OSINT Industries

You enter a selector; the tool queries a large number of platforms (social networks, consumer services, professional sites) and lists the accounts found with, when public: display name, profile picture, handle, sometimes creation date or last activity. The result is a map of the digital footprint tied to that selector, which you can pivot from.

• An email often reveals forgotten accounts (forums, apps, gaming platforms…).
• A phone number can be linked to messaging apps or service accounts.
• Retrieved profile pictures can then go through a reverse image search.

The tool’s value comes from pivots: each result becomes a new starting point, to be cross-checked with other sources.

• 1. Email → list of services it is registered on.
• 2. Accounts found → display names, photos, reused usernames.
• 3. Usernames → search on other platforms (Sherlock, Maigret, WhatsMyName).
• 4. Photos → reverse image search (Google Lens, Yandex, TinEye).
• 5. Synthesis → timeline and confidence level for each link.

A result is not proof of identity. Interpret it with care.

• False positives: a username or email may belong to someone else, or have been reused.
• False negatives: a private or deleted account may not show up.
• Reassigned numbers: a phone number may have changed owner.
• Variable coverage: platforms change their mechanisms regularly, and results change with them.

Results are personal data. In Europe, collecting them falls under GDPR, even when they are public.

• Have a legitimate purpose and a legal basis (engagement, contract, supervised investigation).
• Only collect what you need (minimization) and set a retention period.
• Never use the tool for harassment, doxing or monitoring someone close to you.
• Check the tool’s documentation on how lookups are performed and whether the account holder can see them.

Some alternatives or complements, a few of them free:

• Epieos: public information linked to an email or phone number, notably for Google accounts.
• Holehe (open source): checks which sites an email is registered on.
• GHunt (open source): analyzes Google accounts from an email.
• Sherlock / Maigret: search a username across hundreds of sites.

Typical use cases