Can I promote my security firm or pen testing company here?
Professional promotion from security firms and pen testing companies is allowed within the confines of site-wide rules on self promotion, but anything else is considered spam.
Subreddit guides
r/hacking rules, stats, and what to post
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/hacking: 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
- 2,995,304
- 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
- Keep it legal: Hacking can be a gray area but keep it above board. Discussion around the legality of issues is ok, encouraging or aiding illegal activities is not
- We are not your personal army: This is not the place to try to find hackers to do your dirty work and you will be banned for trying. This includes: * Asking someone to hack for you * Trying to hire hackers * Asking for help with your DoS * Asking how to get into your "girlfriend's" instagram * Anything illegal Offering to do these things will also result in a ban
- No "How do I start hacking?" posts: See /r/howtohack or the stickied post. Intermediate questions are welcome - e.g. "How does HSTS prevent SSL stripping?" is a good question. "How do I hack wifi with Kali?" is bad.
- No "I got hacked" posts: No "I got hacked" posts unless it's an interesting post-mortem of a unique attack. Your nan being phished doesn't count.
- Sharing of personal data is forbidden: Sharing of personal data is forbidden - no doxxing or IP dumping
- No spam: Spam is strictly forbidden and will result in a ban. Professional promotion e.g. from security firms/pen testing companies is allowed within the confines of site-wide rules on self promotion found here, but will otherwise be considered spam.
- No off-topic posts: Off-topic posts will be treated as spam.
- No low-effort posts: Low-effort content will be removed at moderator discretion. This includes memes and jokes as they are not considered good content. Furthermore, posts without any "educational" value are removed. For example just showing a picture of a reverse shell in system x by itself will be removed, however if the author in the comments or in the post describes their method of exploitation it will be allowed. However, this rule is flexible and it be enforced according to the moderators discretion.
- We are not tech support: We are not tech support, these posts should be kept on /r/techsupport
- Don't be a dick: Don't be a dick. Play nice, support each other and encourage learning.
Works well
- A detailed write-up of an exploit you found, including the method of exploitation so the post has educational value.
- A post-mortem of a unique attack that explains what happened and how it was mitigated.
- An intermediate technical question about how a specific security mechanism works, such as how HSTS prevents SSL stripping.
- A walkthrough of new hardware or software hacking technology with enough detail that readers learn from it.
Avoid
- Asking someone to hack for you or offering to hack for someone else.
- Posting basic beginner questions like how to hack wifi with Kali.
- Sharing personal data, doxxing, or dumping IP addresses.
- Posting tech support questions that belong on /r/techsupport.
- Posting memes, jokes, or content with no educational value.
- Showing a picture of a reverse shell without describing your method of exploitation.
What r/hacking Is For
This community is for constructive collaboration and learning about exploits, industry standards, grey and white hat hacking, new hardware and software hacking technology, and sharing ideas and suggestions for small business and personal security. The people who post here are interested in hacking from an educational and professional standpoint, not in hiring hackers or getting help with personal tech issues. The description points to hackers who want to share ideas and learn together.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
The rule that matters most for a founder is No spam, which says professional promotion from security firms and pen testing companies is allowed within the confines of site-wide rules on self promotion, but will otherwise be considered spam. The rule No low-effort posts is also critical because it requires educational value, and it gives a specific example: just showing a picture of a reverse shell gets removed, but if you describe your method of exploitation it is allowed. The rule Keep it legal sets the boundary that discussion around legality is fine but encouraging or aiding illegal activities is not. The rule We are not your personal army makes clear that asking someone to hack for you, trying to hire hackers, asking for help with your DoS, or asking how to get into your girlfriend's instagram will get you banned, and offering to do those things also results in a ban.
What To Post
A good post here is one that teaches something specific to an informed audience. The rule No low-effort posts says posts need educational value, and the example they give is that a picture of a reverse shell by itself gets removed, but if you describe your method of exploitation in the comments or the post, it is allowed. So if you are a founder with a security product or a pen testing background, share a real exploit walkthrough, a detailed post-mortem of a unique attack, or a technical breakdown of how a tool works. The rule No spam allows professional promotion from security firms and pen testing companies within the confines of site-wide rules on self promotion, so you can mention your company if the post itself is educational and you are not just dropping a link. Intermediate questions are welcome, so a thoughtful technical question that also highlights a problem your product solves could work, as long as the question itself stands on its own.
What To Avoid
Avoid asking anyone to hack for you, trying to hire hackers, asking for help with your DoS, or asking how to get into your girlfriend's instagram, because the rule We are not your personal army says you will be banned for trying, and offering to do these things also results in a ban. Avoid posting beginner questions like how to start hacking, since the rule No How do I start hacking? posts sends those to /r/howtohack or the stickied post. Avoid posting about getting hacked unless it is an interesting post-mortem of a unique attack, because the rule No I got hacked posts removes everything else. Avoid sharing personal data, doxxing, or IP dumping under the rule Sharing of personal data is forbidden. Avoid tech support questions because the rule We are not tech support sends them to /r/techsupport. Avoid memes, jokes, and posts without educational value under the rule No low-effort posts. Avoid anything off-topic because the rule No off-topic posts treats off-topic posts as spam.
Use Rankhog before posting in r/hacking
Want the version that does not run out? Subscribers get unlimited tool runs and more careful checks before posting.
Get my free Reddit SEO auditStart your 3-day free trial. Card required. $99/month after trial. Next, connect a verified Reddit account; no strategy starts until you explicitly start Rankhog.
Common questions about r/hacking
Can I ask the community to hack something for me?
No, the rule We are not your personal army bans asking someone to hack for you, trying to hire hackers, and asking for help with your DoS.
Can I post beginner hacking questions here?
No, the rule No How do I start hacking? posts sends beginners to /r/howtohack or the stickied post, and only intermediate questions are welcome.
Can I post about a tech support issue I am having?
No, the rule We are not tech support says those posts should be kept on /r/techsupport.
Can I post about getting hacked?
No, the rule No I got hacked posts removes them unless it is an interesting post-mortem of a unique attack.
Related subreddit guides
r/technology
Technical product and developer communities
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/technology: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.
- Members
- 20.5M
- Verified
- 2026-09-18
r/programming
Technical product and developer communities
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/programming: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.
- Members
- 6.9M
- Verified
- 2026-09-18
r/learnprogramming
Technical product and developer communities
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/learnprogramming: public rules, community context, posting fit, and startup-promotion risk before you publish.
- Members
- 4.4M
- Verified
- 2026-09-18