IFTTT is a convenient service that connects devices, services, websites, and more, setting up routines that tell them if that happens, then do this. It's a great way to automate almost anything you can think of — including Reddit. One of the most popular use cases is having IFTTT email you when certain keywords are posted. But over the last 24 hours, many users with accounts connected to IFTTT received a shock: Reddit permanently banned them for no good reason.

Many affected users took to Reddit and Twitter with complaints of receiving messages from Reddit stating that they had been "permanently suspended for repeatedly breaking the rules." The alert is quite alarming, considering that most people banned seem to have only used IFTTT for simple things like keyword alerts that shouldn't trigger any spam or fraud detection — and some banned users with connected accounts weren't even actively using the service anymore. Luckily, Reddit is aware of the issue and is working on restoring the banned accounts now.

It's unclear exactly what caused this issue. Reddit stated on Twitter that the bans were given "erroneously," and an admin posted in a thread saying that the company is still looking into the root cause. IFTTT recently announced a paid plan that will cause free users to be much more limited in what they can do on the service. The timing of these Reddit bans seems a little funny, considering the functionality has worked for years with no such trouble. Hopefully some answers are just around the corner.

Source: @Reddit; Reddit (1),(2),(3)

Thanks: Marilyn and Jon