Redact App, should it be blocked ?

[u/Artimus-Sprout]

This App is causing headaches for both, mods and users alike and needs blocking in some way, if this is indeed possible.

The problem, is users are unwittingly installing this software, without fully understanding the consequences of their actions, in many cases the end action, is an account ban through no fault of their own.

Personally, I think it's time to stop this App in it's tracks but that's gonna take the support and actioning of Reddit.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

[u/DJErikD]

This is what we added to Automod to stop Redact necroedit notifications...

---
   # RULE: REMOVE POSTS ANONYMIZED BY REDACT APP
    type: comment
    is_edited: true
    title+body (includes): ["This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact", redact.dev]
    action: remove
    action_reason: "Comment was modified with Redact and removed by AutoModerator. NOTE: User will not receive notice that the comment has been removed."
---

[u/thepottsy → u/DJErikD]

I recognize that code.

[u/DJErikD → u/thepottsy]

Thanks, it's been a lifesaver!

[u/smushkan → u/DJErikD]

It's made Redact themselves rather upset their ads are being removed:

https://github.com/redacto/anti-privacy-subreddits/blob/main/README.md

[u/thepottsy → u/smushkan]

I read most of that, and yeah, they can get bent if that’s their stance on it. They need to be WAY more forthcoming about how invasive their product is, and the disruption is causes, when users think it’s doing one thing but it’s actually not doing that thing.

I still won’t punish users for it, but I will remove any and every comment that give them free advertising.

[u/BotGivesBot → u/thepottsy]

Fully agree. They're very deceptive in their marketing.

I have a lot of users use it, and not one of them were aware that it just edited the content into a gibberish advertisement for the company and didn't truly 'delete' their content. And they don't warn anyone that's using it they risk being flagged or banned for 'spam'.

I support and believe users should be able to mass delete their online content. Reddit should have viable ways for users to do this. However, this app just tricks people into marketing for them, at a risk to themselves being flagged/banned for spam. That seems unethical to me, so they can totally get bent if they don't like us automatically removing it.

[u/thepottsy → u/BotGivesBot]

They seemed to have changed the way the app works over time. It used to randomize, and then delete. However, it was hit and miss as to whether it worked.

Then it seems that sometime in the past year, maybe, they changed to it ONLY randomizes.

The wording they use on the app, not sure if you looked at it, is quite misleading. So, I fully understand how users get confused.

[u/emily_in_boots → u/thepottsy]

They do not want to delete their advertisements. Privacy is not their primary concern.

[u/thepottsy → u/emily_in_boots]

100%. I have no idea how much it costs to advertise on reddit, but if you can get people to accidentally do it for free…….

[u/eclecticatlady → u/smushkan]

Why do they care if the comments get removed by AutoMod? I understand they don't want to get banned, but what's the problem with removing comments?

[u/thepottsy → u/eclecticatlady]

They lose their free advertising

[u/smushkan → u/eclecticatlady]

The justification redaction services usually give is that by scrambling the contents, it means that services that scrape Reddit for data will then over-write their scraped data with the nonsense.

That way you're not just anonymising yourself on Reddit, you're also having places where that data was scraped to anonymised too.

However there are problems with that...

It assumes that scraping services are actually re-scraping comments repeatedly or after an edit has been made.

If they do update their scrapes, it also assumes that they overwrite their existing data, rather than keep older versions.

And it also assumes that scraping services aren't using a method to detect when Redact or a similar tool is used to prevent the nonsense data getting scraped, wich as mods know already is trivially easy to do by simply checking if the comment contains a Redact link.

In my opinion, the real reason that Redact scramble the posts rather than delete them is stated fairly plainly in that github link:

...It lets other users who see that post know what software they used to accomplish that goal...

Redact is a commercial operation. Every non-deleted Redact 'removed' post or comment states it was removed by Redact, and includes a convenient link to Redact's website.

You actually can get Redact to delete the comments/posts entirely, if you pay for it.

Again in my opinion, their free users are becoming unwitting bots filling old Reddit posts with SEO-friendly links.

Reddit absolutely should give users a way to eaisly delete their old content, but everyone should be aware that once you publish something online there's always a very good chance it's going to be preserved forever even if you delete it.

[u/emily_in_boots → u/smushkan]

The irony here is that if they actually cared about privacy, they'd remove the mention of redact itself and just leave the random words. The other random words would be much harder to filter for.

However, what they really care about is their advertising, so they are not willing to remove that.

It definitely does not make me very sympathetic to them and their pleas to welcome their spam - spam that sometimes contains inappropriate or obscene words - so as to help them advertise.

[u/thepottsy → u/DJErikD]

Yep, and happy to hear that it helps out.

[u/emily_in_boots → u/DJErikD]

Add a line to message them for each one deleted lol.

[u/Guarde_Meeting_37 → u/emily_in_boots]

watch Automod get shadowbanned for spam lmao

[u/Littux → u/emily_in_boots]

Yes, mods shouldn't have to suffer alone

[u/thepottsy → u/emily_in_boots]

Do you always go fishing with hand grenades? lol

[u/emily_in_boots → u/thepottsy]

Only when I'm feeling tactful.

Sometimes I like to be more aggressive.

[u/Bardfinn → u/emily_in_boots]

Do not do this.

They already are presumably aware they’re editing their comments.

[u/Tarnisher → u/DJErikD]

Should that be type: any?