Can I promote my data recovery software or service here?
No. The General Discourse and Civility rule says no spam and that violation can result in a ban, so any promotional posting is off the table.
Subreddit guides
r/datarecovery rules, stats, and what to post
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/datarecovery: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.
By Anthony Riera, founder and operator of Rankhog.
Subreddit guides combine public Reddit source URLs, captured rules, visible verification dates, and Rankhog's account-safety workflow.
Current public stats
- Members
- 52,921
- Verified
- September 18, 2026
- Category
- Technical product and developer communities
Rules can change, so Rankhog keeps verification dates and the original public Reddit sources visible.
Rule summary
- General Discourse and Civility: This is a forum for civil discussion and friendly advice. No lecturing users about a lack of backups, condescending "hindsight" advice, or scolding people who are already facing data loss. Help them recover what is gone; don't preach about what they should have done. Invites to DM not allowed. Advices should be public. No spam. Violation can result in ban.
- Effort: Provide Details like device names, models and file systems. Provide a SMART if applicable: Provide sufficient details for others to be able to help. If possible provide device names and models, file system data (exFAT, NTFS etc.), SMART info if relevant. Screenshots or photos if relevant. People love to help, but having to ask the same info or having to hunt down info over and over becomes annoying. No low effort posts.
- No offering or requesting of illegal, hacked, cracked software: No asking for serial numbers or offering those. Results in ban.
- On topic posts only.: Data recovery means getting data off storage media. In scope: failed, damaged, corrupted or formatted drives, SD cards, USB sticks, and files deleted from them. Not in scope: creating or restoring backups, installing an OS, online account problems, device repair unless it's a step towards recovering data. Phones: a dead or damaged phone is on topic, a working one is not. Files deleted from a working phone are gone. SD cards are always on topic.
- No cross posts from other communities: Too often cross posts do not contain all information, so that to answer the post the reader has to make an extra effort and visit a different community to read the actual post body. Rather than cross post, create a new post here and copy/paste the contents from the original post. If trouble shooting tips from the other community are relevant, include that information too.
- This an English language sub: It's up to the poster to translate non English language posts and comments. The reader should not have to take the extra step to translate non English posts and comments.
- No harmful advice or false information!: Every one can help, you do not have to be part of some elite. If you know a solution or answer to any specific problem, feel free to chip in. However, do not advice people to perform procedures that put their data at risk! This applies to but is not limited to advising people to put drives in a freezer, to open hard drives (the actual drive, not it's enclosure), to run bad sector repair tools (like SpinRite), to run chkdsk or similar file system consistency repair tools, etc..
Works well
- A detailed question about a failing external hard drive with the exact model number, the file system, and the SMART report pasted in.
- A reply that asks a clarifying diagnostic question before suggesting a next step, keeping the conversation public.
- A post about a corrupted SD card that explains what happened, what recovery attempts were already made, and includes a photo of the card.
- An answer that walks someone through cloning a failing drive to a healthy one before any recovery software is mentioned.
Avoid
- Do not invite anyone to DM you, since the rule General Discourse and Civility says invites to DM are not allowed and advice should be public.
- Do not post low effort questions without device names, models, file systems, or SMART info, as the Effort rule forbids that.
- Do not ask for or offer serial numbers, cracked, or hacked software, because No offering or requesting of illegal, hacked, cracked software says that results in a ban.
- Do not cross post from another community, since No cross posts from other communities requires you to create a new post and paste the contents instead.
- Do not post in a non English language without translating it yourself, as This an English language sub requires the poster to translate.
- Do not suggest putting drives in a freezer, opening hard drives, running SpinRite, or running chkdsk, because No harmful advice or false information explicitly bans those and similar risky procedures.
What r/datarecovery Is For
This community is for people who need help getting lost or deleted data off failed, damaged, corrupted, or formatted drives, SSDs, SD or CF cards, and USB sticks. Enthusiasts and experts answer questions and offer guidance. The description says that if you are asking, you should give enough detail for others to work with, including the device, what happened, and what you have already tried. If you are answering, you should understand the problem before advising, because a good diagnostic question beats a rushed solution.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
The rule called General Discourse and Civility is the one that decides whether a marketing-adjacent post survives, because it says no spam and that violation can result in a ban. The rule called Effort matters too, because it says no low effort posts and requires device names, models, file systems, and SMART info. The rule called No offering or requesting of illegal, hacked, cracked software is a hard ban trigger. The rule called On topic posts only keeps the scope tight to getting data off storage media. The rule called No cross posts from other communities means you must create a fresh post here rather than linking from elsewhere. The rule called No harmful advice or false information is critical, because it bans suggesting things like putting drives in a freezer, opening hard drives, or running chkdsk.
What To Post
A good post here is a genuine question about recovering data from a specific failed, damaged, corrupted, or formatted storage device. You should include the device name, model, file system such as NTFS or exFAT, and SMART info if you have it, plus screenshots or photos if they help. You should explain what happened and what you have already tried. If you are answering questions as a way to build trust for your brand, your reply should ask a good diagnostic question first or help the asker take the next concrete step. Keep all advice in the public thread, never in a direct message.
What To Avoid
Avoid anything the rule General Discourse and Civility calls out, including lecturing about backups, condescending hindsight advice, or scolding people who already face data loss. Do not invite anyone to DM you, because the same rule says invites to DM are not allowed and advice should be public. Do not post without device details, because the Effort rule bans low effort posts. Never ask for or offer serial numbers, cracked, or hacked software, because the rule No offering or requesting of illegal, hacked, cracked software says that results in a ban. Do not cross post, because the rule No cross posts from other communities says to create a new post and paste the contents instead. Do not post in a non English language without translating it, because the rule This an English language sub requires the poster to translate. Do not give harmful advice, because the rule No harmful advice or false information bans suggesting people put drives in a freezer, open hard drives, run bad sector repair tools like SpinRite, or run chkdsk or similar file system consistency repair tools.
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Common questions about r/datarecovery
Can I invite people to DM me for private help?
No. The General Discourse and Civility rule says invites to DM are not allowed and advice should be public.
What details do I need to include when asking for help?
You should include the device name, model, file system such as NTFS or exFAT, and SMART info if relevant, along with screenshots or photos if they help, because the Effort rule requires it.
Can I share cracked or patched recovery tools?
No. The No offering or requesting of illegal, hacked, cracked software rule bans that and says it results in a ban.
Can I cross post my question from another subreddit?
No. The No cross posts from other communities rule says to create a new post here and copy and paste the contents from the original post instead.
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