A Reddit alternative that respects your privacy and bans AI/bot spam
Posted by hydroflame7@reddit | RedditAlternatives | View on Reddit | 82 comments
As a long-term Reddit user, I wanted to build something that brought back the experience of the heydays of reddit, before it became a public company that only cared about its share price. So I’ve spent over a year building it, now with a small community of users, and ready to share it with redditalternatives.
OddsRabbit is a new reddit alternative that is my vision of what makes a good community platform - and yes, I know this is debatable.
- No AI spam. It’s quite apparent to me that reddit is increasingly run by bots now, and I don’t think they’re really incentivized to stop it anytime soon. I have been seeing more and more posts with 10+ comments, and maybe 1 (if any), looks real at all. OddsRabbit is fully anti-AI, I believe in the technology, but I don’t believe AI belongs in communities and content.
- Users should benefit from being a part of the communities they partake in. In my opinion, this comes in 2 ways.
- Social impact. I like to call it ‘hopescrolling’ - a meal is donated to a child in need per signup, and you pick which nonprofit your share of ad revenue directly supports.
- Benefiting the user. Right now, early users are receiving oddsrabbit shirts and a personal thank you card as a thanks. In the future when the platform grows, users will also benefit through fun giveaways, community events, and revenue share (that they can keep or pass to their charity of choice).
- No politics. This is probably the most controversial but I’m a bit tired of politics taking over conversations on every platform. Sometimes I just want other news, to chat about my interests, and the good things in the world. I know this is going to alienate some others, but there are enough other platforms for this.
- Privacy respecting. No invasive-tracking, no data-selling, no Google analytics, just the bare minimum to keep the platform running. Account and full data can be requested to be deleted at any time.
OddsRabbit is available on web, iOS, and Android. Please check it out, and let me know what you think =)
Web: https://www.oddsrabbit.com
iOS: https://apps.apple.com/app/oddsrabbit/id6752913761
Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oddsrabbit.app
APK: https://www.oddsrabbit.com/apk/
caucasian-shallot@reddit
I'm a few days late to seeing this but that looks pretty awesome on first look. I like your stated goals, community guidelines look good as well, and the no politics is interesting and I like it haha. One thing I dislike about this place is the trolls and negativity towards people trying to learn and/or fix something. So I'm super excited to see a place that looks like its built from the ground up to be a fun place rather than a place for people to be shiity. I'll see you there!
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Welcome! Awesome, see you there =)
CaptainFunny9070@reddit
What are some alternatives to removeddit, ceddit and reveddit (None of them show posts deleted by the user/author)?
LateToLaunch_@reddit
I LOVE this place you all should give it a fair shot right now!!
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
If you are who I think you are, ty very much =)
UnflinchingSugartits@reddit
Im so glad you posted this!
LateToLaunch_@reddit
Well if you think I’m launch on oddsrabbit you would be correct!
lunarpollen@reddit
I just joined...
MrWeirdoFace@reddit
Is there a way to change the formatting? It's taking up only about a third of my screen, and zooming in just makes it so I see one gigantic thing at a time.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Not yet but I will have something up soon =) Funny since there was another comment that asked for a tighter formatting. I'm not positive if expanding the feed size will improve the look though, I'll have to play around with it and let you know. Thanks for checking it out and your feedback!
MrWeirdoFace@reddit
NP. It seems like maybe it's just a margin thing? Not sure if there is a way to automatically detect the width and adjust margin automatically. I assume this was originally designed with mobile i mind.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yea good catch lol. It was designed so mobile and web had similar design to look consistent. Also on thinner posts, a wider design made it look a bit flat in my testing, so it might just be a personal preference thing. Not too hard to add in an option for it
yaycupcake@reddit
It's definitely personal preference. I prefer when the ui of sites like this don't get too wide. Optimal line length for reading is a thing so limiting the max width is preferable. It might be nice to have a setting that the user can choose which behavior they prefer, if that's something you feel is maintainable.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Thanks! Yea ideally I want to make it fully customizable but I’m talking way ahead of myself haha.
From the convos I’m having, it sounds like the 3 versions people want are
Which are definitely reasonable. Not the best at design but I’ll see what I can do!
yaycupcake@reddit
If you need any ideas, help, or just someone to bounce ideas off of, I'm open to lending a hand. No pressure of course, just wanted to offer since I'm a dev who leans toward frontend, ui/ux, and accessibility.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Thank you, I really appreciate it! Always appreciate ideas and suggestions, and would love to hear how you'd tackle it.
