What information is required to sign up, and what is optional?

Reddit requires very little information to create an account, which reflects the platform's longstanding commitment to pseudonymous participation. The only truly required pieces of information are a unique username and a password. You can create a fully functional Reddit account with nothing more than these two things, without providing any personally identifying information at all. An email address is optional at the point of signup, but it becomes practically important for two reasons: it is the only mechanism by which Reddit can help you recover your password if you forget it, and it is required before you can enable two-factor authentication. Reddit asks you to verify any email address you provide by sending a confirmation link. A phone number is not required for account creation and Reddit does not ask for one as part of the standard signup flow, though phone verification may be requested in certain contexts, such as when Reddit suspects automated account creation. Real name, date of birth, location, and profile picture are all optional. Reddit may ask for your interests during onboarding to suggest subreddits, but providing this information is not required and the onboarding step can be skipped. When signing up via Google or Apple, Reddit receives the email address associated with that account and uses it as the account's email without requiring separate verification. Users who value privacy should be aware that even without providing an email address, Reddit logs IP addresses associated with account creation and all subsequent activity, which represents identifying information that can be associated with your account through network-level analysis or legal processes. The minimal signup requirements make Reddit far easier to join pseudonymously than platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, which require real names and often phone verification.