OSINT
What's Inside a 3,000-Site Username Checker? We Opened Ours
Our username search checks 3,457 sites. 58 are major platforms; 91% run on about ten kinds of community software. The full breakdown, and what the number really means.
· 4 min read
Username OSINT Guides and Tool Reviews
OSINT means open-source intelligence: research built from information anyone can access, such as public profiles, archived pages and published records. A username is one of the most useful starting points, because people often reuse a handle across forums, games, code hosts and social apps. Finding those profiles is the easy part. Working out which ones belong to the same person, and documenting how you know, takes most of the effort.
The posts here cover the username side of that work. Some are for beginners and explain what a username search can tell you and where it goes wrong. Others compare the open-source tools people use, such as Sherlock, Maigret and the WhatsMyName dataset, and say plainly where each one does better. There are also workflows for journalists checking whether a source is who they claim to be.
Two rules run through every guide. Treat each result as a lead to verify by hand, because sites change their pages and detection rules lag behind. And stay inside legal and ethical limits: public information only, research you are entitled to do, no harassment, and no use of results for decisions about jobs, credit or housing.
When you are ready to try it, our free search checks one handle against every site in our list and exports what it finds as JSON or CSV for your notes.
Looking for the tool, not a guide? OSINT tools compared · OSINT username search
Newest in OSINT
- OSINT
We Ran Sherlock, Maigret, Blackbird and Our Engine on the Same 10 Usernames
A reproducible test: 4 username tools, 10 handles, default settings. Hits, false positives on made-up names, errors and speed, with the raw CSV.
· 8 min read
- OSINT
Reverse Gamertag Lookup: Find a Player Across Games
Free gamertag lookup online: check one name on Xbox, PlayStation, Steam, Riot and more, do an Xbox gamertag search, then deep-search every site.
· 4 min read
- OSINT
How We Choose, Test and Re-Check the Sites We Search
How the FreeUsername username search decides a profile exists: how sites are added, how each rule is tested, nightly checks and what the four statuses mean.
· 4 min read
- OSINT
Find Someone's Other Accounts by Username (2026)
How to find someone's other accounts from one username: search every site at once, verify matches by hand, and stay inside the lines of responsible use.
· 4 min read
- OSINT
Sherlock Alternatives: Username Search With No Install
Want Sherlock-style username search without Python or a terminal? We compare Sherlock, Maigret, Blackbird and UserSearch with a free tool that needs no setup.
· 5 min read
- OSINT
IDCrawl Alternatives for Username Search
Looking for an IDCrawl alternative that only checks usernames? We compare IDCrawl, UserSearch and Sherlock with a free tool that never shows contact data.
· 4 min read
- OSINT
How to Find Someone by Name Online, Within Limits
Search someone's name with free methods, what name search engines and AI person finders really return, how username tools differ, and the FCRA limits.
· 8 min read
- OSINT
The Ethics of Searching for Someone's Social Profiles
Is it legal to look someone up? A plain guide to OSINT ethics, consent, stalking laws in general terms, and five questions to ask before you search anyone.
· 7 min read
- OSINT
What Mr. Robot Gets Right About OSINT and Your Digital Footprint
Mr. Robot and OSINT: how Elliot profiles people from public accounts and reused usernames, what is realistic, and how to shrink your own digital footprint.
· 7 min read
- OSINT
How to Choose a Username Search App: Privacy, Accuracy and Features
How to pick a username search app for your phone: the features that matter, the red flags to skip, and when a web tool beats installing anything.
· 5 min read
- OSINT
Sherlock vs Maigret vs WhatsMyName: Which Username OSINT Tool to Use
Sherlock, Maigret and WhatsMyName compared from their own documentation: site coverage, output, profile parsing, setup, and which one fits your username investigation.
· 6 min read
