Reddit AutoModerator: How It Works and How to Avoid Getting Filtered

Your post went through. You can see it in the subreddit feed. It looks fine. Then an hour later, nothing. No comments, no upvotes, no engagement whatsoever. You open an incognito window and the post is gone — silently deleted before a single person saw it.

That is AutoModerator doing exactly what it was designed to do. And if you are using Reddit for marketing or brand promotion in 2026, it is almost certainly the number one barrier between your content and your audience.

AutoModerator removes an estimated hundreds of millions of posts and comments per year across Reddit. Most users never find out what happened. The post looks live from the author's perspective, but it is invisible to everyone else — removed without a trace, without notification, without explanation.

Understanding how AutoMod works is not optional for anyone serious about Reddit. It is the foundation.

What Is Reddit AutoModerator?

AutoModerator is a built-in bot tool that Reddit provides to every subreddit moderator team, completely free. It runs automatically in the background of every active community, evaluating each post and comment against a custom ruleset written by that subreddit's moderators. When a submission matches a rule, AutoMod takes the defined action instantly — before any human sees the content.

Think of AutoMod as a bouncer with a very specific checklist. You might be perfectly dressed and completely sober, but if your ID says you are under 21, you do not get in — no matter how legitimate your intentions are. AutoMod does not evaluate intent, quality, or effort. It evaluates attributes.

According to Reddit's official documentation, AutoModerator can:

• Remove posts and comments that match specified criteria
• Approve content from trusted accounts without moderator review
• Add flair to posts automatically
• Send modmail to the mod team when specific content appears
• Leave sticky comments on approved or filtered posts
• Report content to moderators for human review
• Require specific post formats or title structures

Every subreddit's AutoMod configuration is unique, written in YAML by that community's moderators. A rule in r/marketing will not be identical to one in r/entrepreneur, and neither will match r/SEO. This means AutoMod behavior is not a single system you can master — it is a different obstacle in every community you want to participate in.

How AutoModerator Evaluates Submissions

AutoMod processes rules sequentially. Each rule defines a set of conditions and a set of actions. When a submission matches all conditions in a rule, the associated actions fire immediately. If no rules match, the post goes into the subreddit's regular queue for moderator review or appears publicly if the subreddit operates without mod approval.

Rules can examine a wide range of submission attributes: the post's title text, body text, flair, domain, URL, type (link vs. self-post), upvote count, comment count, and dozens of characteristics of the submitting account.

The account-level attributes are where most marketers run into problems.

Common AutoModerator Rules That Filter Marketing Posts

While every subreddit's ruleset is different, the underlying filter types are consistent. These are the categories that catch promotional content most reliably.

Karma Thresholds

Minimum karma requirements are the most common filter in medium and large subreddits. A rule might look like:

author_karma:
  comment: "< 100"
action: remove
action_reason: "Account karma below minimum requirement"

This single rule silently removes every submission from any account with fewer than 100 comment karma points, regardless of post quality. According to community analysis across major subreddits, the most common comment karma thresholds are:

• Small subreddits (under 50K members): Little to no enforcement
• Medium subreddits (50K–500K members): 50–200 comment karma
• Large subreddits (500K–5M members): 200–500 comment karma
• Major subreddits (5M+ members): 500–2,000 comment karma

Karma thresholds exist because bots and spam accounts consistently have low or zero karma. A legitimate account that has been participating for months will naturally accumulate karma well above these thresholds. A new account created specifically for promotion will not.

The implication for marketers is clear: building Reddit karma through genuine participation is not optional. It is the price of admission to any serious subreddit.

Account Age Requirements

Karma thresholds are almost always paired with account age requirements. A subreddit might require both 100 comment karma and 30 days of account age. Either condition can block a submission independently.

author_account_age:
  days: "< 30"
action: remove

Account age is harder to game than karma. There is no legitimate way to accelerate an account's age — the clock starts when the account is created and runs at real time. This is one reason why maintaining a single, established Reddit account is far more valuable than cycling through fresh accounts for each campaign.

