diff --git a/plugins/upload.py b/plugins/upload.py
index 9db29ff..fd5f2a1 100644
--- a/plugins/upload.py
+++ b/plugins/upload.py
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 IRC Bot Plugin for Uploading Files to hardfiles.org
 
 This plugin allows users to upload files to hardfiles.org using yt-dlp for downloads.
-It supports downloading files from various sources (YouTube, Instagram, etc.) and can
+It supports downloading files from various sources (YouTube, Instagram, Reddit, etc.) and can
 optionally convert videos to MP3 format before uploading. Files larger than 100MB are rejected.
 
 Usage:
@@ -134,7 +134,6 @@ class UploadPlugin:
                 "facebook.com",
                 "dailymotion.com",
             )
-
             should_check_headers = not any(domain.endswith(d) for d in skip_check_domains)
 
             if should_check_headers:
@@ -190,34 +189,51 @@ class UploadPlugin:
                         'preferredcodec': 'mp3',
                         'preferredquality': '192',
                     }
-                ]
-                if mp3
-                else [],
+                ] if mp3 else [],
             }
 
             with yt_dlp.YoutubeDL(ydl_opts) as ydl:
                 try:
+                    # Try to extract info without downloading
                     info = await asyncio.to_thread(ydl.extract_info, url, download=False)
                 except DownloadError as e:
                     err_msg = self._ensure_str(e)
-                    self.bot.privmsg(
-                        target,
-                        ircstyle.style(
-                            f"Info extraction failed: {err_msg}", fg="red", bold=True, reset=True
-                        ),
-                    )
-                    return
-                except UnicodeDecodeError:
-                    self.bot.privmsg(
-                        target,
-                        ircstyle.style(
-                            "Error: Received non-UTF-8 output during info extraction",
-                            fg="red",
-                            bold=True,
-                            reset=True,
-                        ),
-                    )
-                    return
+                    # If authentication is required (e.g. for Reddit), skip info extraction
+                    if "Account authentication is required" in err_msg or "[Reddit]" in err_msg:
+                        self.bot.privmsg(
+                            target,
+                            ircstyle.style(
+                                f"Info extraction failed (auth error): {err_msg}. Skipping info extraction and proceeding with download.",
+                                fg="yellow",
+                                bold=True,
+                                reset=True,
+                            ),
+                        )
+                        try:
+                            info = await asyncio.to_thread(ydl.extract_info, url, download=True)
+                        except Exception as e2:
+                            err_msg2 = self._ensure_str(e2)
+                            self.bot.privmsg(
+                                target,
+                                ircstyle.style(
+                                    f"Download failed: {err_msg2}",
+                                    fg="red",
+                                    bold=True,
+                                    reset=True,
+                                ),
+                            )
+                            return
+                    else:
+                        self.bot.privmsg(
+                            target,
+                            ircstyle.style(
+                                f"Info extraction failed: {err_msg}",
+                                fg="red",
+                                bold=True,
+                                reset=True,
+                            ),
+                        )
+                        return
 
                 estimated_size = info.get('filesize') or info.get('filesize_approx')
                 if estimated_size and estimated_size > max_size:
@@ -233,13 +249,17 @@ class UploadPlugin:
                     return
 
                 try:
+                    # Proceed with the download (this may overwrite info if not already downloaded)
                     info = await asyncio.to_thread(ydl.extract_info, url, download=True)
                 except DownloadError as e:
                     err_msg = self._ensure_str(e)
                     self.bot.privmsg(
                         target,
                         ircstyle.style(
-                            f"Download failed: {err_msg}", fg="red", bold=True, reset=True
+                            f"Download failed: {err_msg}",
+                            fg="red",
+                            bold=True,
+                            reset=True,
                         ),
                     )
                     return
@@ -255,7 +275,7 @@ class UploadPlugin:
                     )
                     return
 
-            # Safely convert metadata to strings.
+            # Safely convert metadata to strings
             metadata_parts = []
             title = self._ensure_str(info.get("title"))
             uploader = self._ensure_str(info.get("uploader"))
@@ -366,7 +386,6 @@ class UploadPlugin:
                             )
                             return
                         raw_response = await resp.read()
-                        # Decode the response safely even if non-UTF-8 bytes are present.
                         response_text = raw_response.decode('utf-8', errors='replace')
                         upload_url = self.extract_url_from_response(response_text) or "Unknown URL"
                         upload_url = self._ensure_str(upload_url)