Surely this is wrong? If the content I posted is not deleted and it still shows as being made from my account, it traces back to me, so it should be deleted if I requested so. In addition to this, would you apply the same logic to private messages? With or without your name or username, if you send a message to someone and cancel or delete it, no one should be able to recover it unless you consent to it.

Let’s go more in depth now. According to the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018 (GDPR) and EU’s Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation):

Examples of Personal Data (excluding the most obvious ones): (here and here)

• race
• ethnic background
• political opinions
• religious beliefs
• trade union membership
• genetics
• biometrics (where used for identification)
• health
• sex life or orientation

Processing Meaning: (here)

Processing covers a wide range of operations performed on personal data, including by manual or automated means. It includes the collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction of personal data.

Examples of processing include:

posting/putting a photo of a person on a website;

With this in mind, you can no longer only be identified by your username (in case it says “Deleted”), you could potentially be identified by your post’s content (and post history). If consent is withdrawn and you wish that the company stops processing your data, the company must comply (here).

With the heat Reddit is taking, and probably the wave of complaints that’s about to happen, I’m eager to see what’s going to be the regulator’s response.



Edit: Apparently, according to Reddit’s User Agreement, the “content” we create on Reddit is “Your Content”, not Reddit’s content, so I’m not sure where you saw that:

all content submitted to Reddit belongs to Reddit, Conde Nast, Advance Media, and all subsidiaries.

because, in reality:

The Services may contain information, text, links, graphics, photos, videos, audio, streams, or other materials (“Content”), including Content created with or submitted to the Services by you or through your Account (“Your Content”). We take no responsibility for and we do not expressly or implicitly endorse, support, or guarantee the completeness, truthfulness, accuracy, or reliability of any of Your Content.

By submitting Your Content to the Services, you represent and warrant that you have all rights, power, and authority necessary to grant the rights to Your Content contained within these Terms. Because you alone are responsible for Your Content, you may expose yourself to liability if you post or share Content without all necessary rights.

You retain any ownership rights you have in Your Content, but you grant Reddit the following license to use that Content:

When Your Content is created with or submitted to the Services, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive, transferable, and sublicensable license to use, copy, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works of, distribute, store, perform, and display Your Content and any name, username, voice, or likeness provided in connection with Your Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed anywhere in the world. This license includes the right for us to make Your Content available for syndication, broadcast, distribution, or publication by other companies, organizations, or individuals who partner with Reddit. You also agree that we may remove metadata associated with Your Content, and you irrevocably waive any claims and assertions of moral rights or attribution with respect to Your Content.

From Reddit’s Privacy Policy:

Your Rights and Choices:

Deleting Your Account
You may delete your account information at any time from the user preferences page. You can also submit a request to delete the personal information Reddit maintains about you by following the process described below this table. When you delete your account, your profile is no longer visible to other users and disassociated from content you posted under that account. Please note, however, that the posts, comments, and messages you submitted prior to deleting your account will still be visible to others unless you first delete the specific content. After you submit a request to delete your account, it may take up to 90 days for our purge script to complete deletion. We may also retain certain information about you as required by law or for legitimate business purposes.

Please remember that you don’t have to live in the EU to be safeguarded by GDPR, you can also be a EU/EEA citizen.
Also, check your country’s law since it’s very likely you’re protected by something similar.