Also noticed that you just left NYC, which is a shame, would've loved to chat over a coffee or something. Hope PA is treating you well.
yaycupcake@reddit
NYC priced me out after layoffs and rent increase lol. But I do plan to visit sometimes since my family is still there.
If you have any specific things you'd like feedback on, my dms are open for it. I love talking about this kind of thing. I'll of course keep an eye out on your platform too since it seems like a cool place so far.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Will do, thanks! Also yea I hear you. I grew out in the outer boroughs where it's still reasonable (somewhat)
aVarangian@reddit
you need to account for users like me who refuse to ever see ads
news and world events are one of the things I find interesting, and having to go to more than one forum-like platform for different topics is not something I'd bother with right now
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Ah, as for news and world events - that's fair. It's honestly quite unfortunate that most news falls into being political right now. TBH I don't have an answer on how to solve for that right now lol.
JusticeBonerOfTyr@reddit
Like the other user said politics are literally in almost everything, and its important to stay informed and frosty in such times. I have a daughter and I like to know what is going on especially for her and her safety. Every Republican and half of so called progressive males are misogynistic af and her human rights are constantly being threatened to be taken away. Being informed on political decisions being made and what’s shaping your world is important. I’m glad people are looking to make alternatives to this site and I hope your platform succeeds but that rule to me is a weird one and should be left to the subreddits to decide. Cause typically the only ones who don’t care about “politics” are the ones it doesn’t directly impact in a negative way such as straight white males.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
That’s fair, and I love that you’re protective of your daughter. Also thanks for the well wishes!
It’s such a slippery slope and I’m conflicted on politics because I totally agree with your point on staying informed. On the other hand, it quickly overwhelms all over discussions on a new platform because it’s a topic everyone can relate to. Maybe an opt in/out solution is the right approach here?
aVarangian@reddit
half of everything inherently has a political overlap
imo some subreddits could be more strict about it, but that's for a subreddit to decide, not the platform
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
That's fair, I'll take that into consideration, thank you. It's a tricky position for sure
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Thank you for the feedback! On the users who refuse to see ads - I totally understand haha. I forgot to mention that communities can also choose to disable ads if they wish.
Unfortunately, ads are required to maintain the cost of a platform like this, so it's going to be there in some way, regardless of how non-intrusive it is. I did add a small premium subscription for users to disable ads if they wish - a previous user asked for this, but the web version can also be 100% ad free if you use adblock (which you might already have, haha).
On the UI/UX - very fair point. I can definitely add in a new ui similar to old reddit soon. I'm also considering opening up the API so users and devs can design and put together a UI/UX they personally like. I know every one has their own preferences so I'm definitely thinking through how to make it work.
Anyway, just wanted to thank you for the feedback and the time for checking it out!
sanger_r@reddit
Having an old.reddit interface would be a huge plus for me. Reddit's been neglecting it for years and I'm pretty sure it will eventually break completely.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Wow I haven't taken a look at old reddit in a while, it brought back some nostalgic memories. I think I should be able to get something out in the next few days. Thanks for letting me know!
prankster999@reddit
This is the right attitude... I really get tired of people wanting ad free experiences, but not willing to cough up the dough for such an experience.
aVarangian@reddit
this is my point, so you need to account for that. There are also alternative ways of making money, like the old reddit silver/award system.
Another issue with the "per signup" idea is that you'll probably get on average multiple signups for every actually real user.
AdventurousFroyo9164@reddit
No politics is an interesting choice
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yep, I know it's controversial but I grew up during early forums when it was really just all about interests and hobbies - and it was amazing. Nowadays, I open any social media, half the posts are about politics and how the world is going to end.
I'm not against politics in general - I believe everyone should vote and keep up to date on what's happening - at the same time, I also want a platform where it's not always about that
IMDXLNC@reddit
I'm 100% with you on that. When I was using forums in the 2010s, politics didn't seem to be anywhere. It was a game server forum but even general discussions didn't really talk politics and it was a worldwide community, too.
My biggest problem with it is that most people who are online this much aren't qualified or knowledgeable enough to even talk on the matter in a good way. They can offer better commentary or discussion on things they do know and understand like hobbies, and more people can engage in it, too. /r/CasualUK has a no politics rule which doesn't always succeed but for the most part the sub is quite enjoyable and relatively clean.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yea exactly. It’s why I believe no politics can work, it just sounds weird because every social has leaned into it so far since it drives engagement.
