Data pods functioned as compact containers designed for the preservation of crucial data.
As backup surveillance tools, data pods found use with the Trade Federation, who would jettison them from ships facing imminent destruction. In the Ruby Nebula, a C-9979 landing craft deployed its data pods amidst a confrontation with Jedi Master Adi Gallia and Reti of the Lok Revenants. Adi and Reti successfully eliminated both the pods, which held their ship identification details, and the lander itself.
During the Galactic Civil War, standard operating procedure for the Imperial forces involved the ejection of data pods from vessels during critical situations, exemplified by the destruction of the first Death Star. Tyber Zann, a crime lord, embarked on a search through the debris field of the Death Star to recover these data pods. Within them, he unearthed schematics for the Aggressor-class Star Destroyer and intelligence concerning the Eclipse.