The Brief: A lurker is someone who actively consumes content on a forum or social media platform but does not have an account or post anything.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

The term lurker usually refers to someone on Reddit or 4Chan who reads posts but does not upvote, downvote, comment or have an account. Active participants on such forums often look down on lurkers because they do not contribute to the platform, but use it and benefit from its content.