15 people who found a loved one's 'secret' internet account share what they learned.
The beauty of the internet? Anonymity.
You can be anyone online, you can say anything online, and in many cases, you can easily mask this all behind the secure facade of anonymity.
That massive secret you're not ready for your coworkers and old friends to know? You can always share it online with understanding strangers you won't have to look in the eye.
However, even secrecy has its limits, and there are times when IRL friends stumble upon the secret accounts of loved ones only to learn shocking things.
In a popular Ask Reddit thread, people who found their friend's 'secret' Reddit or other online account share what they learned.
1. From upvote-hoarder:
I posted a funny picture of my school on a different account. A classmate recognized the location of the picture and PM-ed me.
I looked through their past posts and figured out who it was. I also learned that she hadn't ovulated in 8 months and had some serious v*ginal issues that were being explained in detail on several female help subreddits.
2. From forbucci:
I posted a picture of my campsite and dog one weekend and someone wrote the dogs name in response. I asked how they knew the dogs name and said that they had camped next to us all weekend.
Fun coincidence. That was it
3. From PhilboBaggins93:
My roommate posted in a sub that was for writing letters and not sending them. He detailed how he felt bad that his depression and overall mental health was effecting my, and our friends', lives.
I didn't confront him about it but I talked to our friends and we've all been more cognizant of his internal struggle, and helped push him in the right direction (college, therapy, better jobs).
I like to think that it helped us to help him improve his life. 4 years later, and our friendship is only stronger!
4. From b8le:
Coworker is really into any and all milk related p*rn, like those subs would be dead without him.
5. From BrobearBerbil:
I found out my college wrestling coworker was really into decorating cakes. It was funny cause he was totally man's man kinda guy built like a tank. He left a cake page open and I ended up asking him about it.
His eyes lit way up and he was like, 'Do you wanna see my cakes?!!!' I said sure and spent the next half hour with him showing me cakes he had made and his ideas for making them.
Like, he got really excited about one he made for lifeguard friends where it looked like a pool and he had this idea to use Fruit Loops as buoys. His favorite one looked like this beautiful bouquet of flowers in a basket.
The guy loved loved talking about decorating cakes. It actually developed a bond we didn't have before since from then on he would have me come to his desk and look at a new cake photo every week.
EDIT: Ironic twist is that this story might out my account to friends who know this story.
6. From snappysass:
I found out that the guy I was dating was about to break up with me. Actually, it was a very thoughtful post and helped me understand his point of view.
7. From TheDerpofYork:
Friend knew I wasn't listening to him and was going through a rough time, so he made a fake account when he saw I asked for advice on a situation, gave me some useful advice and I listened.
I figured out it was him just by how direct he was and how he typed, and seeing him go through that effort to get through to me meant a lot so I opened up and started listening.
Good friend, always had my back and he never talked about how many times he saved me from myself, but I always knew.
8. From Slackbeing:
I found a guy asking for employment advice around the time a colleague was getting fired, tagged him on RES, forgot about him. Fast forward 3 years, he started leaving reviews of sellers on DarknetMarkets, mostly her*in.
Stumbled upon him at the mall a few months later, the guy was a wreck.
9. From picksandchooses:
I used an old friend's laptop to check my email and while doing that I came across his Reddit name. I've known him since I can remember, he is someone I've known since we were both riding tricycles.
I looked him up and he has a story about having s*x with a crazy neighborhood lady when he was 17. YIKES! I know who she is. I had s*x with the crazy neighborhood lady, too.
10. From BlueFalcon3725:
Stumbled across a good friend's wife's account.
Turns out that he had cheated on her just before I met her, which would explain why I thought that she was boring and had no personality at the time and why she seems like a totally different person several years later.
Pro Tip: If your city has a dedicated subreddit and you want to want to find your friends' reddit accounts, make sure to read through all the random threads that get posted.
11. From nirbles:
Found my ex's account. He was honest about his love of wrestling and video games, not so honest about being single. Surprise! Married.
12. From randomnegativity:
A few years ago in college my roommates and I noticed our friend/roommate Jeff was becoming increasingly distant and really wasn't the same bright kid everyone knew him to be.
After days of trying to convince him to give us his computer password my roommate finally got it out of him. We did some digging on his computer and in his room (I know invasion of privacy but we were actually worried about him).
We found his Reddit account logged in and turns out he was super active on opiaterollcall and was posting pictures of his needles and his heroin.
We decided as a group that we would call his parents and tell them everything so that's exactly what we did. He hated us for it but we didn't really care honestly.
His parents sent him to Maine for rehab where he relapsed and then eventually got sent to California.
He did incredible out there and was a year clean and was skyping us everyday to show us his new place and send us pictures of all the hiking he was doing.
We kept tabs on his Reddit account just in case anything were to happen.
So after about a year, he posted a picture of a needle and 3 hits with the caption 'I woke up in a new Bugatti.' Two days later his mom called us and told us Jeff overdosed and died. RIP buddy we love and miss you so much.
13. From 96698904E68746188CE4:
Found out my best friend was very suicidal on regular basis. I made sure to check up on her and hang out on a regular basis and let her know that she was loved. Never told her I saw her posts.
She's doing much better these days, but doesn't have much time for me. I'm just glad she's alive, and I hope I helped with that.
Edit: Thanks everyone! Nice to get some random internet love once in a while. :) Also, if this moved you, I challenge you to call up a friend you haven't talked to in a while and schedule some hangout time. There's like a 60% chance they really need it.
14. From PingTheAwesome:
Found out that they're super into fetishes involving being with or having s*x with deaf people.
I'm deaf. Not sure how to process this, but keeping my distance sounds like a great idea right now. Hope that's not the only reason why we're friends.
15. From Aznballer360:
Apparently, my sister f**ked our cousin.