Import Your Reddit Data Package
Ask Reddit's API for your history and it hands back the recent years, then quietly omits older comments. Redact's fix is to go around the middleman: request your official data export from Reddit, feed the .zip to Redact, and it works from the complete record, so old comments don't survive on age alone. Import runs against your comments and is free; only permanently deleting them needs a [paid plan](/pricing).
Free to anonymize your posts & comments, any date.
Available on
Import Data Package
Drop your Reddit data export into the Comments tab
The API forgets. The export doesn't.
Third-party apps can only see what Reddit's API shows them, and the API doesn't surface everything, especially comments from the deep past. A normal scan can be flawless and still miss content that's sitting right there on your profile in plain sight.
The API hides your oldest comments
Reddit's API returns only a slice of your history, and the losses concentrate in older content. Those comments still exist and still show on your profile, they're just unreachable through the normal door a scan uses.
The export is Reddit's complete record
The data package is Reddit's own full accounting of your account, generated on request and delivered as a .zip. Redact reads that file directly, which turns the API's blind spots into a solved problem.
Deletion can only reach what it can see
You can't clear a comment a scan never surfaced. Importing the export puts the API-invisible comments into the lineup, so a cleanup can actually act on them instead of leaving them behind.
Reads the file the API can't fully mirror
Instead of paging through what the API is willing to return, Redact opens your official export on your device and works from the complete comment record inside it.
Third-party apps can only see what Reddit's API shows them, and that isn't everything. The data package is different: it's Reddit's own complete accounting of your account, delivered as a .zip. Redact reads that file directly, which turns the API's blind spots into a solved problem.
- Comments only. The import feeds the Comments tab, because that's where the API gaps bite hardest.
- The core filters. The imported record obeys the same date, subreddit, and keyword filters a live scan does. The karma ceiling and the keyword preserve list are the exceptions, since the export carries no per-comment score.
- Free to import. Importing your export and anonymizing the old comments it surfaces with the Edit action is free; only permanently deleting them sits on the paid plans. See pricing.
- Comments only
- Reads the official .zip
- Date, subreddit & keyword
- Free to import
Import Data Package
Drop your Reddit data export into the Comments tab
The imported record obeys the same date, subreddit, and keyword controls
An import doesn't drop you into a blunt delete-all. Once the export is loaded, Redact runs its date, subreddit, and keyword filters over it, so you can carve out an exact slice or clear the whole backlog. The karma ceiling and the keyword preserve list are the two that can't carry over, because the export records no per-comment score.
By date range
Clear comments before a date, after one, or inside a window. Handy for wiping the old years the API couldn't surface while keeping recent ones.
By subreddit
Only delete comments from the subreddits you name, or add a preserve list to keep specific communities untouched while the rest go.
By keyword
Match words or phrases in the comment body to target which imported comments go. The keyword preserve list is a live-scan-only feature and doesn't apply to an import.
Read the lineup, then pull the cord
The import folds the API-invisible comments into the same list every other filter feeds. You review it before anything is removed.
Preview Mode
See exactly what the import surfaced, filters applied, before a single comment is touched. Deletion is irreversible, so always preview first.
Deletion Mode
Run the whole batch at once. Redact sends the deletions to Reddit at its allowed pace, so a very large backlog can take a while.
Review & Delete
Step through the surfaced comments and approve them one by one when you'd rather keep a hand on each removal.
From data request to done
The only new part is a one-time export request to Reddit. Once the .zip arrives, everything happens inside Redact's desktop app.
- 1
Ask Reddit for your data
Go to reddit.com/settings/data-request and submit the request. Reddit assembles the export and sends a download link when it is ready, which can take some time.
- 2
Download Redact in the meantime
Download for your device →Install Redact on your device while Reddit prepares your file. The app is free to download, and so is importing your export to reach and anonymize old comments with the Edit action. Only permanently deleting them is a Premium feature.
- 3
Connect Reddit and feed it the .zip
Open Redact, choose Reddit, and link your account. Your credentials go straight to Reddit and never touch a Redact server. In the Comments tab, switch on Import Data Package and point the file picker at the export.
- 4
Filter like any other run
Dates, subreddits, and keywords narrow the imported record the same way they narrow a live scan, and the subreddit preserve list carries over too.
What doesn't carry over: the karma ceiling and the keyword preserve list, because Reddit's export includes no per-comment score and no way to preserve by keyword. Skip edited comments is out for the same kind of reason: the export doesn't mark which comments were edited.
- 5
Preview, then delete
The lineup now includes the comments the API couldn't see. Read it over, then run the deletion. Removal is permanent, so use Preview before you commit.
The export never leaves home
Your data package is the most complete file about your Reddit life that exists. Redact opens it locally, uses it locally, and uploads exactly none of it. The .zip stays your property on your own disk, only the deletion requests go out to Reddit, and you can disconnect the account at any time.
Download Redact Today
We are frequently adding support to other social network services. You can receive direct updates from us in Redact's Discord Channel.
Frequently asked questions
The API is a live feed that Reddit throttles and truncates, so third-party apps see only a slice of your history, with the gaps concentrated in older content. The data export is Reddit's own complete file, generated on request. Redact reads that export directly, which is why importing it surfaces the comments a live scan leaves behind.
From Reddit directly, at reddit.com/settings/data-request. Submit the request and Reddit prepares a .zip, then sends a download link when it's ready.
Comments only. The import feeds the Comments tab specifically, because that's where the API's blind spots are worst. Posts are handled through Redact's normal live scan rather than the data-package import.
Mostly. The imported record runs through the same date, subreddit, and keyword controls as a live scan, so you can target an exact slice or clear the whole backlog. The two that don't carry over are the karma ceiling and the keyword preserve list, because Reddit's export includes no per-comment score. Preview the result before you delete.
Reddit's export doesn't record which comments have been edited, so Redact has nothing to match against. It's a limit of the file format itself, and it's the one filter that can't carry over from a live run to an import.
No. Importing your data package is free, and so is anonymizing the old comments it surfaces with the Edit action, at any age. Permanently deleting those comments is the Premium part, the same as any Reddit deletion.
More Reddit features
Mass Delete All Your Reddit Posts
Every submission you've ever made, taken down at once or narrowed by subreddit, date, keyword, flair, post type, or karma.
Mass Delete All Your Reddit Comments
Dozens of comments for every post, scattered across Reddit, rounded up and cleared in one supervised run.
Mass Delete Reddit Posts and Comments by Subreddit
Point the cleanup at specific communities, or shield your favorites and clear everything else.
Mass Delete Reddit Content by Date Range
Start dates, end dates, or a window between two, applied per content type across posts, comments, and chats.
Mass Delete Reddit Posts and Comments by Keyword
Give it the words. Redact finds every post, comment, and chat containing them and removes each match, while your keep list protects the rest.
Filter Reddit Posts by Type, Flair, and NSFW Tag
Link posts, text posts, flair matches, or NSFW-tagged only. Delete your Reddit posts by label.
Mass Delete Reddit Posts and Comments by Karma
Set a karma ceiling and clear the downvoted and the ignored. Your higher-scoring posts and comments stay untouched.
Mass Delete Reddit Chats and Direct Messages
Bulk delete your Reddit chats and DMs. Every conversation or just the ones you pick, text and media alike. A premium feature.
Mass Edit Reddit Posts and Comments to Beat Archive Bots
Overwrite your Reddit posts and comments with placeholder text so archive scrapers capture nothing worth keeping. Free on every plan, at any age.
Delete Your Entire Reddit History
Posts, comments, and chats down to zero, with hidden content included and a preview before anything moves.