IMDXLNC@reddit
Exactly that which is one of the roads to greed that everything seems to be pursuing. It all feels so corrupted, like coaxing people into eating fast food, knowing it's bad for them.
Not that political discussion/awareness is a completely bad thing but look at the state of it. The thousands of big sites can keep it and be there for people who want to engage in politics, let there be a few places (like yours or mine) that allow people to get away from it.
BackgroundBenefit836@reddit
I recently tried to find a social media excluding politics but still as bad googler as in early 2000's. Hopefully algorithms dont see such sites as a threat lol, but if so shirts are even a better idea. Stickers aren't very expensive either.
relightit@reddit
easier said than done, tho, right? It will all be manually vetoed? jannies/mods could be compensated for it, but it could be gamed for profit
politics is the context of everything. unless you are 100% invested in escapism and that's a recipe to be played to death: not a good social trend for the long term. freedom of speech and all, too.
cool. there should be some uniform standards online to be respected at that level, without it becoming time consuming for the user
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yea, definitely easier said than done haha. Manually reviewed, along with community help, and compensated is the only way I can see it working for now without being gamed etc. it’ll be trial and error.
I agree with your thoughts on politics being in the context of a lot of things nowadays, and I do believe people should stay informed, vote, etc. Having said that, politics as a topic will overwhelm any new platform because it’s such a highly debated and common ground for a small set of users - nearly every post will be political and then it’s just a slippery slope from there. I also think there are enough other platforms and sources for it.
Though some users do seem to want it - so I’m open to loosening up the rules with proper filters etc. in the future. I’m also conscious of that creating an echo chamber though so need to think and plan through how that can/should work
AnonomousWolf@reddit
Is it Open Source and Decentralised?
If not why are we to believe greed won't just turn it into Reddit 2.0 once it has enough users
relightit@reddit
i'm interested in this and sharing ideas of what a discussion forum could be. should there be a special subreddit to work on this.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Fair to be skeptical, and yes, it’s not decentralized or open source. Honestly I don’t think there is an answer for this other than “trust me bro” lol. I think the best trust signal I can give would be how the platform operates today, with its focus on social and community impact, it’s a sign on who I am as a person and what I care about.
Having said that, you’re right that it’s not open source nor decentralized, I think for users who value that most, there are already other Reddit alternatives out there.
AnonomousWolf@reddit
See it's hard to accept "Trust me bro"
Because it's not just about trusting you, if this platform makes it big, and gets 100+ million users, there is a VERY high change that you might be voted out as CEO, and the new CEO just wants to please the shareholders, aka. priorities money, just like almost any other platform does.
So unless it's open source and decentralized, it's almost guaranteed that greed will eventually take over and users will be stuck at square one.
throwawayyyyygay@reddit
This.
tunachilimac@reddit
How are you ensuring no AI spam when so many sites are losing the battle trying to keep AI slop out?
How do you define politics? A post about a politician is obvious but what about a big news event in the Iran war? What about a video game update post like when Assassin’s Creed Civil War era game got canceled? What about a discussion post for a movie with political themes like Sinners? In theory a politics free space can be good but it’s also an easy excuse to remove any discussion you don’t like and just say it’s too political.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
TBH I don't think there will ever be a 100% proof way of preventing AI spam, especially in text format. Having said that, my thoughts on the matter are
- A lot of it is conscious effort. It's quite clear in some subs where posts are clearly just spam and low-effort, but nothing is done about it. Part of it is that social sites benefit from increased engagement so they're not incentivized to combat it (imo). It's not an easy nor clear cut answer, but I think it's going to be a mix of relying on the community itself, manual reviews, and also being a bit more strict on repeated rule-breakers. It's going to be trial-and-error honestly.
- I don't believe face id or anything personally intrusive is the answer. It's a cat or mice game.
For politics - that's definitely a tough one, and it's not black and white. It's also unfortunate how much most news can be considered somewhat political nowadays. My thought on the matter is - a post about a video game is a gaming post, a movie post is about movies. Things like war, economy, and the like are the tricky ones - and I'm still thinking that through.
I'm split between thinking that pure factual news are fine as long as it's posted with a proper factual headline and is not sensationalized. On the other hand, I know that's a slippery slope. I think, like your other question, this is going to be a trial-and-error process. The key imo is to be transparent - so like proper public logs etc. and let the users decide.
prankster999@reddit
I don't know... Some people argue that a lot of trolls wouldn't say half the things that they say on the internet if they knew that they couldn't get away with their bad faith comments.
