Step 1 — The account setting
On the web, open Reddit's Settings → Preferences and turn off the option to show mature (18+) content. Reddit stops showing posts and communities tagged NSFW in your feed and in search while you're logged in to that account. Some versions of the app hide this toggle; the web version always has it. Note that "blur" is not the same as "hide": you want the content excluded, not blurred.
Why it keeps coming back
- It's your setting. The same screen turns it back on, and at 2am you know where it is.
- Logged out, it's gone. Open reddit.com without logging in, or in a private window, and the account preference doesn't apply.
- A second account. Making one takes a minute.
- Direct links. A URL to an NSFW subreddit pasted into the browser bypasses the feed filter, with at most a confirmation click.
None of this is Reddit doing anything wrong: the toggle is a preference, not a restriction. Preferences you set are preferences you unset.
Step 2 — Block it at the device, not in the account
A restriction that holds has to live outside the account you control. There are two levels, and it's worth being honest about what each can and can't do.
Block adult content everywhere, keep Reddit
A DNS category filter refuses pornography domains for every app on the device, including links opened from Reddit and the sites that NSFW posts point to. It does not filter inside reddit.com: DNS works on domains, not on posts, and Reddit hosts its own images and video. So a category filter closes the doors that lead out of Reddit, and Reddit's own NSFW media stays on your account toggle. That's a real gain, and an incomplete one. The mechanism: DNS porn blockers explained.
Block Reddit itself
If Reddit is where your relapses start, the honest move is to block the domain. From your SELFCNTRL account you can add reddit.comas a blocked domain, or block the whole social category, and it applies to every app and browser on every locked device, immediately. Loosening it back waits twenty-four hours. If nights are the problem rather than Reddit itself, a night curfew cuts the internet entirely between, say, 11pm and 7am, Reddit included.
Step 3 — Make the block stick
A domain block you can remove in a minute is the account toggle again, one level down. On iPhone and iPad, SELFCNTRL's filter is carried by a supervised profile that can't be removed from the device and forbids adding a VPN; blocking more is instant, blocking less waits a day. How that works: supervised iPhone explained. On Mac and Windows the filter is tied to your account with the same delay and with curfews.
What about the Reddit app specifically?
The app follows the account setting and the device's DNS. If reddit.com is blocked at DNS level, the app stops loading too, since it talks to the same domains. There is no supported way to block "only NSFW inside the app" at the system level; anyone claiming to filter individual posts is intercepting your traffic, which is a privacy trade you should know you're making.
Side by side
| Account toggle | DNS category filter | Block reddit.com (locked) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hides NSFW in your feed | Yes, logged in | No | Reddit unavailable |
| Blocks the sites NSFW posts link to | No | Yes | Yes |
| Survives logging out / second account | No | Yes | Yes |
| Reddit still usable | Yes | Yes | No |
| Off in under a minute | Yes | Depends on the attachment | No — 24-hour delay |
Questions
Why does NSFW keep turning on in Reddit?
Because the mature-content option is a preference on your account, not a restriction on your device: you can flip it back, and it doesn't apply when you're logged out or on another account. Only a restriction outside the account holds.
Can I block NSFW subreddits but keep the rest of Reddit?
Inside Reddit, only with the account toggle, which you control. At the device level, DNS can block the sites NSFW posts link to, or block reddit.com entirely, but it cannot filter individual subreddits, because Reddit serves them all from the same domains.
Does blocking reddit.com also block the Reddit app?
Yes. The app uses the same domains, so a DNS block on reddit.com stops it loading. If you'd rather keep Reddit and lose the nights, a curfew cuts the whole internet on a schedule instead.
Will Reddit see that I'm blocking it?
No. A DNS block means your device never asks for the site; nothing is sent to Reddit at all. Nothing is stored about it on our side either.