How to block NSFW on Reddit

To block NSFW on Reddit, turn off Show mature (18+) content in your Reddit settings. On Android the switch is in the app; on iPhone, Reddit moved it to its website, so you change it at reddit.com in a browser and the app follows.

That hides posts and communities marked NSFW wherever you use Reddit, and keeps Reddit search on safe results. It won’t catch everything, and it takes seconds to switch back, so below are the steps for each device, what the setting misses, and what to add.

Quick answer: On Android, open avatar → menu (☰) → Settings → View options and turn off Show mature content (I’m over 18). On iPhone or a computer, log in at reddit.com, open Settings → Preferences and turn off Show mature (18+) content. Then mute the communities that pull you in.

1. Turn off “Show mature (18+) content”

This is Reddit’s main NSFW switch. It belongs to your account: once it’s saved, Reddit applies it on reddit.com, old Reddit and the apps.

On Android (Reddit app)

1. Tap your avatar to open your profile, then tap the menu (three lines) at the top right and choose Settings.
2. Scroll down to View options.
3. Turn off Show mature content (I’m over 18).

On iPhone (Reddit app)

You won’t find this switch in the iPhone app. Reddit says that, to comply with Apple’s guidelines, NSFW settings are managed on its website.

1. Open Safari, go to reddit.com and log in to the same account you use in the app.
2. Open your avatar menu, choose Settings, then the Preferences tab.
3. Turn off Show mature (18+) content. Reddit’s iPhone help calls it Show NSFW Content (18+) under a Content heading, so look for either name.
4. Close and reopen the Reddit app so it picks up the change.

On a computer (reddit.com)

1. Log in at reddit.com, open your avatar menu and choose Settings.
2. On the Preferences tab, turn off Show mature (18+) content.

What it catches: posts and communities marked NSFW or 18+, in your feeds, in search and on community pages. With it off, Reddit search sticks to safe-for-work results.
What it misses: anything nobody marked. Posts in ordinary communities can be suggestive without an NSFW tag, and Reddit’s own help says its automatic detection makes mistakes. It does nothing about links that lead off Reddit, and Reddit’s help doesn’t say whether chat is covered, so don’t count on it there.
How easy to undo: very. It’s the same switch. In some countries Reddit asks for your age first, which adds a step, but an age check isn’t a lock.

Reddit also offers Blur mature (18+) images and media. Blurring keeps NSFW posts in your feed, one tap away. If you’re trying to quit, switching mature content off is the stronger choice.

Steps from Reddit Help: How do I view NSFW communities? (edited 5 Oct 2026), the Official Reddit App FAQ for Android and iOS (edited 8 Oct 2026) and Available search features, checked 14 October 2026. Paths are for the current Reddit apps and reddit.com; Reddit moves settings often.

2. Mute the communities that pull you in

Muting removes a community from your Home and Popular feeds, your recommendations and your notifications. You can mute up to 1,000.

On iPhone and Android

1. Open the community.
2. Tap the menu at the top right (⋯ on iPhone, ⋮ on Android).
3. Tap Mute r/[name] and confirm.

When a recommended post shows up, tap its menu and choose Show fewer posts like this; Reddit then offers to mute that community too. Your full list is in Settings → Account settings → Manage muted communities.

On a computer

1. Open the community, click the menu (⋯) and choose Mute r/[name].
2. To review the list, open Settings → Preferences → Muted communities.

What it catches: one community at a time, in your feeds and notifications.
What it misses: Reddit says a muted community can still be opened directly, and new communities aren’t muted until you mute them.
How easy to undo: easy, from the same list.

Steps from Reddit Help: What is community muting? (edited 5 Oct 2026), checked 14 October 2026.

3. Turn off recommendations and autoplay

Reddit fills your Home feed with posts from communities you don’t follow. Turning that off keeps the feed to communities you chose, so less arrives unasked.

1. Tap your avatar → menu (three lines) → Settings, then your account settings (u/yourname).
2. Under Privacy, turn off Show recommendations in home feed (iPhone) or Enable home feed recommendations (Android).
3. Back in Settings, open Accessibility → Media and animations and set Autoplay video previews so videos don’t play by themselves.

Steps from the Official Reddit App FAQ for iOS and Android, checked 14 October 2026.

What Reddit’s settings can’t do

Every setting above lives inside Reddit, on the same screens you open when an urge hits. Reddit’s help describes no PIN, no waiting period and no way to tell anyone when they change. They keep NSFW out of the way on an ordinary day. On a bad night, they’re one switch away.

If Reddit is your main way in, the strongest free step is distance: delete the app for 30 days and notice what changes. On Android, a family DNS filter can block Reddit entirely; our Private DNS guide lists which one does. That only makes sense if you can live without Reddit for a while.

Where a phone-wide blocker helps, and where it doesn’t

We make QUIT, so weigh this section with that in mind. QUIT doesn’t filter posts inside Reddit, and it doesn’t block Reddit. That job belongs to the settings above. What it covers is everything around the app:

• Links that leave Reddit. On Android, QUIT blocks known adult sites in every browser and app, so a link out of Reddit to one doesn’t load. On iPhone, it turns on Apple’s own adult-website filter.
• A delay a weak moment can’t skip. On Android, Strict Mode turns switching protection off into a request that unlocks after 24 hours, or sooner if a partner you trust approves. On iPhone, a delete lock stops QUIT being removed on impulse.
• Help with the urge itself. Late-night scrolling is often where an urge starts. The Panic Button walks you through a few minutes of slow breathing with your companion; urges usually pass within minutes if you don’t act on them.

For every free and paid option side by side, start with how to block porn on any device, and keep the 10-minute urge plan for the nights a setting isn’t enough.