Reminder: Delete/Edit your Reddit Posts today before the API Shutdown!
Reminder: Delete/Edit your Reddit Posts today before the API Shutdown!
As a PSA, remember that the API changes don't only impact third party apps & accessibility tools, but also your ability to bulk delete or modify your Reddit history. If you intend to delete or modify your previous Reddit posts, be sure to run a tool like Power Delete Suite today before the shut down.
Also remember that as Subreddits went from private to public, there may have been posts and comments you attempted to delete but couldn't until they went public again. So if you ran these tools, you might want to run it again to make sure you got everything.
NO API NEEDED
I used the "Spaz's Reddit Delete" browser script through Greasemonkey to sanitize my account. No API needed. Now, if any of my comments or posts are a result of a Google search (I posted a lot on tech support type subs), they will lead to a dead link or to a [deleted].
PS: Deleting your account leaves your posts and comments behind, which in turn provide value to Reddit.
Did that last night.
I'll miss reddit. Hello, lemmy!
Be sure to check and run it again in case it missed some stuff the first time. I've been deleting my comments for weeks now.
@iwidji I'll simply submit a GDPR delete request as soon as they fulfill the data export request. I do not trust the messages will be deleted otherwise.
Posts are never deleted. They’re soft deleted, meaning the post is flagged as “deleted” but all content remains. It’s just hidden.
This is why you’ll see people overriding the content of the post before doing a delete. While we can’t get rid of the post entirely, you can instead replace it with garbage, or something else, then delete it, rendering the data useless to Reddit.
Could go a step further, use a script to override your comments with sequential excerpts from the OT III.
Scorched earth, leave nothing for u/spez but ashes.
I was on Reddit for 12 years and cleared out the old posts and comments today. It was weird seeing my profile with zero comments or posts. Hello, Lemmy!
I was nearly up to 13 years I was hoping to take all my comments with me but I didn't get my download link yet. I'll just have to bulk erase it today. So much for all our past wasted and enjoyed time.
Edit: I used Power Delete Suite and got my comments saved. I don't know how to read them all yet but they aren't on Reddit anymore.
I made a backup with this free tool: https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite
I then edited/delete all of my posts
Oldest account is 15, the one with this handle turns 12... tomorrow. It dies tonight though.
What tool did you use? I tried Power Delete, but after a while all my posts come back.
Try using this fork https://www.github.com/pkolyvas/PowerDeleteSuite and editing them instead of deleting them. This fork waits 5 seconds between edits so it takes forever, but so far my posts have stayed edited.
I used power delete suite. (https://github.com/j0be/PowerDeleteSuite)
It might stop working when the API is shut down, so I made sure to run it last month. I'm not sure if it will still work.
As I’m working through my history I’m starting to see so many comments now saying something witty “INVALID API KEY” or simply “[comment deleted]”.
I filed a request for my Reddit data a week ago, so that I could save my account in its current state, before deleting it, and still haven't received the notification that it's ready. This process should be automated and not require human intervention, so I'm not sure why it's taking so long.
I requested data for 3 of my accounts on June 6 and only received everything June 29
Is there a way to actually SAVE, before deleting, my posts (and their replies) to my PC or somewhere else? They are mostly very useful technical questions
Going through and deleting 15+ years worth of comments now :(
Using TamperMonkey with an edit of Spaz's Reddit Delete found here: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/370530-better-reddit-delete
In combination with RES it will delete everything you've scrolled down to on your comments page.
@iwidji I know this 100% won’t happen, but I daydream that I open Apollo tomorrow and it magically asks me for my kbin or lemmy instance and login. It would so poetic (bust mostly selfishly I’m just really, really going to miss Apollo).
Trust me, I’m dreaming like you too. I am in severe denial thinking that Reddit not only killed Apollo, but drained Christian of so much joy that he doesn’t even want to move on.
Checkout the “wefwef” web client for Lemmy. It’s Apollo inspired. I’m using it right now and it almost feels like home.
Yeah, I don't trust those snakes. I'm not touching that API now.
I'm writing an autoit script to automate mouse and keyboard strokes so I can erase posts later a few weeks from now after the dust settles.
Yep, clearly they are monitoring api calls and will likely revert anything that mass deletes since the original announcement was made. I’m probably just going to make a selenium script to clear mine.
I did mine the Friday before the blackout started and so far none of my stuff has reverted. [I've even been paranoid and double-checked in incognito mode, so I know they're not deliberately shadow-banning my own content from me just to unhide it later. The paranoia is real ... ]
You could also use the API the web client uses.
That's not how APIs work. Third party apps, accessibility tools, and the official Reddit apps all use the same APIs. That's not going away.
What's going away is your ability to login so that the APIs will actually return you meaningful data. That is definitely going away for anyone who isn't Reddit and who doesn't have deep pockets.
Man editing and nuking my 14 year old account is pain. Reddit's changed a lot over the years. I miss the April Fools days gags, too. Reddit Mold was an amazing one. Team Periwinkle forever, but signing off from Reddit for good.