Keyword and Phrase Blacklists

AutoMod can scan post titles and body text for specific words, phrases, or regex patterns. Subreddits that regularly deal with spam maintain blacklists that include common promotional language:

• "DM me for"
• "check my profile"
• "link in bio"
• "buy now"
• "discount code"
• Brand names frequently used in spam
• URLs to domains that have been previously flagged

These keyword filters are invisible to submitters. You have no way to know exactly what phrases trigger removal in a given subreddit without either testing or having access to the rules.

Practical advice: Write posts that sound like a community member, not a press release. Language that would feel natural in a forum conversation passes; language that would fit a product listing does not.

Domain and URL Blocking

Subreddits that deal with frequent link spam often maintain domain blocklists. Any post linking to a blocked domain is removed automatically. This affects:

• Affiliate marketing domains frequently reported by users
• Domains associated with previous spam campaigns
• Entire TLDs in heavily spammed communities
• URL shorteners and redirect services

According to Sprout Social's research on Reddit content moderation, link posts face significantly higher AutoMod filter rates than self-posts (text posts with no external link). If your goal is to drive traffic to an external page, a self-post that provides genuine value and references the link contextually will outperform a bare link post in almost every community.

Post Type Restrictions

Many subreddits restrict what types of posts are allowed at all. Some are link-only. Others prohibit link posts entirely. Still others require posts to use specific flair, match a defined title format, or include minimum word counts in the post body.

AutoMod enforces these restrictions instantly. A link post submitted to a text-only subreddit is removed before any human sees it. A post without required flair may be removed within seconds.

Checking the subreddit sidebar and pinned moderator posts before submitting is not optional — it is the minimum preparation any serious Reddit participant should do.

Suspicious Account Behavior Flags

Some subreddits go beyond static thresholds and use AutoMod to flag accounts showing behavioral patterns associated with spam:

• New accounts with high submission rates: Posting frequently within days of account creation
• Low comment-to-post ratios: Submitting many posts but rarely commenting
• Single-subreddit activity: An account that only posts in one community
• Banned user patterns: Cross-referencing against lists of known bad actors

As Brian Dean of Backlinko has noted in analyses of Reddit as a traffic channel: "Reddit is uniquely hostile to accounts that exist purely to broadcast. The platform rewards participation, and its moderation systems are designed to enforce that norm." Accounts with diverse, genuine participation history pass every behavioral check AutoMod can run.

How to Check If AutoModerator Removed Your Post

Because AutoMod removes posts silently, the only way to know is to check externally.

The Incognito Window Test

Copy the direct URL of your post. Open a private browsing window where you are not logged into Reddit. Paste the URL and load the page.

• If the post loads normally: It is visible to the public. AutoMod did not remove it.
• If you see an error or the post does not appear: It was likely removed.

Also navigate to the subreddit directly in the incognito window and check whether your post appears in the feed. A post that appears on your own profile but not in the subreddit feed has been removed.

Reveddit

Reveddit (reveddit.com) is the most powerful tool available for checking removed Reddit content. Enter your username, and it compares your Reddit post history against what is currently publicly visible, highlighting everything that was removed and by what mechanism.

Reveddit can tell you:

• Which of your posts were removed
• Whether the removal was by AutoModerator or a human moderator
• The approximate time of removal
• Whether removed posts were later approved

For anyone doing serious Reddit marketing, running a Reveddit check on your account monthly is essential audit hygiene. You can also analyze your Reddit account to get a full picture of your account health, karma distribution, and posting history.

Checking Subreddit Mod Logs

Some subreddits make their moderation logs public. Navigate to reddit.com/r/subredditname/about/log — if public, this will show recent moderator and AutoMod actions, which can confirm whether your post was removed and by what rule type.

Sending Modmail

If your post was removed and you believe it was in error, you can message the subreddit's moderator team via modmail. Explain the post, ask why it was removed, and request reinstatement if the removal was a false positive. Keep the message brief, factual, and respectful. Moderators are volunteers and respond better to polite, specific requests than to frustrated complaints.

