r/datahoarder

The subreddit r/datahoarder is a community forum hosted on the social network Reddit and a space of exchange for 680,000 members (to date) engaged in collecting and archiving large amounts of digital data around their individual interests. The forum hosts discussions on many topics ranging from optimizing storage hardware, cloud storage platform guidelines, or backup software. Users exchange inspiration for their collections, including many archives on pop culture to more niche domains such as car manuals or National Geographic magazines. The page features a well-organized FAQ section documenting the best digital archival practices.

In 2021 the community received significant public attention in the USA for its' ad-hoc participatory archiving project of digital information concerning the forced entry of right-wing demonstrators into the US Capitol building on January 6th. Reacting to the events users started downloading and scraping data from streaming platforms and social media before the content was deleted or made unavailable for the public.

While it is a heterogeneous community encompassing many different users, levels of engagement, and interests, the underlying motive for most 'hoarders' seems to be the quest for recording information for posterity and keeping it available for an interested public. In many cases, the archival practices infringe not only copyright but also data privacy laws, such as "the right to be forgotten" under the European general data protection regulation.