15+ Red Flags That Mean You May Be Dealing With a Bad Person

You can never know what a person is like from the outside. You get to know people from the inside by interacting with them, getting to know them better, and sharing experiences. However, there can be people who just aren’t good for you to be around. Reddit users are sharing tips and stories to help you spot the not-so-perfect fits. Here are 16 possible red flags to look out for when meeting new people.

“They don’t put the shopping cart back in the corral once they’re done with it.” © Any_Calligrapher3020 / Reddit
🔷 “Every time I’ve said this, someone absolutely unhinged goes on a long tirade about how it proves nothing. It’s about doing something with no risk and no reward that will benefit someone in some minor way or minorly inconvenience another person. If you’re not willing to do it, there’s a good chance that mindset affects other aspects of your life.” © thebigbroke / Reddit

“They remember you are their friend only when they need something from you.” © SuvenPan / Reddit
🔷"I have some friends like this. They really are good people, just a little self-centered. Rather than volunteering help, they have to be asked. They’ve always helped me move or take stuff to the dump. It’s because I learned I need to ask them. You’re 100% right, there are some bad people like that, but there can be some good ones too." © ThatGuyExo / Reddit

“When they cannot bring themselves to celebrate someone else’s success.” © MindfulBlissness / Reddit
🔷"My own sister is like this. She struggles with dead-end jobs and won’t take any advice I’ve given her. Whenever I talk about money or nice things I have, she gives me this nasty look. She frequently says, ’Must be nice,’ as if we didn’t face the same struggles growing up. She got a new job and is in a happy relationship, and I couldn’t be happier for her, but I’m the bad person because I make more money working warehouse, something she refuses to do, and my boyfriend owns his home, and I was able to move out." © Dragonsncandles / Reddit

“They constantly say or do things where their only justification for doing so is saying, ’It was just a joke,’ when called out on it.” © Purples_A_Fruit / Reddit
🔷"And the second someone jokes with them in a similar way, they’re all upset." © GeauxAllDay / Reddit

“They never apologize.” © Jcholley81 / Reddit
🔷 “When I was in my early twenties (20 years ago), I had a boyfriend who lived in my childhood bedroom with me at my parents’ home. No matter how much I bugged him, he refused to thank them for feeding and housing him. He said that saying thank you implied he didn’t deserve it. Then someone I was very, very close to died, and the wake was on his birthday. I left the wake early to take him to Chili’s, which I regret to this day. He spent the entire night complaining about how his birthday had been ruined.” © onthesunnyside / Reddit

“Nothing is ever their fault.” © CStogdill / Reddit
🔷"Something that struck me as a breath of fresh air about my husband when we met was how he talked about his ex-girlfriends: no ’she was crazy, they all were crazy,’ just an honest account of why it didn’t work out, and sometimes it was his fault and he owned up to it, like with his college girlfriend. ’I was pretty immature and she was looking for commitment, I should have realized we weren’t a match sooner but I was selfish,’ that sort of thing. Showed his own maturity by being able to pick apart his own history and see where he was the wrong one." © imwiththedrummer / Reddit

“Treating people well only if they can benefit from them in some way. If they treat you well but treat random people badly, they aren’t good people.” © MiddleZealousideal89 / Reddit
🔷"That’s the difference between kind and nice. If I’m being nice, I want something from you. If I’m being kind, it’s me being generous.“ © DWGJay / Reddit

“I guess a subtle one is them treating you differently in public vs how they treat you privately. These can both go either way.” © sky_Driver88 / Reddit
🔷"I’ve had exes like this. Completely cool, goofy, and sometimes sweet with just me but as soon as certain people are around, they’ll act snobby and rude to me for stuff they’d normally laugh at or talk about with me. Treat me differently. The last one made it pretty obvious she didn’t like me anymore because she no longer needed me around others. I don’t think they’re necessarily bad people, they just have to be people pleasers and don’t have the courage to be themselves." © kurtpropan666 / Reddit

“How someone treats another person based on their job title. Anyone who treats a server, maid, garbage person, etc. badly is just telling the world how much of a piece they are.” © lizzyd08 / Reddit
🔷"My boyfriend is a truck driver. I’m an accountant. He constantly refers to himself as ’just a truck driver.’ It infuriates me when he does that. Just because I chose a profession that required a college degree doesn’t mean I’m smarter than him. Sure, I may be better with financial statements and taxes than he is, but I could never do what he does. Everyone is smart and skilled in their own way, and no one’s job makes them more or less important than anyone else." © No-Swing-9022 / Reddit

“Actions and words not matching” © Wonderful_Pea2976 / Reddit
🔷"An example: this guy used to tell me I was his soulmate. But whenever we hung out he would talk about other girls. He never initiated with me. Just any time it seemed like our ’connection’ was on the brink of ending, he would tell me I was his soulmate. Something didn’t add up there." © thesamantha23 / Reddit

“They demand forgiveness instead of asking for it: ’I said I was sorry, it’s done now. Get over it.’ © MaliciousPorpoise / Reddit
🔷Yeah, my boyfriend has a history of cheating, and that’s pretty much all he says. Won’t even explain the situation or answer any questions. He’s one of those people who acts like saying ’I’m sorry’ is equivalent to owning up to mistakes and growing as a person but they’re just words, and a lot of people don’t mean it when they apologize — especially when it’s followed by ’get over it.’” © zawica / Reddit

“How they talk about their significant other/spouse/partner/whatever. If you talk badly about the person you supposedly love, you’re not a good person.” © ok_chaos42 / Reddit
🔷"Or if they don’t talk about them. I was tattooing an old high school friend and he was starting to get a little too ’gray area’ for me. I don’t remember what he said but I asked with a bit of a tone, ’Hey, how’s your girlfriend doing?’ He never came back after that. The point is, if someone has a significant other and they never mention them at all, that’s a red flag." © brokenangelwings / Reddit

“If cats or dogs instantly hate them, I at least take notice of that and see what’s up. 80% of the time, they have a point.” © Tassidus2k / Reddit
🔷"My dog absolutely loves everyone she comes in contact with, she is full of love. But she hated my ex, it was the only person she hated. Should have taken that as a sign because my ex was a bad person." © Ppeanoot / Reddit

“As a guy, don’t trust another guy if he cheats on his spouse. If he’ll betray the closest person to him, he doesn’t care about his friends either, trust me.” © cypresswill44 / Reddit
🔷One of my cousin’s friends was cheating on his girlfriend, but, according to my cousin, it was ’different’ because his girlfriend was in another country studying. © **kdemre / Reddit

“When a person needs to explain to you in a conversation that they are actually a good person.” © mentalemancipator / Reddit
🔷I actually asked my mother to explain to me in what way she was a good person. She’s not kind or generous. She’s mean, rude to the service staff — actually, she’s rude to anyone she doesn’t need something from or that’s in a position of power. It was hilarious watching her flail around and insist she was a good person... Just because? © TigreImpossibile / Reddit

“People that immediately start gossiping about a person as soon as they’re out of earshot.” © bnuuug / Reddit
🔷"Nearly everyone at my work does this. As soon as person A is out of earshot, person B will start griping about them. I just try to nod it away. Person A will also complain about person B and person C will complain about both and, argh, it’s just an endless cycle." © Gorgash / Reddit

Have you ever talked to someone who just looked like they had bad intentions? Tell us your story. 🧐