How to Structure Posts That Pass AutoMod Filters

Once you understand what AutoMod checks, you can structure your submissions to pass those checks without compromising the quality or intent of your content.

Build Your Account Before You Post

This is not negotiable. Every account age and karma threshold AutoMod uses is designed specifically to stop brand-new accounts from posting. A new account created for marketing purposes will fail the majority of AutoMod rules in major subreddits, full stop.

The minimum viable account for meaningful subreddit participation in 2026:

• 30+ days old (90+ days for major subreddits)
• 200+ comment karma (500+ for competitive communities)
• Activity across multiple subreddits — not just your target community
• Comment-heavy history — more comments than post submissions

Accountability check: check if you're shadowbanned before starting any promotional campaign. A shadowbanned account will appear to function normally while producing zero visible output. Wasting a campaign budget on a shadowbanned account is far more damaging than taking the time to verify account health upfront.

Write Text Posts, Not Link Posts

Self-posts (text posts) pass AutoMod filters at significantly higher rates than link posts. The reasons are structural: keyword and domain filters only scan content you have written, while link posts expose your submission to domain blocklists over which you have no control.

For marketing purposes, a well-written self-post that provides genuine value to the community, references your product or service contextually, and invites readers to seek more information outperforms a bare promotional link in virtually every metric — engagement, survival rate through moderation, comment generation, and organic upvote accumulation.

Match the Community's Language and Norms

AutoMod keyword filters are built from the spam language that community has historically seen. Avoid phrases that read as promotional or transactional in context:

• Replace "check out my [product]" with specific information about what you offer and why it is relevant
• Avoid "I built X" posts that are thinly disguised product pitches and instead lead with the problem you solved
• Use the vocabulary the community uses — not corporate or marketing language

An account with 1,000 comment karma that writes like a genuine community member will pass filters and earn upvotes that a polished but promotional account never will. It is also worth knowing that Reddit tracks a Contributor Quality Score (CQS) per subreddit — a metric that reflects how well-received your posts are in each community. A low CQS can cause AutoMod to apply more aggressive filtering to your submissions even when your karma otherwise meets the threshold, so monitoring and improving it matters alongside building karma.

Submit at the Right Time

Timing matters for AutoMod indirectly. Subreddits with active moderators review their queues more carefully during high-traffic periods. If a post is incorrectly removed by AutoMod, it is more likely to be caught and reinstated by a moderator who is actively reviewing the queue — which happens more frequently during peak hours.

According to HubSpot's social media timing research, Reddit engagement peaks Tuesday through Thursday between 9 AM and 1 PM Eastern. Submitting during these windows maximizes both algorithmic visibility and the likelihood of a moderator catching any AutoMod false positives.

AutoModerator and Reddit Karma: The Direct Connection

The relationship between karma and AutoMod is fundamental, and it is one that marketers consistently underestimate.

Karma thresholds are the most commonly configured AutoMod rule type across all of Reddit. Every comment karma point you earn is directly reducing the number of subreddits where AutoMod will silently remove your submissions. This is not a metaphor — it is a mechanical, rule-based relationship.

An account with 50 comment karma might be blocked from 70% of the subreddits relevant to their industry. An account with 500 comment karma might clear 95% of the same filters.

Beyond thresholds, karma functions as a credibility signal that affects how both AutoMod and human moderators evaluate borderline cases. A post from a 10,000-karma account that gets reported may be left up where the same post from a 50-karma account would be removed. Moderators, who are human, apply judgment. AutoMod applies rules — but the rules are built with the assumption that high-karma accounts have earned some level of trust.

How Upvotes Help Content Survive AutoMod's Visibility Thresholds

Some subreddits configure AutoMod to operate on score thresholds as well as account attributes. A rule might remove posts that drop below a minimum score within the first hour — effectively filtering content that fails to gain early traction.

This is where upvote velocity matters mechanically, not just algorithmically. A post that gets real Reddit upvotes in the first 30-60 minutes after submission will clear these score-based filters that a post with zero early engagement will not.

