Reddit begins testing verified profiles with grey checkmarks for accounts

Reddit announced on December 10, 2025, a limited alpha test of verified profiles featuring grey checkmarks displayed next to usernames across the platform. The verification feature targets individuals and businesses seeking to confirm their identities on the discussion-focused social network, which hosts more than 100,000 communities and 110 million daily active users.The alpha test launches with a curated group of participants, most of whom have already self-identified on Reddit, along with businesses currently displaying official badges, according to Reddit's announcement. The grey checkmark appears across multiple surfaces including profiles, communities, feeds, post detail pages, and search results. Subscribe PPC Land newsletter ✉️ for similar stories like this one "This feature is designed to help redditors understand who they're engaging with in moments when verification matters, whether it's an expert or celebrity hosting an AMA, a journalist reporting news, or a brand sharing information," according to Reddit's official announcement.The verified profile system maintains Reddit's foundational principle of pseudonymity through its voluntary, opt-in structure. The verification confirms only that Reddit has validated the identity behind an account without granting special privileges or additional platform access. Verified accounts remain subject to all existing community rules and platform policies, with moderators retaining full discretion over posts and comments within their communities.Individuals selected for the alpha test receive access to Reddit Pro in addition to the grey verification checkmark. Reddit Pro launched in March 2024 as a free toolset providing AI-powered insights, keyword tracking capabilities, and performance analytics for organic business growth. The platform expanded Reddit Pro with mobile applications in August 2025, enabling real-time community monitoring and enhanced comment performance analytics through iOS devices.Businesses participating in verification will see their existing official watermark replaced with the new grey verified checkmark. The business verification includes profile flairs designed to highlight specific content types such as AMAs or announcements posted to their profiles. This functionality aims to help community members locate trusted information from verified organizations more efficiently.The alpha test eligibility criteria requires participants to opt into verification, maintain accounts in good standing without Reddit Rules violations, and demonstrate active contribution on the platform. Reddit emphasized that users cannot request verification during this initial testing phase, with the company determining participant selection based on public figure status and trusted partner relationships for individuals, while business eligibility remains restricted to existing official badge holders.For businesses, the verified profile program builds upon Reddit's existing Partner Badging Program for advertising agencies and API partners. The badging infrastructure recognizes expertise in Reddit advertising through certified digital badges and amplification via Reddit for Business channels. Agency partners demonstrating excellence in performance management receive official Reddit Partner badges, while Gold-level partners gain featured placement in the public Partner Directory alongside access to tailored account support and exclusive insights for campaign optimization.The verification announcement arrives as Reddit positions itself within the broader competitive landscape of social platform identity verification systems. YouTube maintains a 100,000 subscriber threshold for verification badges, distinguishing official channels of creators, artists, companies, or public figures from similar names on the platform. The YouTube verification badge serves purely as an authenticity marker without additional platform privileges, requiring channels to represent real creators or brands with complete profiles including channel banners, descriptions, and profile pictures.Meta introduced communities for Threads in October 2025, testing the feature across more than 100 topics with plans to introduce special badges for active contributors. The Threads communities function as public spaces organized around specific topics, with membership displaying publicly on profiles and feed menus. Platform distinctions between verification approaches reflect different strategic priorities around identity confirmation, community organization, and user engagement patterns.Reddit previously introduced official labels for organizational profiles in 2024, beginning with a small test group that included Bloomberg and the Washington Post. The official label served as a visual indicator separating authenticated organizational accounts from the existing Promoted label designating paid advertising on the platform. The move aimed to improve platform authenticity, reduce impersonation, and encourage direct interaction between communities and legitimate organizations without granting additional platform privileges.The verified profile testing occurs alongside Reddit's broader identity and profile management developments throughout 2025. Profile privacy features introduced earlier enabled users to hide posting history and activity from public view, though community moderators reported these privacy controls created challenges for content moderation and spam tracking. Moderators observed bot farms utilizing privacy features to conceal evidence of coordinated inauthentic behavior, prompting discussions about extending minimum account age requirements before profiles could be hidden.The verification system addresses moderation burdens where community moderators often verify user identities manually, particularly for AMA sessions with public figures, journalists, or subject matter experts. The