I already did that a few days ago using the tactic mentioned in the post. Now I'm waiting for my requested data to come in and then I'm deleting my Reddit account.
You cannot actually delete all your comments, because they don't all show up in your profile. I just found an old comment of mine from a saved comment chain that was still intact, even though the profile says it is empty. So yeah, good luck actually getting rid of all your data. And Reddit will likely just restore the comments again as well.
I'm glad I don't post much. I went through and edited every comment to just "Fuck u/spez" and then deleted my account.
I wanted to request my data before doing that, but ended up procrastinating on that until today. I'm assuming that I should only power delete after I've got all my data downloaded, and it seems unlikely that'll be ready before the API changes go into effect. C'est la vie.
PDS will download a CSV of your content.
Good to know!
I requested it like a week or two ago, still haven't got it
i wonder if spamming enough bad stuff would get my whole account wiped for me...
Considering my data dumps are still not here, and I requested them even before the blackouts, don't count on it.
I used power delete but my comments just came back a couple days later :(
Spez editing comments again?
edit them instead of deleting. and use this version
Yup, same.
edit them instead of deleting. and use this version
I'm not gonna say don't do it, because there are good reasons to do so but do keep in mind that this also hurts users who get linked to older posts from Google etc. and can no longer view what was posted. Fuck Reddit and Spez but keep in mind the downsides of deleting your content.
Well, then maybe Google should fix their search algorithm instead of relying so heavily one site. Or if Google's search results are so heavily invested in reddit, them maybe Google should financially invest in reddit. I'm tired of people blaming users who are deleting their data instead of corporations making shitty decisions.
Google also seems to rely on Amazon for product recommendations. Not that they have a brand name or any one function - more like 10 words listed in hopes of a key word.
Even when I search for the brand in quotations on Amazon I still get pages of sponsored BS. Why must everyone everywhere be so eager to purvey garbage. At least don't enjoy it
Most of the content will be re-created elsewhere over time. The alternative to deletion is allowing Reddit to serve ads and make money off of your answers that were intended to help people.
My 10-year account is fully deleted and gone, including some of my answers to obscure technical questions.
Thanks for the reminder, just nuked my 13 year old account and 8 year old alt
TamperMonkey browser add-on with RedditHistorySanitizer userscript (https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/23605-reddit-history-sanitizer/code). It's kinda slow, but much faster than doing it manually!
Alternative: https://greasyfork.org/en/scripts/370530-better-reddit-delete
Edit: I think those scripts should also work after this, since they don't make API calls.
Why would you delete your reddit posts? I understand that there's a protest and chang in API pricing is unfair and all that stuff, but think of all this people looking for a solution for ther problem
How are they responsible for the API pricing that you have to punish them? At least migrated all of the posts to Lemmy before deleting them, please
Irritating people looking for answers is part of the point of the deletion. They can and will find answers somewhere else, and if they keep finding blanks on Reddit, they will start ignoring Reddit search results. That is what will hurt Reddit, not just having less data to sell through the API. ... and don't worry, everything on Reddit is backed up somewhere else anyway, if you are desperate for a specific post or comment.
Not particularly practical. You can repost all the content but you can't migrate the comments that have the solutions.
Weighing the cons of losing the history vs the cons of Reddit continuing to exploit others content exclusively for their financial benefit... I support anyone who chooses the nuclear option.
I just look for one of the archival sites that has snapshots of entire pages. I used the Wayback Machine last time I needed something.
I don't want reddit to get any traffic from my troubleshooting or solution posts anymore. Sucks for people looking for solutions, but eventually people may learn to ignore reddit posts on google and the like.
Those people can thank reddit... for trying to monetize the content people gave it for free.
I said it on Reddit and I’ll say it here. No one is under any obligation to practice this perceived “selflessness” of leaving their comments for any reason. Nor to act as a replacement for google’s failures.
Who is to say that they even have an answer someone needs? They don’t want their shit fed into AI. It’s their shit to do with as they please.
It’s sad but it’s their prerogative. Reddit don’t care about them and they shouldn’t care about Reddit. Gotta find a dedicated message board with the answers. Like in the days of yore.
After reading the comments in that file power delete backed up for me. I did the world a favor.
I hate that this comment got downvoted. It’s a valid thing to worry about and has generated some interesting replies
There is no reason to leave your old comments. Every question that has been asked may be asked again - on Reddit it on another platform. Most questions have been asked and answered elsewhere.
Google provided answers before Reddit and will provide answers after. Reddit was getting paid, though eyeballs, for it answers which were indexed on google. People sure as shit didn’t find answers by searching on Reddit - that site couldn’t find a relevant post if you quoted a thread title verbatim.
Reddit has made a statement that our time and effort is worth nothing, and we should return the favor. If Spez wants his billions by displaying answers, he should grab his keyboard and start answering them himself. If he wants memes he should fire up photoshop. If he wants AITA content he needs only post pictures of himself in the sub day after day. I don’t work work for free, and you shouldn’t either.