Reddit for Android app hit by a bug that's stretching and distorting videos

Android users trying to watch videos on Reddit are dealing with a bizarre bug that’s stretching everything out horizontally. The issue seems to have popped up with a recent update and shows no signs of letting up, with complaints piling up across multiple subreddits.

The bug affects Reddit app version 2025.41.0, and it’s messing with video aspect ratios in the worst way possible. Videos that should display normally end up stretched wide, making faces look distorted and content basically unwatchable. A user on r/bugs posted a screenshot showing just how bad it gets — videos get squashed and stretched until they’re barely recognizable.

Another even shared a screen recording. Check it out below:

The “Watch” feed displays videos normally, but the moment you click on a video from the main feed or within a subreddit, the stretching kicks in. Some users report that their uploads look perfect during preview but stretch out immediately after posting, which points to something broken in how Reddit processes or displays video content.

Reports started popping up on r/help, r/NoStupidQuestions, r/reddithelp, and even r/NoRules as users tried to figure out if they were the only ones seeing it.

Turns out, it’s widespread across Android devices — Pixel phones running Android 16, Realme devices on Android 12, and everything in between are affected. One user joked that Reddit is “bringing back wide Putin memes,” referencing the old stretched video meme format.

Desktop users report mixed experiences, with some seeing videos stretched vertically rather than horizontally, while mobile users deal with the horizontal distortion.

Reddit hasn’t officially acknowledged the bug yet, but given how widespread the reports are and how severely it impacts basic functionality, a fix should be coming soon. Until then, Android users might want to stick to browsing text posts or wait for Reddit to roll out an update that fixes the problem.

Featured image credit: u/flogsmen / Reddit

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