GeoHints

GeoHints is a website that provides information about things like traffic lights, utility poles, bollards etc. for different regions of the world to help geolocate a location.

URL

https://geohints.com/

Description

Geohints provides example images of geographical entities from different countries around the world to help open source researchers identify what country an image may come from.

GeoHints shows pictures of things like license plates, post boxes, road signs, etc. from different countries or regions. Those pictures are often (but not always) taken from Google StreetView.

Geohints was originally created for players of https://www.geoguessr.com/.

Features

• Architecture

• Bollards

• Companies: images of beers, petrol stations and post offices from different countries.

• Camera Gens - different Google camera gens Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 3, Gen 4, Trekker

• Countries - Google Street View country coverage.

• Currencies

• Domains url country domains

• Driving side

• Flags

• Follow Cars

• Google Vehicles

• House Numbers

• License Plates

• Road Lines

• Nature - plants

• Phone Numbers: telephone country codes.

• Post Boxes

• Rifts: camera distortions

• Scenery

• Sidewalks

• Road Signs

• Snow: snow coverage in different countries.

• Street Suffix

• Traffic Lights

• Utility Poles

• Years: the years in which Google Street View cameras gathered imagery.

Cost

• Free

• Partially Free

• Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

• Web: Any modern web browser.

Limitations

GeoHints has the following limitations:

Some regions and countries have better coverage than others on GeoHints. Not much or no information might be available for some countries.

Ethical Considerations

GeoHints, like any other geolocation tool, presents several ethical considerations:

• Privacy Concerns: Collecting and storing geolocation data can lead to privacy breaches. It's essential to ensure that users are informed and give explicit consent.

• Bias and Discrimination: Avoid using geolocation data in ways that could lead to discriminatory practices or biases.

• Anonymization: Where possible, anonymize geolocation data to protect the identities of the individuals involved.

Guides and articles

To effectively use Geohints, especially for beginners or those looking to refine their skills, the following resources are highly recommended:

Official Wiki

• https://geohints.com/FAQ

Articles

• Beginner’s Guide to Geoguessr 3 (no date) Plonk It. Available at: https://www.plonkit.net/beginners-guide-3 (Accessed: 13 June 2024).

Video

• Twitch (no date) Twitch. Available at: https://www.twitch.tv/geohints (Accessed: 13 June 2024).
• What is the Best Way to Learn Geoguessr in 2023? (2023). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-PidoFqZFY (Accessed: 13 June 2024).

Community and Support

• Discord service not working

Tool provider

Not clear

Research & website: MouseWithBeer

Graphical work & research: PV_93

United States part of Geohints: Oddtom

Interactive maps: Sören

Advertising Trackers

• This tool has not been checked for advertising trackers yet.

• This tool uses tracking cookies. Use with caution.

• This tool does not appear to use tracking cookies.

Page maintainer
Paul - Bellingcat Volunteer Community