How to Block NSFW on Reddit on Computers and Phones

NSFW content (such as content containing porn or violence) is allowed on Reddit. If you are a parent, you might want to block NSFW content on Reddit for your children. Also, sometimes adults may need to block NSFW posts to prevent embarrassment or stop themselves from being addicted to content of such nature. This article covers these situations and shows Reddit users how to:

 

Method 1. Block NSFW content from appearing by configuring Reddit settings

This method is built in to Reddit and applies to both the website (both on desktop and mobile) and the mobile app. Let’s see how to use the method and what it can achieve.

On reddit.com

1. Open Reddit in a browser on your computer or phone and make sure that you are signed in.

2. Directly go to https://www.reddit.com/settings/preferences. Alternatively, click your profile picture in the top right corner, click Settings, and click the Preferences tab.

3. In the Content section, do any of the following:

• Turn off the Show mature content (I'm over 18) option. This will prevent NSFW posts from showing up in your feeds and search results (and blur potentially explicit images, although such images rarely appear due to the setting).
• If you don't mind NSFW posts in your feed and search results but want to stop images in such posts from being displayed, you can turn on the Blur mature (18+) images and media option. This will blur images and hide post content in posts marked as NSFW.
• If you are not subscribed to certain subreddits but see recommendations for mature content from them, click Muted communities and add those subreddits.

Note: NSFW content is hidden by Reddit for users that are not signed in. So you don’t need to worrying about regaining access to such content by signing out of the account. However, these restrictions can be easily removed by changing settings. Here’s a tip to lock these settings with a password on computers.

In Reddit app

1. In the Reddit app on your iPhone or Android phone and make sure that you are signed in.

2. Click your profile picture in the top right corner of the screen.

3. Tap Settings.

4. Turn off Show mature content (I'm over 18) or turn on Blur NSFW Images.

 

Method 2. Block access to NSFW content on Reddit using AppCrypt

This method uses a website and app blocker called AppCrypt and applies to reddit.com on Mac and Windows computers. (That being said, AppCrypt can help iPhone and Android users block the Reddit website and app at all times or during certain hours.)

Let’s first check out how to set up AppCrypt and then look at the various ways this tool provides to help you limit access to inappropriate Reddit content.

How to set up

1. Download and install AppCrypt.

Free Download macOS 10.12 or laterFree Download Windows 11/10/8/7

2. The first time you open it, set a password.

(If you use the tool for yourself, you can ask someone else to set the password for you.)

3. On a Mac, click the AppCrypt icon in the menu bar and choose Open Main Window; on a Windows PC, simply click the icon in the taskbar.

Now enter the password to access the main window.

How to restrict NSFW content

In the main window, you can do any of the following things.

• Block by keyword: Enter a keyword such as “nsfw” or “porn” in the URL field and click Add. Continue adding other keywords to the block list. This will prevent these words from being searched on Reddit and also block URLs containing them.
• Block by subreddit: Add the specific NSFW subreddits (such as https://www.reddit.com/r/nsfw) that you want to stop access to. This way, you or your children won’t be able to visit these subreddits and posts from them.
• Allow only certain subreddits: First, add reddit.com to the block list. Next, click Exceptions in the bottom right corner. Last, add the subreddits (e.g., /r/Music/ and /r/getdisciplined/) that you allow yourself to visit to the Always Allow list. This way, the entire Reddit is blocked except for those allowed subreddits and posts from them.
• Protect your Reddit settings: Add https://www.reddit.com/settings/preferences to the block list. This way, only people who know the password (set in step 2) can access this page. So you can use it together with the first method.

Note: These restrictions apply to Chrome, Safari, Edge, Firefox (Windows only), Opera, and Brave. And you can use AppCrypt’s App Lock feature to block unsupported browsers if needed. To bypass restrictions and regain access to blocked NSFW content, one needs to know the password. Therefore, this method can be effective.

 

Method 3. How to block NSFW images from being displayed on Reddit

Method 1 already shares a way to block inappropriate images from being seen. Method 3 is about disabling all images on reddit.com on a computer, and there are two ways available.

By configuring Chrome settings

If you are a Chrome user, you can consider this way.

1. Open the Chrome browser on your computer, click the three-dot icon in the top right corner and choose Settings.

2. Choose Privacy and security and then Site settings.

3. Scroll down to find and click Images.

4. Go to the Customized behaviors section, click Add next to Not allowed to show images.

5. In the dialog that appears, enter https://www.reddit.com/ and click Add.

From now on, all explicit images (and other images as well) on reddit.com won’t display.  Any other content is still accessible.

By using a browser extention

If you are using a different browser, you can use a browser extension called Wizmage Image Hider to achieve the same (well, not exactly the same). It’s available on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.

1. Add the extension to your browser.

2. Open its setting. (For example, if you are using Chrome, open settings by clicking the extension icon in the toolbar and choosing Options.)

3. Switch to the Black List mode and then add https://www.reddit.com/.

From now on, most images on reddit.com will be hidden. However, certain images, such as video thumbnails, are still visible. Therefore, there’s still possibility to see inappropriate images.

 

Final thoughts

Reddit can be a good place to get advice and meet people, and its age limit is 13+. However, it may not be safe enough for children and teens due to the NSFW content on it. By blocking porn and other inappropriate content, parents can help make this platform safer for their kids. In addition, some adults may also need to restrict NSFW content on Reddit to reduce porn addition. Another possible reason is they want to prevent explicit content from being seen when they are in a public place like an office or library.

The methods talked about in this article are helpful. But they are not perfect. And, in fact, there isn’t a perfect solution out there. That being said, you can use one of the method or a combination of them to put restrictions.