How to Look at Porn on iPhone Reddit Apps

Last year, Apple cracked down on NSFW content inside iOS Reddit apps. It asked developers to remove settings that allowed users to toggle on and off the ability to browse NSFW content.

It likely made the request because Apple's App Store Review Guidelines forbid apps "with user-generated content or services that end up being used primarily for pornographic content."

The topic came up in Motherboard's Slack, and several of us were surprised to learn that there are still ways to look at porn on Reddit apps. So I thought I'd write a guide for those of you suffering from Apple's prudishness.

This method is for the official Reddit app, but I tested it in popular third party apps like iAlien, Narwhal, BaconReader, and Antenna and found the process is essentially the same. Alternatively, you can also bypass this procedure entirely by using a web browser (where NSFW is always available), but using an app is often more convenient.

First, you'll need to be logged into your Reddit account. If you're not, searching for an NSFW topic like "porn," "sex," or "naked" won't render any results. If you're logged in and still not seeing the good stuff, that's because you haven't verified that you're over 18.

Here's what it looks like when you're logged out or haven't verified your age:

In order to confirm you're not a minor, you'll need to have a Reddit account. If you don't have one, you can you can sign up for Reddit here. Then you'll need to confirm you're not underage. To do that, head over to Reddit's preferences menu on desktop. You can find the menu by clicking the preferences button in the top-right hand corner next to your username, which appears when you're signed in.

Under the "Options tab," scroll down to "content options" and make sure the box is ticked that indicates you're "over eighteen years old and willing to view adult content." Now, you should be able to see NSFW posts within the mobile app.

OK, so now you can see porn, but there's still a catch: every post you view is being logged. If you tap your profile in the right-hand corner of the app, then tap "History," you'll see a list of each post you've checked out. When it comes to porn, leaving a digital trail is not necessarily preferred.

Luckily, the Reddit app makes it incredibly easy to toggle between accounts. So all you have to do is make a secondary dummy account for your porn-browsing pleasure. Tap the account icon in the right-hand corner, then tap the gear icon, then "Accounts." There, you should be able to add a new username. Now all you have to do is verify you're 18 again—on desktop—and you're ready to go.

Reddit also clears your history every time you log out, so alternatively you can log out whenever you're done viewing porn, but that's kind of a pain.

Happy scrolling!