Reddit works similarly to other social media platforms: you see an ever-growing content stream on your home page as you join more subreddits. However, this can quickly flood your feed with content and cause you to miss important threads. Luckily, you can create a Reddit custom feed to control the content on your home page.
Also helpful: eliminate past items you’ve posted on Reddit with these tools that remove posts and comments.
Create a Custom Feed From Multiple Subreddits
When you open Reddit, your default view is a seemingly endless supply of subreddits from the various communities you joined. However, you can create a custom Reddit feed and group together several communities about the same topic, then switch between each of your Reddit custom feeds to view the content you want at any given time.
Create a Reddit Custom Feed on Desktop
Follow these steps to combine multiple subreddits into a custom Reddit feed from a desktop browser:
- Log in to Reddit, and click on “Home” at the top.
- Click on a community that you want to include in a custom feed.
- After the community’s page loads, click on the three dots next to “About Community.”
- Click on “Add to Custom Feed.”
- Click on “Create a custom feed.”
- Give your custom feed a name, and click on “create.”
- The community is automatically selected for your custom feed. Click on “Update” to complete the setup.
- The same actions are used to add more subreddits to your custom feed. However, when you click “Add to Custom Feed,” you’ll see a list. Tick the box of your chosen feed, and click on “Update.”
- To access your custom feed, click on the “Home” button to see a list under “Custom Feeds.” Click on any feed.
Tip: go incognito on Reddit to minimize what people see associated with your profile.
Create a Reddit Feed on the Mobile App
The steps to create custom feeds via the Reddit mobile app are similar to the desktop directions, but there are differences in some menu options. Follow these directions to make a Reddit custom feed via your mobile.
- Open the Reddit app, and tap the three lines in the top-left corner.
- Tap on a community for your custom feed.
- Tap the three dots in the top-right corner of the community, then tap “Add to custom feed.”
- Tap on “Create Custom Feed.”
- Give your feed a name, then tap “Create.”
To add more communities to your Reddit custom feed, follow steps 1 through 3 above. You can also create multiple custom feeds or crosspost on Reddit to reach more people.
Remove Subreddits From a Reddit Feed
It’s simple to add a subreddit to a custom feed, and is just as easy to remove them.
On a Desktop Browser
1. Click on the “Home” button to access the list of custom feeds, then click the feed you want to customize.
2. Click on “Remove” next to the subreddits on the right side under “manage communities.”
On the Mobile App
The steps for removing one (or multiple) subreddits from a custom feed are, again, similar to how it’s done on a desktop.
- Tap the three lines in the top-left corner, then tap “Custom Feeds.”
- Tap on the feed you want to edit.
- Tap on “Communities” underneath the feed name and details.
- Tap on the small “Edit” button to remove a community.
- Tap on the trashcan next to the community you want to remove, then tap “Done.”
Good to know: view and delete your Reddit history if you don’t want others to see what you’ve been up to.
Sort Your Reddit Home Feed
Your Reddit homepage feed is automatically sorted based on the “best” content. However, several sorting settings produce different results. In addition to seeing the “best” content, you can also ask your Reddit home feed to sort based on “hot,” new,” “top,” and “rising.” Follow the steps below to change the selected Reddit home feed sort option.
Note: you can only change your default Reddit home feed sort via the desktop version, not the mobile app.
- Click on your profile photo, and select “User Settings.”
- Choose “Feed Settings.”
- Scroll down to “Community Content Sort,” and select the option you want as your default.
Regardless of what your default home feed sort is set to, you can change the view at any time by selecting the option you want to view from the top of your homepage.
Also helpful: use a third-party Reddit client on your smartphone to make settings and management easier.
Switching the Home Page View
Reddit posts usually have photos associated with them, which can make the browsing experience laborious: scrolling through tons of images you don’t care about. However, there is a setting that lets you customize how you view your feed. By default, Reddit is set to “Card” view, where you see the full image and complete headline, but you can change this to a “Classic” or “Compact” view.
- Click the “view” button in the ribbon above your feed on your home page.
- Click on your choice of view to make the change.
The “Classic” view reduces images to a thumbnail size, and “Compact” doesn’t display any images.
Only the “Cards” and “Classic” views are available on mobile, and it’s not as easy to switch to, but you can do it following the steps below.
- Tap on your profile photo, then “Settings” at the bottom.
- Scroll down a bit, and under the “View Options,” tap on “Default View” to switch between the two options.
Browsing Reddit on Chrome? Check out these Reddit Chrome extensions.
Customize Your Feed Settings
Once you set up your Reddit custom feed, there are several other ways to ensure you only see the content you want. All of these customizations are done through your feed settings within the Reddit desktop web-based version. Follow the steps below to further customize your Reddit home feed.
- Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner, then click “User Settings.”
- Click on “Feed Settings” in the top row.
- You can make changes to your feed, such as enabling or disabling adult content (allowing Reddit to introduce recommended posts in your home feed) and default sorting for your home feed and communities.
For the mobile app, there are fewer settings available, and notable options, such as Adult Content, are omitted. However, when you tap “your profile photo -> Settings -> your username,” you have a few options: toggle home feed recommendations and personalized ads.
Want to enrich your feed? Check out some of the best subreddits to follow.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between “sort by top” and “sort by best” on Reddit?
Reddit’s machine learning aims to show you content it thinks you’ll find interesting under “best.” This can include subreddits from communities you haven’t joined. “Sort by top” is a view that displays subreddits from your communities with high engagement.
How do I delete a custom feed on Reddit?
From the main page, navigate to the custom feed you want to delete. Click on the three dots in the top panel next to “Share.” Click on “Delete Custom Feed” in the drop-down.
Can you add a community to a custom feed if you don’t join it?
Yes. You can add any community to your custom feed, as long as the community is public.
How do I delete search suggestions on Reddit?
When you click on the search bar in Reddit, you’ll see a history of what you were looking for previously. Sometimes, it also includes suggestions on searches you didn’t perform on Reddit. The suggestions are pulled through from your browser, but there are easy ways to get rid of both.
Image credit: Pexels. All screenshots by Charlie Fripp.
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