I think in some ways, and if someone doesn't have anything to hide, it shouldn't be a problem for a website to incorporate some semblance of "User ID" control - including charging for a yearly subscription (via a vetted credit / debit card).
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
That’s a fair argument and I agree, people would be definitely be more cautious of what they say if they were id’d. I do wonder if the bad faith trolling etc can be controlled with better moderation and platform culture though.
prankster999@reddit
I think you also have to take into consideration that "paying users" are also more invested in the experience and long-term health of a platform / business.
"Paying Users" are also more "Premium" and give you a lot less headaches in comparison.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yea I agree on that. I don’t think I need people’s id to handle paid subscriptions and users though. Apple, Google, or stripe takes care of that part.
prankster999@reddit
Yeah, and those Credit Companies should take care of the user verification for you.
castlec@reddit
What is your most active community? I have no idea how to find where people are active.
I'm curious. I like the site itself. The posts in the communities I checked were all really "old".
Obviously, the core problem is a problem that can only be fixed by fixing the problem. Not being able to tell where there is community vs where someone had an idea of a community makes it harder to get a snowball effect.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
That’s a good point, thank you. Sounds like I need better community and post discoverability. There’s a popular communities feature in the app that I can bring onto the site itself.
TBH the posts are a bit spread all over as a new platform. A few of my favorites though are waitthatsinteresting, littlelights, gaming, kpop, and horror-film.
I’m going to focus on bringing in specific communities next so it’s a bit more targeted, right now user interests are still quite varied so specific topics are shallow.
prankster999@reddit
Looking at the website right now... And here are my initial thoughts:
1) It's clean... I like the format overall, and the site does look incredibly professional... I prefer the white background with white text version personally.
2) I am really impressed with your signing up procedure.
3) I see that you went a tad further than what Reddit offer with a "Creator Economy"... Interesting idea... And it would be interesting to see as to how it plays out, and whether it's able to be gamed by people.
QUESTION TIME:
What was your inspiration for making the project?
Did you take any cues or learned lessons from the "failure" of Digg?
Is the site entirely custom coded from scratch, or did you use any of the existing FOSS frameworks as a means to springboard off from?
FearlessInflation92@reddit
As a fairly large NSFW creator on Reddit with over 300k followers, posting from my personal account here and not my SFW/work account, I wanted to throw something out there because this is a gap a lot of people outside that space probably do not realize is massive.
A lot of NSFW creators do not really have a home right now.
A few years ago, Reddit was easily one of the best places for adult creators to build an audience and community. NSFW clips were commonly hosted through RedGIFs and embedded into Reddit, so the site did not have to directly host everything itself. That setup worked really well. Posts got real engagement, comments felt human, and people actually used Reddit as part of their daily routine for that kind of content.
On my viral posts back then, I would regularly get around five thousand to fifteen thousand upvotes. Then Reddit removed API access in a way that killed sound on embedded RedGIFs. That alone hurt engagement hard. My reach and follower growth dropped by around thirty percent within the next month and stayed depressed.
Then after Reddit went public, things got worse. NSFW pages stopped getting shown the same way, and then Hot was effectively removed in favor of Best, which made discovery even worse. Back then, five thousand to fifteen thousand upvotes on a strong post was normal. Now if a post gets three hundred to five hundred upvotes, that is considered a very good post, and even then interaction is way lower.
There is also a huge moderation and trust problem now. A lot of big NSFW subreddits got taken over by agencies and bot-driven promotion. Creators who did not play along got mass reported. New creators are especially vulnerable because newer accounts are not seen as trusted, and a handful of false reports can get them banned. Once banned, the appeal system feels almost impossible to deal with. So new creators make an account, get hit, get banned, try again, get banned again, and eventually give up on Reddit entirely.
That has hollowed out the whole ecosystem. A lot of subreddits are now flooded with content that does not even match the niche, but still somehow gets pushed. Meanwhile, actual niche content gets buried. It feels manipulated, and users notice.
If you ever decide to support NSFW communities in a serious way, there is a real opportunity there. I genuinely think a lot of creators and users would follow. If you build it, they will come. There is demand sitting out in the open right now.
Instagram is hostile to anything even slightly suggestive. TikTok does not allow it. Tumblr does not allow it. X has become a chaotic mess full of leaks, stolen content, extreme content, and stuff many users do not want to be anywhere near. There is a giant hole in the market for a Reddit-style platform that can handle NSFW communities in a cleaner, safer, more structured way.
