Reddit is weighing identity verification methods to combat its bot problem

There might be yet another step required earlier than creating an account and posting on Reddit sooner or later. Based on Reddit’s CEO, Steve Huffman, the social media platform is exploring alternative ways to confirm a person is human and never a bot. When requested by the TBPN podcast find out how to affirm that it is a human utilizing Reddit, Huffman responded with a number of verification strategies with various levels of heavy-handedness.

“Essentially the most light-weight approach is with one thing like Face ID or Contact ID,” Huffman stated in the course of the interview. “They really require a human presence, like a human has to the touch, or do or take a look at one thing, so that really simply proves there’s an individual there or will get you fairly far.”

Apart from these passkey strategies that use biometrics knowledge, Huffman stated there are different choices like counting on third-party providers which can be decentralized or do not require ID. On the opposite finish of the spectrum, Huffman additionally talked about extra burdensome choices, like ID-checking providers.

Latest years have introduced an increase in bots flooding social media platforms together with Reddit, the place they’ve even been used to conduct secret experiments. It does not sound like Reddit has landed on find out how to confirm its customers’ human id but, however Huffman did emphasize that the platform nonetheless desires to prioritize anonymity for its customers. Nevertheless, verifying humanity via identifiable and private knowledge may find yourself as a dealbreaker for Reddit customers who worth the anonymity of the platform.

“A part of our promise for our customers is we do not know your title however we do wish to know you are an individual,” Huffman stated. “It will be an evolution for us for some time, and possibly each platform to seek out the suitable center floor right here.”

Reddit co-founder and former government chair, Alexis Ohanian, stated on X that Reddit requiring Face ID wasn’t one thing he anticipated however agreed that one thing needed to be executed concerning the pretend content material from bots, including that, “I simply do not know find out how to promote face-scanning to Redditors and even lurkers.” We reached out to Reddit’s communications crew and can replace the story once we hear again.