About r/instant_regret
In its own words:
Instant Regret (in'-stint rē-gret') n. a subreddit dedicated to deliberate actions that unexpectedly lead to undesirable consequences and horrible results; things which may cause someone to say, "oh man, did I just screw the pooch!"
Community guide
r/instant_regret (#204, about 4.5 million) is for deliberate actions that quickly lead to undesirable results—the “what have I done” beat. Rules require videos/GIFs that show instant or near-instant regret, ban animal abuse, compilations, frequent/top reposts, YouTube spam, and general abuse, and flag longer-than-20-seconds clips without a tag. Video (~3.9 ppd).
Instant regret on camera
The regret must be visible and near-instant. Compilations fail; longer clips need the proper tag.
Abuse lines
No animal abuse; general abuse and YouTube spam are removed.
Practical pointers
Skip all-time/frequent reposts. Sample volume is thin—treat activity stats cautiously.
SubMouse Editorial
The community was created on Jun 30, 2014, which makes it 12 years old. Since Oct 26, 2026, it has gained 348 subscribers (+0.01%). It sits just behind r/Wellthatsucks (#203) and ahead of r/UnresolvedMysteries (#206) in our ranking.
What sets r/instant_regret apart
r/instant_regret is far more video-driven than most big subreddits: 96% of its recent posts are videos, against a median of 4% across the Top 100. Posts here spark a lot of conversation: the archive averages 52.7 comments per post, roughly 3.8× the typical big subreddit (14.0). Relative to its huge audience, posting is calm — around 0.9 new posts a day per million members, which puts it in the quietest fifth of the Top 100. A good post has less competition here.
Subscriber growth
Between Sep 19, 2026 and Nov 2, 2026, r/instant_regret went up from 4,540,315 to 4,542,515 subscribers (+2.2K, +0.05%). That is about 50 new members per day. The chart uses our weekly snapshots (9 so far), so it gets longer every week.
What r/instant_regret talks about
We read the titles of 25 recent posts (Oct 29–Nov 4), the words that come up most are “fire”, “drunk”, “man”, “instant” and “men”. By format, 96% are videos and 4% are images.
Activity and best time to post
r/instant_regret gets about 3.9 new posts a day. The public archive holds 64,738 posts and 3,414,880 comments in total, about 52.7 comments per post. Last week the busiest day was Monday (6 posts) and the quietest was Tuesday (1). Posting peaks around 12:00 UTC and is lowest around 00:00 UTC.
Rules of r/instant_regret
The moderators of r/instant_regret list 10 rules. In short:
- Videos and gifs must show regret.
- Regret must be instant or near-instant.
- No Animal Abuse.
- No compilations.
- Longer than 20 seconds with no tag
- No top posts or frequent reposts.
- General abuse
- Youtube Spam
- Im butthurt that GallowBoob has more karma than me
- Turtles are friends, not food.
How to join
Open reddit.com/r/instant_regret and press “Join”. Read the community rules in the sidebar before you post: every subreddit is run by its own volunteer moderators.
Frequently asked questions
How many members does r/instant_regret have?
r/instant_regret has 4,542,515 subscribers (Nov 2, 2026), which makes it the #204 safe-for-work subreddit in the SubMouse ranking. It added 2,200 members between Sep 19, 2026 and Nov 2, 2026.
When was r/instant_regret created?
r/instant_regret was created on Jun 30, 2014, so it has been around for 12 years. The oldest post in the public archive is from Jul 1, 2014.
Is r/instant_regret still active?
Yes. r/instant_regret gets about 3.9 new posts a day (average of the last four weeks). Over its lifetime the archive counts 64,738 posts and 3,414,880 comments.
What is the best time to post in r/instant_regret?
Based on post counts from Oct 29, 2026 to Nov 4, 2026, the busiest day was Monday and the quietest Tuesday, and most posts arrive around 12:00 UTC, with the fewest around 00:00 UTC. More posts also means more competition, so a quieter hour can help a post get noticed.
What kind of posts are on r/instant_regret?
The community describes itself as: “Instant Regret (in'-stint rē-gret') n. a subreddit dedicated to deliberate actions that unexpectedly lead to undesirable consequences and horrible results; things which may cause someone to say, "oh man, did I just scre…” Recent post titles often mention fire, drunk, man, instant and men. Most posts are videos (96%).
Is r/instant_regret SFW?
Yes. Reddit does not mark r/instant_regret as an 18+ (NSFW) community. SubMouse lists safe-for-work subreddits only.
What are the rules of r/instant_regret?
Join the community on Reddit first, then use “Create post”. r/instant_regret accepts link and media posts (no plain text posts), with images, videos and galleries enabled. It has 10 posted rules, starting with: “Videos and gifs must show regret.”; “Regret must be instant or near-instant.”; “No Animal Abuse.”. Moderators remove posts that break the rules, so read them in the sidebar before posting.
What subreddits are similar to r/instant_regret?
Communities with similar topics include r/WTF (7.1M), r/Perfectfit (3.2M), r/memes (36.1M), r/Damnthatsinteresting (20.6M) and r/TwoXChromosomes (13.7M).
Stats from public data (data updated Nov 2, 2026; activity, rules and archive totals via the Arctic Shift archive, Nov 6, 2026). Point and comment counts are archive snapshots and can be lower than on Reddit today. SubMouse is an independent directory and is not affiliated with Reddit or the moderators of r/instant_regret.