Can I post a video demo of my own product here?
I would not. Rule 9, “No Self-Promotion / OC”, says the subreddit is currently not allowing any self-promotional content, and a video about your own product counts even if it is well made.
Subreddit guides
r/videos rules, stats, and what to post
A source-backed Rankhog guide to r/videos: 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
- 26,880,963
- Verified
- September 26, 2026
- Category
- Fan and entertainment communities
Rules can change, so Rankhog keeps verification dates and the original public Reddit sources visible.
Rule summary
- Videos Only: If I have to explain this to you, I'll smack you with a dead carp
- No Personal Information or Witch-Hunting: Or incitement to witch-hunt. No demanding "Reddit Justice" (or even regular justice) in any way in post titles or comments. Do not post names, Facebook pages, phone numbers, addresses, etc. Fake information (false@fake.com, 123 fake street, etc) also falls under this rule. This is grounds for an immediate (and likely permanent) ban, so consider this your only warning.
- No Indirect Links: No web pages that only embed Youtube or Vimeo videos. No URL shorteners. No links to playlists or to channel pages.
- No Porn, Gore, or Death: Nudity is not necessarily banned on /r/Videos, providing that the appropriate NSFW tag is used to indicate it. 'Gore' refers to any graphic display of injury, mutilation, or harm such that it is visible during the video. Includes humans and animals.
- No Solicitation of Votes or Views: No asking for votes or sharing submission links on or off-site. See Reddiquette for more details. Do not ask other users to follow your social media profiles in comments or submission titles. Titles for posts should not try to influence users to view or upvote them. No giveaways. Donation links and kickstarters/fundraisers must be sent to us to be verified.
- No Hate Speech: You are free to offer your opinion respectfully, but comments intended to demean a group, acontextual expressions of bigotry, and the pejorative use of slurs is disallowed. Baiting users into breaking this rule is not allowed. Telling other users to hurt or kill themselves in any form is against reddit TOS, and will earn you a permanent ban.
- No Public Freakouts: No videos of real-life, malicious person-on-person assault/battery or physical abuse of animals. This includes raw videos of fights, police brutality/harassment, and malicious violence. This includes videos of child and animal abuse. Public freakout videos belong in /r/PublicFreakout.
- No Third Party Licensing: No videos that are licensed by a third party or are attempting to seek third party licensing. If the video description says: 'for licensing enquiries contact licensing@agency.com', the video is most likely licensed by a third party. If the video has a watermark, it also may be licensed by a third party. Videos that become licensed after they are posted will be removed.
- No Self-Promotion / OC: We are currently not allowing any self-promotional content. r/Videos is not a platform for you to promote your own channel or one you're associated with.
- No Low-Effort AI-Generated Content: Please see full description [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/videos/wiki/rules)
Works well
- A direct link to someone else's short documentary or explainer that is genuinely interesting to a general audience
- A single direct video link with a plain, descriptive title that does not push anyone to click or upvote
- A comment that adds context or a genuine observation on a video already doing well in the community
- A well-made video from an independent creator that carries no watermark and no third party licensing
Avoid
- Posting a video you made, funded, or are associated with, because Rule 9 bans all self-promotion here
- Linking a playlist or a channel page instead of one direct video link, which breaks “No Indirect Links”
- Linking a landing page that merely embeds a video, which also breaks “No Indirect Links”
- Shortening a URL with a link shortener to track clicks, which “No Indirect Links” forbids
- Asking people to upvote, share, follow you, or check out your profile anywhere in a title or comment, which breaks “No Solicitation of Votes or Views”
- Running a giveaway or posting a donation or fundraiser link without sending it to the moderators for verification first under “No Solicitation of Votes or Views” and the published policy brief on approval needs
What r/videos Is For
This is Reddit's main subreddit for videos. The description says it plainly, and the rules make the focus even clearer. Everything here has to be a video, and by the sound of Rule 1 the moderators are not shy about it. People come here to share and watch videos, usually as direct links to a single video. It is a big general audience, so founders who show up here are usually hoping to get eyes on a product video or a story told through video. The catch is that the community is built for sharing videos, not for promoting anything, and the rules say that in very direct language.
Rules That Matter Before Posting
Rule 1, “Videos Only”, sets the base bar. Your post must be a video and nothing else, so an article, an image, or a link to a blog post will not survive. Rule 9, “No Self-Promotion / OC”, is the one that decides almost everything for a founder, because it says the subreddit is currently not allowing any self-promotional content and is not a platform to promote your own channel or anything you are associated with. Rule 3, “No Indirect Links”, matters just as much, since web pages that only embed videos, URL shorteners, playlists, and channel pages are all banned, so you need one direct link to a single video. Rule 5, “No Solicitation of Votes or Views”, blocks titles that try to get people to click or upvote, blocks asking for follows, and blocks giveaways, with donations and kickstarters needing moderator verification. Rule 4, “No Porn, Gore, or Death”, and Rule 7, “No Public Freakouts”, remove whole categories of content no matter how viral they would be. Rule 8, “No Third Party Licensing”, kills any video with a licensing contact or a watermark, and Rule 10, “No Low-Effort AI-Generated Content”, is a recent addition, so I would treat low-effort AI videos as a no-go. Rule 2, “No Personal Information or Witch-Hunting”, is worth knowing because breaking it is described as grounds for an immediate and likely permanent ban.
What To Post
Here is the honest answer for a founder. Almost nothing you make yourself belongs here right now, because Rule 9 blocks videos from your own channel or anything you are associated with. What a respectful marketer can do is share videos made by other people that this community would genuinely enjoy, with one direct link, an honest title, and no strings attached. Think of it as showing up with a good video rather than with a pitch. If you post at all, keep it to a single direct video link, make the title plain and informative, and leave your brand out of it. If your goal is to be seen here, the realistic move is thoughtful comments and good taste in what you share, not planting your own content.
What To Avoid
The fastest way to get removed is self-promotion, because Rule 9 says the community is not currently allowing any self-promotional content, and there is no version of your own video that passes while you are associated with it. Indirect links get removed too, so never post a page that merely embeds a video, a shortened URL, a playlist, or a channel page. Never write a title that tries to influence people to watch or upvote, and never ask people to follow you or share your post, since that is “No Solicitation of Votes or Views”. Do not run a giveaway, and do not post a donation or fundraiser link without sending it to the moderators first for verification. Skip anything that is porn, gore, or death without the right handling, and skip public freakout videos entirely, including raw fights and police brutality footage, because those belong elsewhere. A video with a watermark or a licensing contact in the description likely breaks “No Third Party Licensing”. Low-effort AI-generated content is out per “No Low-Effort AI-Generated Content”. Finally, never post anyone's personal information or push a witch-hunt, because that is stated as grounds for an immediate and likely permanent ban.
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Common questions about r/videos
Can I post someone else's video that happens to relate to my industry?
Yes, under the rules. Post one direct link to a video that was not made by or for you, with no hidden ties to your business, and make sure it clears the content rules first.
Can I drop my video in the comments to help people understand my post?
For the plain video, no. Rule 9 stops anything you created or are associated with, and Rule 5 stops titles that try to influence viewers. A giveaway runs straight into Rule 5 as well.
Can I link a page on my site that plays the video?
No. “No Indirect Links” bans web pages that only embed videos, URL shorteners, playlists, and channel pages, so you need a direct link to the video itself.
Can I run a giveaway or fundraiser around my post?
Send it to the moderators for verification before posting, per Rule 5 and the published brief, and expect that it may not be approved. A giveaway cannot be run at all.
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