centralized verification process aims to establish consistency for individuals and businesses choosing to clearly identify themselves on Reddit while reducing redundant verification efforts across thousands of independent communities.Reddit's approach to verification explicitly rejects status-based frameworks where checkmarks signal prestige or endorsement. The announcement states verification is "explicitly not about status" and instead focuses on adding clarity for platform participants. This positioning distinguishes Reddit's implementation from verification systems on other platforms where badge acquisition has historically functioned as aspirational achievement or influence metric. Buy ads on PPC Land. PPC Land has standard and native ad formats via major DSPs and ad platforms like Google Ads. Via an auction CPM, you can reach industry professionals. Tapping or clicking the verification checkmark on profiles opens an information sheet explaining verified profile meaning and limitations. This transparency mechanism provides context for users encountering verified accounts, particularly community members unfamiliar with platform verification systems or those evaluating source credibility for shared information.The technical infrastructure supporting verified profiles includes integration with Reddit's existing profile architecture and authentication systems. During the alpha test phase, Reddit completes the verification process manually. The company indicated that future expansion may utilize third-party verification processes similar to other Reddit earn programs, though specific vendor partnerships or technical specifications remain unannounced.Privacy preservation represents a stated priority throughout verification implementation. Profile verification confirms only that Reddit has validated the identity behind an account without providing Reddit, moderators, or other users additional access to private data. This approach attempts to balance identity confirmation benefits against platform culture emphasizing pseudonymous participation and privacy protection.Verified profile participants maintain control over their participation through the opt-in structure. Accounts selected for alpha testing must actively choose verification rather than receiving automatic enrollment. This voluntary framework aligns with Reddit's broader philosophy regarding optional platform features and user agency over profile presentation.The verification checkmark visual design uses grey coloring rather than blue or gold variants common on competing platforms. This color choice may reflect intentional distancing from status-oriented verification systems while maintaining visual distinction from other profile indicators or community badges. The grey checkmark maintains consistency across light and dark interface modes prevalent in Reddit's design systems.Reddit expanded its business profile capabilities throughout 2025 with crosspost features enabling companies to share community conversations directly to business profiles. The crossposting functionality launched in July 2025 through Reddit Pro Trends tab, allowing businesses to highlight authentic discussions about products, services, or brands across the platform's diverse community ecosystem. These profile enhancement capabilities complement verification by providing verified businesses additional tools for showcasing community engagement and brand conversations.Business verification participants gain access to profile flairs for content highlighting, addressing user behavior patterns where many clicks on Reddit content lead to user profiles as community members seek to understand engagement context. The profile flair system enables businesses to curate content visible to profile visitors, potentially improving visitor experience and information discovery for users researching verified organizations.The alpha test timeline remains unspecified regarding duration or expansion criteria. Reddit stated it will share more information if and when the company decides to expand beyond the initial test group. This conditional language suggests verification expansion depends on alpha test outcomes, community feedback, and platform impact assessments rather than predetermined rollout schedules.Platform partnerships have increasingly emphasized verified profile integration, with G2 and Reddit announcing collaboration in October 2025 to streamline B2B software brand presence. The partnership enables G2 customers to activate personalized Reddit Pro accounts using existing G2 profile data, eliminating technical barriers for brand participation in community discussions. The collaboration responds to documented changes in software purchasing behavior where AI search has altered research methods for B2B buyers.Verification eligibility criteria may evolve as the program grows, though core principles around voluntary participation, privacy preservation, and non-status orientation will remain consistent, according to Reddit's announcement. The company emphasizes that verification adds clarity and supports communities rather than creating hierarchical user structures or privileged access tiers.The announcement positions verified profiles within Reddit's broader strategy of improving platform utility for public figures, businesses, journalists, and subject matter experts participating in community discussions. These user categories frequently face identity verification challenges when sharing expertise, breaking news, or representing organizational positions within communities organized around specific interests or topics.Profile verification testing coincides with Reddit's continued advertising platform expansion throughout 2025. The company introduced optimization scoring and personalized recommendations for ads in July 2025, providing advertisers with data-driven campaign optimization suggestions paired with numerical rating systems measuring account setup effectiveness