Reddit is one of the most popular social media platforms, with over 50 million daily active users. When you sign up for a Reddit account, you are given a default username that is a random string of letters and numbers. While some users are happy to keep their auto-generated username, others may wish to edit or change it to something more personal.
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Why You May Want to Change Your Reddit Username
There are a few key reasons why you might want to change your Reddit username:
- The default username is random and meaningless: The default usernames assigned by Reddit (e.g. u8h30gjsd) have no meaning. Changing it to something more personal can help build your identity on the platform.
- You want to rebrand: If you’ve been active on Reddit for awhile under one username but want to shift your brand in a new direction, changing your username can help facilitate that.
- You made a mistake when choosing your username: We’ve all hastily chosen a username we later regretted. Thankfully, in some cases you can change your Reddit username to fix it.
- You want to separate personal and professional accounts: Some Reddit users like to have distinct accounts for personal use vs professional. Changing your username for each purpose can help keep these identities separate.
When You Can and Cannot Change Your Reddit Username
The ability to change your Reddit username depends on a few factors:
- New, non-verified accounts: If your account is less than 30 days old and you signed up with an email (not Google or Apple), you can change your username once.
- Verified accounts: If you verified your email address, you unfortunately cannot change your username at all. It is permanently set.
- Google/Apple sign-ins: You can change your username within 30 days of sign-up through these single sign-on methods.
So in summary – brand new Reddit accounts have a small window where you can change your username once. But for established accounts, you cannot alter your username in any way.
Step-by-Step Guide to Changing Your Reddit Username
If you qualify based on the criteria above, here is how to change your Reddit username:
On Desktop:
- Click on your username in the top navigation bar
- Select “Profile”
- If eligible, you will get a pop-up prompt to change your username
- Type in your desired new username and click “Change Username”
- Confirm the change is correct, then click “Save Username”
On Mobile:
- Tap your profile icon in the top right
- Choose “My Profile”
- Tap “Change Username” on the pop-up
- Type your new username and tap “Next”
- Verify the change is correct then tap “Save Username”
And that’s it! You will now have a brand new Reddit username. Keep in mind this is a one-time change, so choose your new username wisely!
What to Do If You Cannot Change Your Username
Since Reddit usernames are largely permanent after account creation and verification, what should you do if your existing username is lackluster? Here are a few options:
- Start fresh with a new account: You can easily create a brand new Reddit account with email sign-up and get a clean slate with a new username. Just know your post history will not carry over.
- Use your “display name”: Reddit has a display name separate from your account username which is changeable. Display names show in comment threads though not on your main profile.
- Add context with “flair”: Subreddits allow editable “flair” next to usernames to share extra context. For example, identifying yourself as an admin or expert can help provide more color to your static username.
While not as ideal as changing your core username, these options allow you to spice up a boring default username on Reddit without fully starting over your account.
Key Takeaways
- Reddit only allows changing your username within 30 days of account creation, with some exceptions
- Verified, established accounts have permanent, uneditable usernames
- New users signed up via email can change their username once if within 30 days
- Alternatives like display names and user flair can provide context to unchangeable usernames
Changing your Reddit username to something personalized or relevant to your brand is a great way to enhance your identity on the platform. Just make sure you do it within the short 30 day window after sign-up, or else your default username will be permanent. Follow this guide to change your Reddit username successfully.
