If Reddit required face scans to prove you’re human… would you still use it?
With AI bots getting harder to detect, there’s been growing discussion around platforms using biometric verification (like face scans) to confirm real users.
Cool in theory... Reddit is full of bots, fake accounts and garbage engagement. But let’s be real…
Reddit without anonymity isn’t Reddit.
The whole point of this platform is:
Saying things you wouldn’t say elsewhere
Being anonymous without consequences tied to your real identity
Having raw, unfiltered discussions
And now the proposed solution is… scan your face?
But what's the guarantee tech companies not to store or misuse biometric data.
Even if they promise they won’t store it:
No one believes that
Data leaks happen all the time
And once that line is crossed, there’s no going back
On one side, identity verification could:
Reduce bots and fake accounts
Improve trust in conversations
Clean up spam-heavy communities
On the other hand, Reddit has always been built on anonymity, and changes like this could shift how people use the platform entirely.
There are also alternative ideas being floated:
Zero-knowledge proof verification
Device-based authentication
Temporary “human verification” tokens
Two questions for the PH community here:
If you use Reddit, what would you want: fewer bots or actual anonymity?
Should Product Hunt apply the same verification to find and delete bots or fake accounts?
P.S. I am currently working on a pilot with Reddit's ex-CTO to test identity verification on my subreddit. I will check the sentiment of the community at my subreddit r/GrowthHacking and report back here.
Replies
Reddit’s big strength is anonymity, but it feels like instead of handling it themselves, they’re pushing that responsibility onto me, and that feels uncomfortable and frustrating.
@victorjason I second you, Victor. Reddit’s strength in anonymity is also its responsibility, and I get why it feels off when the fix is “give us more of your sensitive data.” Appreciate you stopping by! :)
the funniest part about this debate is that deepfakes already beat face scans lol. by the time reddit ships biometric verification the bots will pass it better than humans. the real bot signal isnt identity its behavior, and reddit already has all the behavioral data they need, they just dont use it well
@umairnadeem This is such a sharp observation, and a very fresh perspective what wasn't shared by anyone else in the comments yet. I completely agree that the strongest “bot signal” is behavior, not just identity, and Reddit is sitting on a goldmine of behavioral data it could be using more intelligently.
Thanks a lot for dropping by and articulating this so clearly, it really pushes the conversation in a more practical direction. :)
On one hand, fewer bots and spam would be amazing, threads would actually have signal again and mods wouldn’t be fighting garbage all day. But forcing face scans kinda kills what made Reddit work in the first place.
Anything heavy like face scans feels very un-Reddit.
@npmitaart I second you! Fewer bots and less spam would be amazing, but not at the cost of killing what made Reddit special in the first place.
Your point about “lighter” approaches like older-account weighting, per-subreddit reputation, and optional verification badges feels very Reddit-native compared to hard face scans.
I appreciate you taking the time to share such a nuanced view here. :)
A better approach would be smarter bot detection. Once you introduce face verification, it fundamentally breaks what makes platforms like Reddit work (Anonymity). When people feel their real identity is tied to what they say, the nature of the conversations changes completely.
@hitesh55 You summed it up perfectly... smarter bot detection should be the first tool we reach for, not something as heavy as face verification.
I completely resonate with your point that once people feel their real identity is tied to every comment, the entire tone and honesty of conversations can shift.
Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your perspective. :)
I'd honestly pick anonymity. Reddit without that feels like a totally different place. Would people still post honestly if they had to verify with their face?
Bots are annoying, yess but face scans feels too extreme for a discussion app😅
Why not test lighter option first?
I get the idea but trust is the problem. Once biometric data is involved people will always worry. What would make users actually feel safe with this?
Reddit's value is that people can say what they really think without putting their real identity on it. Do you think better conversations are even possible without anonymity?
I'd want fewer bots, but not at the cost of privacy. That tradeoff feels too heavy. Do you think users would accept this just to clean up spam?
This feels like solving the right problem with the wrong tool. Would "prove you're human" work better than "show us your face"?