against platform best practices. The verification and advertising infrastructure developments reflect parallel investments in platform credibility and commercial growth.Users interested in verified profiles can join a waitlist through Reddit's help center documentation, though signup does not guarantee participation. Invitations remain limited during testing, with Reddit managing participant selection based on undisclosed criteria beyond stated eligibility requirements for account standing and platform contribution.The feature launch arrives as social platforms navigate tensions between pseudonymity protections and identity verification demands. Reddit's voluntary approach attempts to preserve pseudonymous participation options while accommodating users and organizations seeking clear identity confirmation. This balance reflects platform recognition that different user segments have divergent identity transparency preferences based on participation context, professional requirements, or personal safety considerations.Community moderators will retain visibility into verified account activity within their communities according to existing moderation frameworks. Verification does not alter moderator authority over content decisions, user bans, or community rule enforcement. This maintained moderator autonomy addresses potential concerns about verified accounts receiving preferential treatment or reduced moderation oversight within communities.The grey checkmark implementation provides visual consistency across Reddit's interface while enabling users to quickly distinguish verified accounts during content consumption, community participation, or search activities. The checkmark placement next to usernames mirrors industry-standard verification badge positioning, though the grey coloring and explicit non-status messaging differentiate Reddit's approach from platforms where verification carries social capital implications.Search result integration for verified profile checkmarks may influence content discovery patterns as users potentially prioritize verified sources when evaluating search results for authoritative information, product details, or news coverage. The impact on search behavior and content visibility patterns will likely emerge through alpha testing data rather than predetermined design goals.Reddit's verification announcement document includes links to related profile and engagement features launched throughout 2024 and 2025, positioning verified profiles as one component of broader platform development around user identity, content discovery, and community interaction tools. This contextual framing suggests verification serves platform ecosystem goals rather than standalone identity confirmation objectives.The alpha test structure enables Reddit to gather implementation feedback, identify technical issues, and assess community reactions before broader deployment. Limited initial participant numbers reduce potential disruption if verification creates unexpected moderation challenges, user confusion, or community resistance to identity confirmation systems within traditionally pseudonymous platform culture.Verified profile participants must actively contribute on Reddit according to eligibility criteria, though specific contribution thresholds or activity metrics remain undefined in public documentation. This activity requirement aims to ensure verification benefits users genuinely engaging with platform communities rather than dormant accounts or entities seeking badge acquisition without meaningful participation.The announcement emphasizes that verification is designed to add clarity for redditors and ease the burden on moderators who often verify users manually. This dual benefit framework positions verification as serving both general platform users evaluating content sources and volunteer moderators managing community authenticity challenges. The success of this dual-purpose implementation will depend on whether verification actually reduces moderator workload while improving user experience outcomes. Subscribe PPC Land newsletter ✉️ for similar stories like this one Timeline Subscribe PPC Land newsletter ✉️ for similar stories like this one SummaryWho: Reddit announced verified profiles for a curated group of public figures, experts, journalists, and businesses who have already self-identified on the platform or hold existing official badges. The feature targets users seeking to confirm their identities when verification matters for community engagement.What: A verification system featuring grey checkmarks displayed next to usernames across profiles, communities, feeds, post detail pages, and search results. Individuals receive access to Reddit Pro tools, while businesses receive profile flairs to highlight AMAs and announcements. The verification is voluntary, opt-in, and explicitly not about status, designed only to confirm identity without granting additional platform privileges.When: Reddit announced the limited alpha test on December 10, 2025. The company will share more information if and when it decides to expand beyond the initial curated participant group. Users cannot request verification during this alpha testing phase.Where: The verification checkmarks appear across Reddit's platform interface including individual profiles, community pages, feed displays, post detail pages, and search results. A waitlist exists through Reddit's help center for users interested in future participation, though signup does not guarantee selection.Why: Reddit introduced verified profiles to help users understand who they're engaging with in moments when verification matters, reduce the burden on moderators who often verify users manually, and establish a consistent identity confirmation method for individuals and businesses choosing to clearly identify themselves on the platform while maintaining Reddit's core principle of pseudonymity.

View Original Article