OSINT Guides
Guides to learn open source intelligence from scratch: core concepts, photo geolocation, reverse image search, satellite imagery, ship tracking and more.
Google Dorking: OSINT with Advanced Search Operators
Get far more out of search engines with site:, filetype:, intitle:, quotes and date operators, plus a ready-made dork library for documents, companies, usernames, places and ships.
Finding Deleted Content: A Guide to the Wayback Machine and Web Archives
Find old versions of deleted or changed web pages: the Wayback Machine, archive.today and national archives. Reading a site’s history, archiving your findings and the limits.
How to Write an OSINT Report: Findings, Evidence and Confidence
Turning open source research into a readable, verifiable report: report structure, evidence logging, archiving, confidence language and tips for writing CTF write-ups.
Ship Tracking OSINT: IMO, MMSI, AIS and the Shadow Fleet
Tracking ships with open sources: IMO vs MMSI, AIS data and its limits, verifying a ship’s identity, measuring ships on satellite imagery, the shadow fleet and sanctions databases.
What Is Due Diligence? Vetting Companies and Candidates with OSINT
What is due diligence and when is it done? A step-by-step guide to vetting suppliers and companies with open sources, spotting red flags and running lawful pre-employment screening.
What Is OSINT? A Beginner’s Guide to Open Source Intelligence
What is OSINT (open source intelligence), where is it used and how do you learn it? The intelligence cycle, core skills, ethical and legal limits, and a roadmap for getting started.
How to Geolocate a Photo: A Step-by-Step Guide
How to find where a photo was taken: checking metadata, reading clues in the image, reverse image search, narrowing down with maps and street view, and verification.
Reverse Image Search Guide: Google Lens, Yandex, Bing and TinEye
What is reverse image search and what is it good for? The strengths of Google Lens, Yandex Images, Bing Visual Search and TinEye, with practical tips for better results.
What Is Photo Metadata (EXIF)? How to View and Remove It
What is the EXIF metadata hidden in your photos and what does it carry (location, date, device)? How to view it on phone and computer, remove it before sharing, and use it in OSINT.
Tracing a Username: An Introduction to SOCMINT
How to research open sources starting from a single username: username scanning, verifying matches, pivoting techniques, archives and ethical limits.
How to Read Satellite Imagery: A Guide to Free Satellite Sources
Free satellite imagery sources (Sentinel, Landsat, NASA Worldview, Google Earth) and the basics of reading satellite images: resolution, dates, shadows, false colour and change detection.
Fake News and Image Verification: A 5-Step Checking Guide
Check in 5 steps whether a photo or video you see on social media is real: source, first publication, location, time and context. Tips for spotting AI-generated images.