Private messages
Also called: PM, PMs, reddit inbox messages, private message archive
Definition
Private messages were Reddit's original email-style direct messages. In August 2025 Reddit moved messaging to chat: new messages send as chats, replying to PMs was disabled, and old PMs became a read-only archive of up to 1,000 recent messages.
Private messages (PMs) were the inbox-style messages Reddit used for most of its history: a subject line, a body, replies threaded like email. The red envelope that signaled a new one even had its own slang ("orangered"). As of August 2025, PMs are retired in favor of Reddit Chat.
What changed
From Reddit's August 7, 2025 changelog, describing "the transition from private messages (PMs) to chat and inbox notifications":
- Messages sent from reddit.com/messages/compose "will now be sent as chats, not PMs."
- Replying to existing PMs was disabled starting August 7, 2025.
- The PM interface was scheduled to be removed shortly after.
- A PM archive rolled out to everyone that week.
The PM archive
Reddit Help says existing private messages are archived as read-only in the notifications inbox:
- The archive holds up to 1,000 of your most recent PMs.
- You can copy, report or delete archived messages, but not reply.
- Deleting a message removes it only from your view.
- On reddit.com, open the inbox (bell icon) and select the archive icon. On the apps, the archive opens on the web.
Messages to a subreddit's moderators still go through modmail, which is a separate system.
Why it matters for marketers
If you read older advice telling you to "PM users" or "send a PM to the mods," translate it:
- To individual users: that is now a chat request, and recipients control who can send them one (everyone, accounts older than 30 days, specific people or nobody).
- To moderators: use modmail via "Message the mods" in the community's sidebar, not a chat to an individual moderator, unless the community says otherwise.
The rules did not change with the format. Reddit's spam policy still names mass unsolicited chat or private messages as a violation.
Example
A founder used to keep customer conversations that started on Reddit in PMs. After August 2025 they can still read and copy those threads from the archive, but follow-ups have to go through chat, and only if the other person accepts.
Frequently asked questions
Can I still send private messages on Reddit?
No. Since August 7, 2025, new messages are sent as chats.
Where are my old Reddit PMs?
In the private message archive in your inbox. It keeps up to 1,000 of your most recent PMs, read-only.
Can I reply to an old PM?
No. Reddit disabled replies to existing PMs. Start a chat with the person instead.