r/HomeKit: rules, karma requirements and posting culture
About 245,000 people running Apple Home setups: hubs, cameras, locks and automations. Practical, opinionated about Apple, and one of the few subreddits that publishes its karma gate.
HomeKit · Open on Reddit
- Members
- 245k
- New posts a day
- 9.6
- Comments on a typical post
- 11
- New posts removed
- 5%
The short answer
r/HomeKit removes posts from accounts with less than 50 post karma, and says so in its rules. Below that, you are told to ask in the monthly megathread. Past the gate it is an easy room: about 94% of posts in our sample stayed up, every post carries a flair, and a typical post gets 11 comments. Buying advice belongs in the megathread, and the people answering expect you to know your hub, your OS version and your accessory models.
Who posts here
Posts assume you already run a home hub and know what HKSV, Matter, Homebridge and Shortcuts are. Nobody stops to define them. Simple questions are still answered, usually in a line or two, but the rules push anything a search or the wiki would answer out of the feed, and what-should-I-buy questions go to the megathread.
- Apple households with a hub and a growing pile of accessories, fixing whatever the last update broke.
- Enthusiasts with dozens of devices who build automations with Shortcuts and third party apps.
- Tinkerers bridging unsupported gear in through Homebridge or Home Assistant.
- Indie developers of HomeKit apps who post their own updates and answer questions about them.
- Apple watchers who follow rumours and event news about new home hardware.
Karma and account requirements
What it takes to get a post through in r/HomeKit.
| Karma | 50 post karma. AutoModerator removes posts from accounts below that. Note that it is post karma, not comment karma.Mods' wording: “less than 50 post karma” |
|---|---|
| Account age | Not stated publicly. |
| Post flair | Every recent post carries one. Question/Help is about half of posts and Discussion about 30%. How-to is for showing how to do something, not asking how.Mods' wording: “'How-To' is only for posts about showing things, not finding out how to do them” |
| Buying questions | Not allowed as posts. They go in the stickied monthly megathread, which also takes questions from accounts under the karma limit.Mods' wording: “'What to buy' and 'Should I buy...' questions go in the buying megathread.” |
| Links | No Amazon affiliate or referral links. They are removed automatically and can lead to a permanent ban.Mods' wording: “No Amazon affiliate links” |
| Buying and selling | No buying, selling or trading of any kind.Mods' wording: “buying, selling and trading are disallowed” |
What you can post
| Post type | Subreddit setting | Share of recent posts |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Allowed | 62% |
| Link | Allowed | 16% |
| Image | Allowed | 20% |
| Video | Not stated | 2% |
| Poll | Not stated | 0% |
Post flairs in use
- Question/Help 50%
- Discussion 30%
- News 10%
- How-to 6%
- Review 2%
- HomeBridge 1%
- Beta <1%
- Megathread <1%
What happens to a new post
Where the most recent posts ended up. Sample size: 400.
- Stayed up95%
- Removed by Reddit's filters<1%
- Removed by moderators5%
- Deleted by the author<1%
Reddit counts a removal by the subreddit's own AutoModerator rules as a moderator removal, so that share is not all human. Held by AutoModerator means the post is waiting in the mod queue.
What happened when we posted here
We have posted here ourselves. This is how our own posts and comments fared.
- Stayed up
- 100%
- Removed by Reddit's filters
- 0%
- Removed by moderators
- 0%
- Period
- June 2026 to July 2026
The rules, in the mods' words
- 1
Keep it civil and safe for work
Be nice and civil. As Reddiquette says, "Remember the human," and "Don't be rude at all." Harassment could get you banned from r/HomeKit the first time depending on the severity, (Don't try to test the mods) or the second time, almost always no matter what. This means you've chosen to break the rules. Rudeness will get you banned (7 days on average) when repeated, and incivility will also get you banned when repeated.
