.
Then, they came up with the idea for Reddit. Paul Graham called it the "front page of the Internet." With funding from Y Combinator, Steve Huffman built the website. Reddit officially launched in June 2005. To make the site look busy at first, the founders even made fake users and posts.
Later in 2005, Christopher Slowe joined the team. Reddit also merged with Aaron Swartz's company. Aaron helped rewrite some of Reddit's software. In 2006, Huffman and Ohanian sold Reddit to Condé Nast Publications. They moved the company to San Francisco. Aaron Swartz left Reddit in 2007.
Steve Huffman and Alexis Ohanian left Reddit in 2009. Erik Martin then helped Reddit grow a lot. In 2009, Reddit started showing ads. They also launched "Reddit Gold" in 2010. This was a special membership that gave users extra features. In 2011, Reddit became its own company, separate from Condé Nast.
Reddit joined other websites in 2012 to protest a law called the Stop Online Piracy Act. They even blacked out their site for 12 hours. Yishan Wong became CEO in 2012. He helped Reddit's user base grow a lot. Ellen Pao took over as CEO in 2014. She brought in new rules against online harassment.
In 2015, Steve Huffman returned as CEO. Alexis Ohanian also came back as executive chairman. Huffman helped launch Reddit's mobile apps for phones. He also led a big redesign of the website in 2018. He wanted Reddit to look more modern and welcoming to new users. Christopher Slowe returned as Chief Technology Officer in 2017.
In 2020, Alexis Ohanian left Reddit's board. He asked for a Black person to replace him. Michael Seibel then joined the board. Reddit bought a video app called Dubsmash in 2020. In 2021, Reddit hired its first Chief Financial Officer, Drew Vollero. This made people think Reddit would soon offer its shares to the public. Reddit did this in March 2024.
How Reddit Works
Reddit is a place for user-made content. This includes photos, videos, links, and text posts. People discuss this content in a way that's like an online bulletin board. In 2019, about 430 million people used Reddit every month.
The site's content is split into groups called "subreddits." There are over 138,000 active subreddits. For example, "r/science" is for science discussions. "r/gaming" is for video games.
A main feature of Reddit is voting. Users can give "upvotes" or "downvotes" to posts and comments. More upvotes mean a post becomes more visible. The most popular content shows up for more people. Users also earn "karma" for their posts and comments. This shows how much they contribute to the community.
If you visit Reddit without an account, you see the most popular posts from many subreddits. This is called r/popular. If you have an account and subscribe to subreddits, you see top content from those groups. Some subreddits have rules about how old your account must be or how much karma you need to post. This helps stop spam.
Users and Moderators
It's free to create a Reddit account. You just need an email address. Once you have an account, you can comment, vote, and even create your own subreddit. Reddit usernames start with "u/". For example, the CEO of Reddit, Steve Huffman, is u/spez.
Subreddits are managed by "moderators." These are Reddit users who volunteer their time. They create and enforce rules for their community. They also remove posts or comments that break the rules. Moderators help keep discussions on topic. "Admins" are different; they are paid employees of Reddit.
Reddit shares reports each year. These reports show how many posts moderators removed and why. In 2020, Reddit removed about 6% of all posts. Most of these were spam.
Subreddits: Communities for Everyone
Subreddits are like clubs for different interests. Their names start with "r/". For example, "r/worldnews" is for news from around the world. There are about 138,000 active subreddits.
Reddit's goal is to give moderators lots of control. This way, they can shape their communities. Many subreddits use a special version of Reddit's alien mascot, Snoo. This helps make each community unique.
Other Cool Features
Reddit Premium (once called Reddit Gold) is a special membership. It lets users browse the site without ads. It also gives access to special features. These include unique subreddits like r/lounge and a personalized Snoo avatar.
On Reddit, your "cake day" is like your account's birthday. It happens once a year. On this day, a small cake icon appears next to your username for 24 hours.
In 2021, Reddit added a short video feature. It's like TikTok, letting users quickly swipe through videos. They also launched "Reddit Recap." This shows you fun facts about your Reddit use from the past year.
Reddit also has "Collectible Avatars." These are special, customizable avatars you can buy. They are made by independent artists.
Chat and Audio
In 2017, Reddit added its own chat feature. This lets users talk in real-time. There are individual chat rooms and community chat rooms for subreddits.
Reddit Talk was launched in 2021. It's like an audio meeting room. Subreddit moderators can start these audio chats. You can even record them.
Past Features
Reddit Public Access Network (RPAN) was a live streaming service. Users could broadcast live videos. Viewers could upvote, downvote, and chat. RPAN was stopped in November 2022.
Reddit also tested a "tipping" feature in 2019. It allowed users to give small payments to others.
How Reddit Looks and Works
Reddit has changed its look and features many times since 2005. When it first started, there were no comments or subreddits. Comments were added in 2005. Subreddits, which are groups based on interests, came in 2008. These changes helped Reddit become what it is today.
In 2015, Reddit allowed users to embed its content on other websites. In 2016, Reddit started hosting images directly. Before that, users mostly used another service called Imgur. Reddit also launched its own video uploading service in 2017.
In 2017, Reddit made changes to its public front page, r/popular. This page now hides content that might be for adults from users who are not logged in. Reddit also wanted to be a "mobile-first" site. They added new features to their phone apps. These included chat, a theater mode for videos, and tools for moderators.
Reddit had a big website redesign in 2018. This was the first major visual update in ten years. The goal was to make Reddit look better and easier to use for new people. Users can still choose to use the "Old Reddit" design if they prefer.
In 2023, Reddit updated its logo, fonts, and mascot, Snoo. This was part of getting ready for its public stock offering.
