Have you ever encountered such problems when using Reddit: clicking on your profile page, a red prompt "We had a server error..." appears at the top, being unable to change personal information, not showing up in other users' follower lists after following them, and being unable to send private messages. This red prompt seems to indicate a Reddit server issue; however, the actual situation is that your account has most likely been shadowbanned.

What is a Shadowban?

A shadowban is a common hidden account restriction mechanism used by Reddit and other social platforms.

Unlike a direct account ban, after a shadowban is triggered, the platform usually does not send any explicit notification to the user. You can still log in to your account, browse content, and continue to perform actions like upvoting and following, but all your actions will not be visible to other users.

Your account appears completely normal on the surface, but in reality, it is in a semi-isolated state. "We had a server error..." is exactly the vague prompt commonly used by Reddit in such cases to prevent you from creating a new account after discovering you've been banned.

Some users report being shadowbanned without violating any rules. Instead of dwelling on the reason for the ban, let's verify it together!

How to Verify if Your Account Has Been Shadowbanned

Method 1: Search for Your Username

Log out of your account, then enter your username in the Reddit search box or visit reddit.com/user/yourusername.

Result Interpretation:

Not found / Page error → Account restricted

Displays normally → Account is normal

Method 2: Ask Someone Else to Check for You

Ask a friend to view your posts/comments/profile page using their account or a completely different network environment.

Result Interpretation:

Others cannot see your content → Shadowbanned

Others can see it → Network or browser issue

Method 3: Test if Comments Disappear

Post a comment on an active thread, log out, and refresh the thread page.

Result Interpretation:

Comment not displayed → Shadowbanned

Comment displays normally → Account is normal

Method 4: Verify in the r/ShadowBan Community

Type r/ShadowBan in the Reddit search bar, click on the first pinned post, then click "Click Here" and post a thread in the community as required.

As shown in the image below, this situation indicates that you are definitely banned.

How to Deal with a Shadowban

The Reddit community has strict banning mechanisms. If you encounter a shadowban, you can basically say goodbye to your old account. So how can you avoid being shadowbanned again?

Use an Anti-Detect Browser with Static Residential Proxies

1. What is an Anti-Detect Browser?

An anti-detect browser is a tool that can isolate and spoof browser fingerprints, including browser fingerprints (such as Canvas, WebGL, Audio, etc.), User-Agent, time zone and language settings, operating system characteristics, local storage data, Cookies, cached content, and the binding relationship between IP and browser environment. It can configure an independent, stable, and realistic user-like environment for the browser.

For platforms like Reddit that rely heavily on risk control and fingerprint recognition, a stable browser fingerprint is crucial.

2. What is a Static Residential Proxy?

A static residential proxy refers to a type of proxy with IP addresses sourced from real home networks. Such IPs are usually provided by legitimate ISPs, featuring long-term fixed addresses that do not change frequently. Meanwhile, due to low usage volume and high cleanliness, their network behavior characteristics are closer to ordinary real users, making them more likely to gain trust when accessing platforms with strict risk control.

In contrast, free proxies, data center IPs, or rotating proxies are highly likely to be marked as high-risk sources by Reddit.

3. Advantages of Using Them Together

• No need to change IP addresses, preventing bans caused by IP changes

• Stable environment for long-term use

• Different browser environments for new and old accounts, avoiding the situation where a new account gets banned immediately after creation.

4. Specific Operation Steps

① Visit the MostLogin official website, download and install the browser client suitable for your operating system.

② Open MostLogin, click "Create profile", and fill in basic information. You can modify some advanced settings and browser fingerprints as needed, or keep the defaults. The time zone, language, and location will automatically match the IP address you import.

③ Import static residential proxies

Import Methods

Method 1: Import Proxies When Creating a Profile

Click "Proxy", select Basic or API extraction, and choose your proxy type from the drop-down list.

Simply enter your proxy information in the blank fields below

Method 2: Import to the MostLogin Client Proxy List for Future Use

Click "Proxies" → "Add proxy" in the left toolbar of the client, and enter proxy information.

When creating a profile, click "Select proxy" and choose the proxy you have imported from the drop-down list.

④ Click "Confirm" at the bottom to complete the browser environment creation.

⑤ Click "START" to access the Reddit community and register a new account with a new email address.

Even with a clean environment, pay attention to your behavior: post and comment less with new accounts in the early stage, and avoid sending private messages or links right after creation.

Summary

When Reddit frequently displays "We had a server error…" along with issues like inability to follow, send private messages, or abnormal profile pages, it is highly likely that a shadowban has been triggered.

Once a shadowban occurs, it is difficult to fully recover. Instead of repeatedly trying to appeal or continuing to operate in the original environment, it is better to fundamentally avoid triggering risk control again. You can use an anti-detect browser with static residential proxies to provide each account with an independent, stable, and more realistic user-like environment, thereby significantly reducing the probability of new accounts being banned again.

You may also check out our other article about Reddit bans: "Reddit Account Banned? Reasons, Solutions, and Appeal Methods". We hope this article can also help you!

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can a shadowban be lifted through appeal?

Yes, but the success rate is relatively low, and most appeals for shadowbans do not receive explicit responses.

2. Will using an anti-detect browser guarantee no bans?

No method is 100% safe. Anti-detect browsers and static residential proxies serve to reduce risks, not eliminate them. If your behavior is abnormal or your operations are frequent, you may still trigger risk control.