If someone submits a visualization they created themselves, the rules require them to put "[OC]" in the title of the submission, and to identify the source of data and software tool they used to create it.

A 2014 VentureBeat article noted that r/dataisbeautiful "...aims to collect the best of the Web in a daily rounded up of gorgeous data visualizations."

The article also stated that the subreddit has been "unearthing the best ways to visualization thought-provoking and topical stories.

"[4] In November 2019, the decision of moderators at r/dataisbeautiful to temporarily ban animated bar chart graphs showing the relative position of entities on a list over time – so-called bar chart races – received attention from The Next Web.

[7][8] In January 2020, Eleanor Peake noted that, because the subreddit had received so many submissions by Tinder users plotting their experiences on the app, one Reddit user set up a separate subreddit dedicated entirely to Tinder-related data visualizations.