Reddit's Mascot: Snoo
Reddit's logo features a friendly alien named Snoo. Snoo has an oval head, pom-pom ears, and an antenna. The colors are black, white, and orange-red. Snoo was created in 2005 by co-founder Alexis Ohanian. He drew it during a marketing class.
Snoo is genderless and can be changed for different events. Over the years, the Reddit logo often changes for holidays. Many subreddits also have their own custom Snoo logos. Snoo's job is to discover and explore humanity.
Reddit as a Company
Reddit is a public company based in San Francisco. In 2017, it was valued at $1.8 billion. The company used to be owned by Condé Nast. But now, it's an independent company. Advance Publications, Condé Nast's parent company, still owns a lot of Reddit.
Reddit makes money from advertising and its premium memberships. These memberships remove ads from the site. Reddit also has a policy of not negotiating employee salaries. They offer good parental leave for new parents.
In 2021, Reddit was valued at over $10 billion. They officially offered their shares to the public on March 21, 2024.
Advertising on Reddit
Reddit has ads, but they are different from other sites. Companies like Costco and McDonald's have posted content that looks like it's from regular users. But Reddit users are smart. They don't like feeling tricked by brands. They prefer honest conversations.
Reddit's former communications director said advertisers should create promotions that "spark conversations." For example, "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) sessions can get attention for public figures. But it's important to be careful. Users want to talk to you, not just see ads.
Reddit has partnered with companies for sponsored AMAs. They have also increased their advertising options.
Community and Culture
Reddit is known for its open nature. It has many different users who create its content. The site has a wide range of topics. Smaller subreddits can be for very specific interests. Reddit has helped bring attention to many causes. For example, the image-sharing site Imgur started as a gift to the Reddit community.
Most Reddit users are male. In 2016, research showed that 4% of U.S. adults use Reddit. Most of them are men. Many users get their news from Reddit. Reddit users tend to be younger. Politically, most Reddit users lean to the left.
Reddit users are known for being passionate. Sometimes, if a smaller website is linked on Reddit, it gets so much traffic that it crashes. This is called the "Reddit hug of death."
Helping Others
Reddit users have used the site to help charities. Redditors raised over $100,000 for comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert's rally. They also raised over $180,000 for Haiti earthquake relief. In 2010, different religious groups on Reddit had a friendly fundraising contest. They raised over $50,000 for charity.
In 2014, Reddit announced it would donate 10% of its yearly ad money to charities chosen by its users. They donated money to groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Doctors Without Borders.
Making a Difference
Reddit has been used for many kinds of political action. This includes supporting presidential campaigns. It's also used for organizing protests and talking with politicians. Reddit is a popular place for political discussions worldwide.
March for Science
The March for Science started from a discussion on Reddit. Users were talking about climate change information being removed from a website. Someone suggested there should be a "Scientists' March on Washington." In April 2017, over 1 million scientists and supporters marched in many countries.
Protecting the Internet
Reddit users have worked to protect Internet privacy and net neutrality. Net neutrality means all internet traffic should be treated equally.
In 2012, Reddit joined Wikipedia and other sites in an Internet blackout. This was to protest laws like the Stop Online Piracy Act. Reddit showed a message about the laws' effects. In 2017, Reddit users filled the front page with posts supporting net neutrality. Reddit CEO Steve Huffman also spoke out for net neutrality rules. He said that without them, internet companies could choose what content you see.
"Restoring Truthiness" Rally
In 2010, Reddit users started a movement. They wanted comedian Stephen Colbert to hold a counter-rally in Washington, D.C. This was a response to another rally. Over $100,000 was raised for charity to get Colbert's attention. Thousands of Redditors went to the rally.
Stephen Colbert later thanked the Reddit community. He said their efforts helped with the turnout and success of the event.
Reddit's Censorship
Reddit has been blocked in some countries by their governments. As of October 2023, Reddit is blocked in Indonesia, China, and North Korea. It is also partially blocked in Bangladesh. Reddit was blocked in Russia in 2015 but later unblocked.
Indonesia
Since May 2014, Reddit has been blocked in Indonesia.
China
Reddit was blocked in China for a few weeks in 2015. It was unblocked, but then blocked again in August 2018. It remains blocked there.
Fun Community Traditions
April Fools' Day Pranks
Reddit often does big pranks and social experiments for April Fools' Day. In 2015, they had "The Button." Users could click it only once. Over a million people clicked it.
In 2017, the experiment was called "r/place." Millions of users worked together to create a giant pixel art. Each user could place one pixel at a time. This was very popular and was repeated in 2022 and 2023.
AMAs ("Ask Me Anything")
AMAs are very popular on Reddit. They are like interviews. Users can ask questions to famous people or experts. Many well-known people have done AMAs. These include former U.S. President Barack Obama, Bill Gates, and George Clooney. Even fictional characters like Cookie Monster have done AMAs!
RedditGifts
RedditGifts was a program for gift exchanges. It started in 2009 as a Secret Santa exchange among Reddit users. It became the world's largest Secret Santa. In 2014, about 200,000 users from 188 countries took part. Celebrities like Bill Gates and Snoop Dogg have also joined. RedditGifts was stopped in 2021.
Global Reddit Meetup Day
Every summer, Reddit users meet up in person around the world. These events are called Global Reddit Meetup Day.
Community Actions
Reddit is a public online space. Sometimes, groups of users work together to influence things. This is called "brigading." It's against Reddit's rules if it's done to cause trouble. But sometimes, it's just for fun.
Mister Splashy Pants
In 2007, Greenpeace let people vote online to name a humpback whale. Reddit users voted a lot to name the whale "Mister Splashy Pants." Reddit even changed its logo to a whale to encourage the fun. "Mister Splashy Pants" won the competition!
Images for kids
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Reddit homepage in 2005
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