How to promote your app on Reddit without getting banned

To promote your app on Reddit without getting banned, read each subreddit's rules before posting, spend time answering existing questions first, say plainly that you built the product, and post launches only in the subreddits or weekly threads that allow them. Reddit leaves self-promotion to each community, so the same post can be welcome in one subreddit and a ban in the next.

Below is Reddit's sitewide policy, the rules of the subreddits makers ask about most, a method you can follow sub by sub, and how to answer questions without it reading as an ad. Rules were read in September 2026 from each subreddit's rules page and sidebar, using archived copies where Reddit blocked direct access, so check the live sidebar before you post.

What are Reddit's self-promotion rules?

Reddit has no sitewide ban on promoting your own product. Its spam policy defines spam as "repeated or unsolicited actions (whether automated or manual) that negatively affect redditors, communities, and/or Reddit itself," and says moderators decide what counts as spam in their own communities. The practical rule is whatever the subreddit's sidebar says.

The sitewide rules that apply everywhere:

1. Don't spam. The spam policy lists "mass-posting repetitive content for the purpose of exposure or financial gain" as a violation.
2. Post mostly other things. The policy says that if your contributions "consist primarily of links to a business that you run, own, or otherwise benefit from," you should be thoughtful about how often you post, or use Reddit's self-serve ads instead.
3. Don't manipulate votes. Reddit prohibits vote cheating, including multiple accounts, voting services and coordinated voting.
4. Don't mislead people about who you are. The Reddit Rules allow pseudonyms but forbid misleading others or impersonating a person or entity.

The 10% rule people quote is a rule of thumb, not a sitewide rule. Reddiquette calls the 9:1 ratio "a widely used rule of thumb, i.e. only 1 out of every 10 of your submissions should be your own content," and Reddit's help for moderators says some communities apply a 10% rule to posts and comments. For commercial posts, Reddit also offers a Brand Affiliate tag to mark content that is incentivized or has commercial intent.

Which subreddits allow app promotion, and which ban it?