A few thoughts from someone who has lived this space for years:
Income in this space has dropped dramatically over the last three years. A lot of us are making a fraction of what we used to, not because the audience disappeared, but because the platforms broke discovery and let manipulation take over. New users get banned early and move on from the site now. I made a backup account and within 2 weeks that account was banned by being mass reported.
So this is just something to think about. A lot of people are unhappy with Reddit for reasons beyond NSFW, but NSFW might actually be one of the biggest unmet opportunities left. Sex sells, sure, but it also brings traffic, activity, and creators. If the platform is good enough, people stay for the communities too.
Chris-dancer@reddit
I'm not a big creator, but... yeah. Agree 100%
BlueWhaleKing@reddit
What did the comment you replied to say?
Chris-dancer@reddit
She was talking about the problems of NSFW creators on reddit, where any real creator is pushed away and subs are controlled by a bunch of agencies, bots and AI
FearlessInflation92@reddit
You’re not a big creator because the new format is not letting people grow. I was a tiny creator and Reddit grew me to the point where people recognize me in public. This person’s site is amazing. I have other creator friends who I think will join. Let them be your free advertising and others will discover the rest of oddsrabbit that way.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
This is awesome, thank you for the feedback and insight! And for the time to check it out. Definitely sent you a PM, would love to chat some more.
MelodicFocus@reddit
Reminder: the internet is for porn
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Ave Q is one of my fav plays of all time =)
nusm@reddit
I think http://fedinsfw.app is what you're looking for.
screendrain@reddit
Can't even see your posts on your profile
FearlessInflation92@reddit
Hey guys I tried the website out and honestly it’s pretty nice and overall feels like it a breath of fresh air. Give it a try, form a community if you don’t see it
Capable_Low2577@reddit
This looks promising. Any plans to make it federated?
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Honestly, I've thought about it but I think Lemmy is already doing a great job on the federation part.
For oddsrabbit, I've built it the way I know how, and in the way I think it serves people the most - the anti-ai moderation, hope-scrolling, giving back to users etc.
I'm not against the idea of eventually turning it into a foss though.
AnonomousWolf@reddit
If it's FOSS then I'm in.
I don't trust promises of it eventually being FOSS
heyskitch@reddit
Holy permissions batman. Not really believing that it's going to respect my privacy when you are requesting 47 permissions.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Thanks again for letting me know. Just went through it. 16 came from badge display permissions on the home screen for new messages, notifications count etc. Unfortunately, it's unavoidable since different device manufacturers each have their own permissions:
- com.huawei.android.launcher.permission.CHANGE_BADGE
- com.sonymobile.home.permission.PROVIDER_INSERT_BADGE
I removed 7 unnecessary permissions that got bundled in from libraries, which should be live in the next apk and update. The rest look like they're required for the app experience however - media uploads, voice chat, notifications etc. Anyway, thanks again for taking a look, appreciate your help in making the app leaner
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Hmm, I'll do an audit on all the permissions today. Thanks for letting me know that it's gotten quite expansive. A lot of were for features added over time like voice chat, images, etc. but I'm sure it's a bit bloated. Thanks for letting me know. I'll report back after I take a deeper look.
UsernameEqualsNull@reddit
I’ve just created the first all inclusive nsfw community on this platform. Please consider joining and sharing with everyone! Gonewild
ItzPress@reddit
Any way to make the Home feed just from communities you follow? On Android.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yep! Thanks for asking, just added it as a new feature. On the web, go into settings and toggle it under content preferences. The setting will be in the app on the next app update.
I removed it previously because it was affecting the discoverability of posts for a new platform, but it definitely makes sense - thanks for the suggestion!
deathmetalreptar@reddit
Am i able to create new subs?
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Yep! It's in the left-hand hamburger menu on the web and app
Proudclad@reddit
Been looking for a decent alternative since Reddit’s been
Putting my money and time where my mouth is.
Love the idea and I’m going to try and support what you’re doing.
—
Got a first bug / feature report for ya : just the ability to remove unused GIF blocks in a post once done.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Fixed!
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Thank you! Love the custom gundam =) Will fix that right now...
CptHammer_@reddit
You son of a bitch. I'm in.
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Cheers 🙌
Chris-dancer@reddit
The web is QUITE beautiful hahaha
Politics are a no-no, that was clear - how about NSFW content?
hydroflame7@reddit (OP)
Thank you, I appreciate it! I put a lot of my heart in it, I hope it shows hahah.
NSFW content is totally fine =)
Heyla_Doria@reddit
"Pas de politique"
C'est bête, tu as fait cette alternative pour des raisons politique