- 2
Posts must be related to HomeKit
Only posts related to HomeKit are permitted. HomeBridge questions should go in r/HomeBridge, questions that are not related to HomeKit but are about a company's product that supports HomeKit should still go in that company's subreddit. If that company does not have a subreddit you can post in a subreddit such as r/HomeAutomation, r/SmartHome, etc. A list of company subreddit's can be found in the sidebar.
- 3
No Amazon affiliate and/or referral links.
No Amazon affiliate links and also no referral links that 'refer' you to Amazon affiliate links. An example of an Amazon affiliate link is amzn.to. These are automatically removed and using one could result in a permaban based on your previous post and comment history.
- 4
No buying, selling, or trading.
As people can be scammed and trading accessories isn't even directly HomeKit-related, buying, selling and trading are disallowed is r/HomeKit. For home automation trade please visit r/HomeAutomationTrade
- 5
'What to buy' and 'Should I buy...' questions go in the buying megathread.
'What to buy' and 'Should I buy...' questions go in the the sticked megathread dedicated to these types of questions in order to prevent an abundance of them.
- 6
No questions answered by the wiki, a search of r/HomeKit, or by a search engine.
Check the r/HomeKit wiki, search r/HomeKit, and search before posting to avoid duplicate questions.
- 7
Minimum Karma
Auto-moderator will remove posts from users with less than 50 post karma. While this may hinder new users from asking important question, it has also reduced our spam considerably. If you are restricted from posting due to this, please ask your question in the mega-thread.
These are the rules as archived in January 2025. Rules change. Check the sidebar before you post.
The culture
r/HomeKit is where people who have committed to Apple's smart home compare notes. It is small and steady, about 10 posts a day, and most of it is practical. About 62% of posts are text, around 85 words, describing a setup and what is going wrong with it. Half of all posts are flaired Question/Help.
The rest is news and opinion about Apple. The biggest posts in our data are reactions to an Apple event, rumours about new home hardware, and arguments about a new OS release. Right now that release is the main subject: what it broke, what its AI camera features can do, and the fact that those features are tied to paid storage tiers. Threads about Siri getting worse and about Apple Home turning into a subscription draw well over a hundred comments each.
People here like the platform and are tired of defending it. The same thread will hold someone saying an update wrecked a hundred devices and someone else saying it is your setup and they have had zero issues. Both are normal. Third party apps and bridges are discussed openly as the fix for what Apple leaves out.
What lands
- A sharp take on Apple news the day it happens. The top post in our data is a one line reaction to an event with no home products in it.
- A real example of a new feature working, like a doorbell camera correctly reporting who delivered a package.
- A short how-to for something hidden in a new release, or a cheap hardware build such as a retro status light.
- A developer's update to a HomeKit app, written in the first person with what changed. Two of these are among the popular posts.
- A "just me?" post after an update, with devices and versions listed. These fill with confirmations.
What gets removed or ignored
- Posts from accounts under 50 post karma. Moderators removed about 5% of our sample, and most of those were ordinary help questions about pairing, Matter and automations. The karma rule is the likely reason, though our data does not confirm it for any single post.
- Surveys. A thesis survey about smart home AI was posted twice and removed twice.
- What-to-buy and should-I-buy posts, which belong in the megathread.
- Amazon affiliate or referral links, which the rules say are removed automatically.
- Posts about a brand's product that are not really about HomeKit. The rules send those to the brand's own subreddit.
The unwritten rules
- List your hub, its OS version and the accessory model. Regulars diagnose by version mismatch, and the first reply to a vague post is a question about your hub.
- Expect someone to say it works fine for them. Answer with specifics, not with volume.
- Naming apps is fine. Commenters link App Store pages for tools they use when someone asks, and nobody objects.
- Complaining about Siri is a group activity. Praise for Apple needs an example to be believed.
- If you are under the karma limit, use the megathread. The rules say so directly and questions there do get answered.
