Reddit glossary
Removed vs deleted on Reddit: what is the difference?
On Reddit, deleted means the author removed their own post or comment. Removed means someone else did: a moderator, AutoModerator or Reddit itself. Both leave a placeholder, but only a removal tells you the content broke a rule or a filter.
Updated KissMyPost Research
16.2%
of 2025 posts were removed by a moderator, AutoModerator or Reddit
Authors deleted 1.8% of posts. Among comments, 3.5% show [removed] and 0.26% show [deleted].
Source: KissMyPost, all Reddit posts and comments created in 2025: 494.3 million posts and 3.86 billion comments.
A deleted post shows [deleted] in place of its text and often a [deleted] author. A removed post shows [removed] and keeps the author's name. In your own post, a removal is visible only to you and the moderators.
Moderators remove for rule breaks, AutoModerator for matching a pattern, and Reddit for spam and safety. A removal can be reversed by a moderator, a deletion cannot.
Removal is common: roughly one post in six was taken down by someone other than its author in 2025.
Common questions
How can I tell if my post was removed or deleted?
Open it while logged out. [removed] means someone else took it down. [deleted] means the author did.
Can a removed post come back?
Yes, a moderator can approve it again. A deleted post cannot be restored.
How many Reddit posts get removed?
In 2025, 16.2% of posts were removed by moderators, AutoModerator or Reddit, and another 1.8% were deleted by their authors.
See it for your own subreddit
Check how a subreddit handles removals, scores and posting times, or search how often a phrase appeared on Reddit since 2005.