Reddit’s 1,000 comment limit: how to delete older comments
Last updated: 2026-10-07
Each list on your Reddit profile (New, Top, Hot, Controversial) only goes back about 1,000 items. Your older comments are still there; they just aren’t listed. To reach them, look through every sort order, and for a complete list, use Reddit’s data export.
What the limit is
When you open your profile and scroll through your comments, Reddit loads them in pages. Each list stops after roughly 1,000 entries, even if you have written many more. The same applies to posts. This is a limit on listing, not on storage: comments past the cut-off still exist and are still public in the threads where you wrote them.
The limit is per list. “New” shows your most recent ~1,000 comments; “Top” shows the highest-scoring ~1,000; “Controversial” shows another set. They overlap a lot, but not completely, so each one can reveal comments the others miss.
Why it matters when deleting
Most people notice the limit only after they start deleting. You clear your newest comments, the list seems to get shorter, and eventually it shows nothing, or shows only a handful. It looks like you are done, but comments older than the cut-off may never have appeared in the list at all. A history of a few thousand comments can leave a large part untouched.
A common sign: your profile says you joined years ago, but your Comments tab only goes back a few months, and once you delete those, nothing older shows up.
How to reach older comments
1. Walk through every sort order
On your profile, switch the sort between New, Hot, Top and Controversial, and for Top and Controversial try the different time ranges (all time, past year, past month). Each combination is its own list with its own ~1,000 cap, so together they reach further back than New alone. This helps most with comments that got many votes or many replies. Quiet, low-score old comments may still not appear in any list.
2. Use your Reddit data export (most complete)
Reddit can send you a copy of your data, including your posts and comments. The export lists items by ID instead of through the profile, so it is not limited to 1,000. The catch is time: Reddit says preparing it can take up to 30 days.
- Request your data at reddit.com/settings/data-request.
- When it is ready, download it and find
comments.csvandposts.csv. - Use the IDs in those files to find and delete items, by hand or with a tool that imports them.
Details: how to request and use your Reddit data export.
3. Check by searching
Searching the web for your username together with “reddit” can turn up old threads where you commented. It is hit and miss, but a useful spot check after a cleanup.
A practical order of work
- Request your data export now, since it may take a while.
- Meanwhile, save a backup of what you can see, then clear what the profile lists across all sort orders.
- When the export arrives, use
comments.csvandposts.csvto deal with whatever is left. - Check a few old threads by hand to confirm.
Even after this, deleting only affects what Reddit shows. Copies already made by archives, search engines or other people are not removed, and Reddit’s own internal records are outside your control.
FAQ
Are my comments past 1,000 deleted automatically?
No. They are only missing from your profile lists. They still exist in their threads.
Is the limit exactly 1,000?
Roughly. Treat it as “about 1,000 per list” rather than an exact number.
Does deleting my newest comments make older ones appear?
Don’t count on it. Older comments may still not appear in any list, which is why the data export is the dependable route.
Does this also apply to posts?
Yes. Your Posts tab has the same kind of cap.
How SafeShred handles it
SafeShred for Reddit, a Chrome extension, collects your history by walking several sort orders and time ranges (new, top, controversial and hot), keeping only items you wrote and removing duplicates. It can also import comments.csv and posts.csv from your data export to reach items no list shows. You then preview, filter, back up and delete, all in your own browser; your Reddit data is never sent to us. Free for up to 50 deletions a day, or $9.99 one-time for unlimited.