Early upvote traction also determines whether Reddit's algorithm promotes a post to a larger audience. More visibility means more organic votes, more comments, and a self-reinforcing cycle of engagement. According to a Stanford University analysis of content virality on social platforms, content that achieves a threshold of engagement within the first hour is 6x more likely to reach the top of a subreddit feed than content with identical quality but delayed traction.

For marketers running time-sensitive campaigns or launching new products on Reddit, boosting your post with upvotes during the critical early window is not manipulation — it is ensuring that content which has already passed AutoMod's account-level checks also survives the engagement-level filters that determine visibility.

The Karma Feedback Loop

Here is the feedback loop that separates successful Reddit marketers from frustrated ones:

1. High karma unlocks more subreddits by clearing AutoMod thresholds
2. Access to more subreddits means more opportunities for content exposure
3. More exposure means more organic upvotes and comment karma
4. More karma unlocks still more communities and increases moderator trust
5. Higher moderator trust means borderline content gets approved rather than removed

Breaking into this cycle requires either time (building karma organically) or strategic intervention (using an upvote service to generate early visibility on content that then earns organic engagement). The most effective approach combines both: genuine participation to build account credibility, with selective upvote boosts on your highest-value posts.

For a complete breakdown of every reason Reddit posts get removed — including manual moderator actions, spam filters, and rule-based AutoMod — see our dedicated guide. For the full picture on platform-level enforcement beyond AutoMod, read our Reddit shadowban guide — shadowbans and AutoMod removals are frequently confused but have completely different causes, detection methods, and remedies.

Navigating AutoMod as a Brand or Marketer in 2026

Reddit's user base has become significantly more sophisticated about identifying and rejecting promotional content since 2020. Simultaneously, AutoMod rulesets across major subreddits have become more complex and more aggressive. The result is that the tactics that worked for Reddit marketing in 2019 are largely ineffective today.

What works in 2026 is a fundamentally different approach — one that treats Reddit as a community participation channel rather than a distribution channel.

What does not work:

• Creating fresh accounts specifically for promotional use
• Posting identical or near-identical content across multiple subreddits
• Linking to your own domain before building account credibility
• Using promotional language that reads like ad copy
• Treating upvote services as a substitute for genuine content quality

What works:

• Maintaining one established account with genuine participation history
• Contributing to community discussions before and alongside any promotional activity
• Creating content that provides standalone value — useful whether or not the reader ever visits your website
• Following Reddit's self-promotion guidelines rigorously, maintaining the 90/10 ratio of participation to promotion
• Using upvote services selectively to give your best content the early traction it needs to clear engagement-based filters and reach organic audiences
• Respecting Reddit's content policy as the non-negotiable baseline for all activity

As Sprout Social's research on brand Reddit strategies concludes: brands that approach Reddit with a "give first, promote second" mindset see dramatically higher content survival rates through moderation and significantly better organic engagement than brands that use Reddit primarily as a broadcast channel.

Monitoring and Iteration

AutoMod rules change. Moderators update configurations, add new keyword blacklists, and adjust thresholds based on the spam patterns they are seeing. A subreddit where your posts consistently passed filters six months ago may have tightened its rules since then.

Build a regular monitoring workflow:

• Run Reveddit checks on your account monthly
• Check post visibility in incognito after every submission
• Analyze your Reddit account quarterly to review karma distribution and posting history
• Monitor modmail for any moderator feedback about removed posts
• Track which subreddits consistently remove your content and adjust your approach for those communities

AutoModerator is not the enemy. It is a tool that moderators use to protect their communities from spam, and it does that job with mechanical efficiency. The marketers who succeed on Reddit in 2026 are the ones who have built accounts that AutoMod treats as trusted community members — because those accounts have earned that trust through genuine participation.

Build your karma. Age your account. Write like a community member, not like a copywriter. And when you have content that genuinely deserves an audience, buy Reddit upvotes to give it the early velocity that clears engagement thresholds and puts it in front of the people it was created for.