Self-promotion
The rules do not have a general self-promotion clause. What they ban is narrower: Amazon affiliate and referral links, buying and selling, and posts about a company's product that are not about HomeKit. In practice indie developers post their own app updates under the News flair, say plainly that they are the developer, and are received well. Two such posts are among the most upvoted in our data. What gets removed is the survey, the off-topic product post, and the launch written like an advert. One removed post in the sample was a loud announcement about wiring a professional camera into HomeKit.
How people write here
- Typical post length
- 85 words
- Typical title length
- 8 words
- Titles phrased as a question
- 24%
- Typical comment length
- 21 words
- Comments that include a link
- 6%
- Posts that carry a flair
- 100%
When people post
- 0:00 UTC, 17
- 1:00 UTC, 19
- 2:00 UTC, 15
- 3:00 UTC, 12
- 4:00 UTC, 6
- 5:00 UTC, 7
- 6:00 UTC, 13
- 7:00 UTC, 13
- 8:00 UTC, 14
- 9:00 UTC, 5
- 10:00 UTC, 8
- 11:00 UTC, 16
- 12:00 UTC, 16
- 13:00 UTC, 10
- 14:00 UTC, 29
- 15:00 UTC, 35
- 16:00 UTC, 19
- 17:00 UTC, 21
- 18:00 UTC, 26
- 19:00 UTC, 24
- 20:00 UTC, 22
- 21:00 UTC, 18
- 22:00 UTC, 22
- 23:00 UTC, 13
New posts by hour of day, UTC.
Top keywords
The words and phrases that show up far more often here than in other communities, from recent posts in r/HomeKit.
- homekit 144 posts
- apple 140 posts
- home 185 posts
- apple home 52 posts
- aqara 45 posts
- apple tv 41 posts
- homepod 34 posts
- home app 53 posts
- hub 58 posts
- camera 60 posts
- siri 35 posts
- cameras 46 posts
- smart 64 posts
- ios 57 posts
- devices 61 posts
- app 106 posts
- lights 48 posts
- homepods 21 posts
- matter 61 posts
- iphone 38 posts
- hksv 17 posts
- sensor 30 posts
- door 44 posts
- doorbell 27 posts
- homepod mini 15 posts
- hue 21 posts
- home hub 20 posts
- light 48 posts
- automations 32 posts
- ipad 21 posts
- tvos 12 posts
- apple intelligence 15 posts
- smart home 19 posts
- lock 27 posts
- meross 11 posts
- accessories 20 posts
- sensors 19 posts
- bulbs 18 posts
- automation 43 posts
- device 35 posts
Common questions
How much karma do you need to post in r/HomeKit?
50 post karma. The rules state that AutoModerator removes posts from users with less than that, and admit it can block genuine new users. If you are under the limit, ask in the monthly support and buying megathread instead.
Can I promote my app or product in r/HomeKit?
A HomeKit app or a how-to you made yourself is generally accepted if you say you are the developer and the post is useful on its own. Amazon affiliate and referral links are banned, selling is banned, and surveys were removed in our sample. Posts about a product that only happens to support HomeKit belong in that company's subreddit.
Where do I ask what smart home device to buy for HomeKit?
In the stickied monthly megathread. The rules send every what-to-buy and should-I-buy question there to stop the feed filling up with them. Recommendation posts do slip through and get lots of replies, but they can be removed.
Why was my r/HomeKit post removed?
The most likely reason is the karma rule: accounts with less than 50 post karma have their posts removed by AutoModerator. Other causes are a buying question outside the megathread, a survey, an Amazon affiliate link, or a topic that is not about HomeKit. Around 5% of posts in our sample were removed by moderators.
Data as of October 4, 2026. Numbers come from public Reddit data (the Arctic Shift archive and GummySearch) sampled on this date. Removal share counts posts taken down by moderators, AutoModerator or Reddit's own filters. Banner and icon belong to the community. Moderators change rules without notice, so treat the sidebar as the final word.
