What is doxxing, and how does Reddit's policy treat it?

Doxxing is the act of researching and publicly revealing someone's private identifying information — typically including real name, home address, phone number, workplace, or other details — without that person's consent, usually with the intent to expose, harass, or intimidate them. The term comes from "docs" (documents), referring to the practice of compiling dossiers of private information to weaponize against a target. On Reddit, doxxing can take the form of a direct post sharing someone's personal details, a comment that identifies a user by their real name, or a link to an external page where someone's information has been aggregated. Reddit's Rule 3 explicitly prohibits this behavior under the prohibition on "instigating harassment, for example by revealing someone's personal or confidential information." The rule covers all forms of personal information disclosure intended to harass or intimidate, whether the information was obtained through public research, data breaches, social engineering, or cross-referencing social media profiles. Doxxing is treated as a serious violation because the consequences for the target can be immediate and severe, extending beyond the platform into physical safety concerns. The enforcement consequence for doxxing is severe. Reddit's Reddiquette page states that "users posting personal info are subject to an immediate account deletion" — one of the few behaviors described in Reddiquette itself as grounds for automatic account termination. When doxxing content involves information that could enable real-world harm, Reddit's safety team treats it as a priority report and acts to remove the content and suspend the responsible account as quickly as possible. It is worth noting that doxxing applies regardless of whether the information being shared is technically available elsewhere online. The act that violates policy is the combination and publication of identifying information in a Reddit context designed to direct attention and harassment toward a specific individual.