1 of 100

Production

Home

A toolkit for open source researchers

Welcome to Bellingcat’s Online Open Source Investigation Toolkit!

This is your place to discover tools! Our toolkit includes satellite and mapping services, tools for verifying photos and videos, websites to archive web pages, and much more. Most of the tools that we include can be used for free.

Click on the name of a tool to view an in-depth review and guide for the tool (if available). You can also download this toolkit (or some of its categories) as a csv.

Browse tools by category:

About

This toolkit is still a work-in-progress and the number of available tool descriptions will grow over time. You can read more about the toolkit here.

Our Toolkit Maintainers and Guardians

Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit has a long tradition but our newest version is special: It is offered in collaboration with the Bellingcat volunteer community.

Bellingcat volunteers, staff and the wider open source researcher community contribute to writing and updating toolkit descriptions. Bellingcat staff checks each toolkit entry before it goes online.

If our Toolkit Maintainers choose to be publicly mentioned, you can find their names on individual tool pages under "page maintainer".

Our Toolkit Guardians have a special role: They help us further develop this toolkit to make sure it meets the needs of open source researchers.

Our Toolkit Guardians:

Afton is a volunteer open-source investigator with training in digital investigations for use in human rights and criminal accountability. She is the Volunteer Toolkit Guardian for the category Transport.

Anisa Shabir is a volunteer open-source researcher at Bellingcat's Global Authentication Project and holds an MA in investigative journalism from the Arizona State University's Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. Anisa is the Volunteer Toolkit Guardian for the category Image/Video.

Lieth Carrillo is a Colombian anthropologist dedicated to transnational organized crime and corruption research. She is currently involved in OSINT research on transnational wildlife trade and illegal exploitation of natural resources. She is the Volunteer Toolkit Guardian for the Environment & Wildlife category.

Lora is a linguist by education, media and corporate intel analyst by trade, and an occasional due diligence investigator. She is the Volunteer Toolkit Guardian for the Companies & Finance category.

Martin Sona is an interdisciplinary researcher and lecturer with a social psychology, cognitive neuroscience, and tech innovation background. He's passionate about science, community coordination, and making complex information meaningful and accessible. Here, he serves as the Volunteer Toolkit Guardian for the Social Media category.

Sophie Tedling has worked with Bellingcat as a volunteer, Tech Fellow & contributor. Her background is engineering, AI & risk, and she runs PeakVisorforOSINV on X which collects input from the research community with the goal to communicate the needs of open source researchers to the PeakVisor developer team. She is the Volunteer Toolkit Guardian for the Maps & Satellites category.

Contribute to this Toolkit

If you are an expert for a specific category of open source research tools and you would like to contribute to this toolkit, get in touch with Johanna via toolkit@bellingcat.com. Feel free to introduce yourself and share a few words about your tool expertise. We would love to hear from you.

Keep in mind that contributing to our toolkit is a long-term volunteer commitment: You write tool descriptions and update them on a monthly basis. We do not accept volunteer contributors whose identity we don’t know.

Please do not suggest tools that should be added to the toolkit via this e-mail address.

Bellingcat Team and Contact

This collaborative toolkit has been designed by Bellingcat staff member Johanna Wild during her 2024 Nieman-Berkman Klein Fellowship in Journalism Innovation at Harvard University.

Viktorija Ignatavičiūtė and Galen Reich contributed to defining the volunteer involvement for this project, with Viktorija Ignatavičiūtė supporting our toolkit volunteer community also on a daily basis.

If you have any feedback or questions, please get in touch with Johanna Wild via toolkit@bellingcat.com. Please do not suggest tools that you would like to see added to the toolkit via this e-mail address.

About Bellingcat

Bellingcat is an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists brought together by a passion for open source research.

You can follow Bellingcat's work here:

Bellingcat website, BlueSky, Discord, Facebook,Github, Instagram, Mastodon, Patreon, Reddit, Soundcloud, Twitch, X,Youtube.

Bellingcat is a non-profit and the ability to carry out our work is dependent on the kind support of individual donors. If you would like to support our work, you can so here.

We also provide workshops on open source investigative methods and tools. For those of you interested in becoming a Bellingcat volunteer, have a look at our volunteer community page.

Most Used

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

Auto Archiver

Bellingcat's tool to automatically archive social media posts, videos, and images. Free and Open-Source.

Free

Google Earth Pro

Google Earth is a geospatial tool that provides detailed, global satellite imagery, maps, 3D terrain models, and the ability to explore geographic data interactively.

Free

Google Maps

Google Maps provides mapping information, satellite imagery and Google Street View imagery including historical Street View images.

Free

Wayback Machine

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine lets users view and archive web pages, aiding in historical research and digital preservation.

Free

InVID Verification Plugin

A toolkit that supports the verification of videos and images.

Free

OpenCorporates

Comprehensive repository of company registries around the world

Partially Free

SunCalc

Suncalc models the relationship between the date, time of day, the geographic location of a place, and the position of the sun in the sky, together with the length & direction of the shadows it casts.

Free

New Tools

These tools were added to the toolkit within the last four weeks.

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

Discord Chat Exporter

A tool for exporting Discord chat logs in multiple formats.

Free

EU Sanctions Map

Database of sanctions imposed by the European Union

Free

Search4Faces

Upload the picture of a face and find pictures of similar looking people on VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, TikTok and Clubhouse.

Free

ShipFinder

ShipFinder is an application designed to track vessels in near real-time across the globe.

Partially Free

Maps & Satellites

Maps

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

About Maps and Satellites

A guide to using map and satellite tools.

Free

Apple Maps

Apple Maps is a digital mapping service with detailed, interactive maps, satellite imagery, and location-based information.

Free

Baidu Maps

Baidu’s mapping service offering satellite imagery, street maps, and streetview (“Panorama” - zh:百度全景).

Free

Bellingcat OpenStreetMap Search

A user interface to search OpenStreetMap data for features in proximity to each other.

Free

Bing Maps

Bing Maps is a web mapping service provided by Microsoft that offers detailed geographical information and tools for route planning, location search, and satellite imagery.

Partially Free

Convert Geographic Units

A tool that converts various geographic coordinates to support diverse mapping and spatial analysis needs.

Free

F4Map

F4Map is an interactive 3D map visualization tool that provides detailed rendering of urban landscapes and geographical features.

Free

Gaode Maps

Gaode Maps (also known as AMap) is a mapping application and technology from the Chinese company Alibaba.

Free

Gjirafa

Mapping service for Albania (specially Kosovo)

Free

_{Guide not available}

Global Fishing Watch Map

The Global Fishing Watch Map is a digital platform for investigating fishing activities worldwide by utilising satellite and AIS data.

Free

Global Forest Watch

It helps to detect changes in forest cover (i.e., to track deforestation), fires, land use, and more. It also includes Global Fire Watch (VIRSS data)

Free

Google Earth Pro

Google Earth is a geospatial tool that provides detailed, global satellite imagery, maps, 3D terrain models, and the ability to explore geographic data interactively.

Free

Google Maps

Google Maps provides mapping information, satellite imagery and Google Street View imagery including historical Street View images.

Free

GovMap

GovMap provides an interactive map of Israel, offering users a wide range of data including property boundaries, planning information, and infrastructure details.

Free

Hitta.se

Mapping service for Sweden

Free

KartaView

KartaView is a crowdsourced, street-level imagery platform that allows users to contribute, view, and use photos to enhance and validate map data.

Free

MapChecking

This tool helps you estimate and fact-check the maximum number of people standing in a given area.

Free

Mapillary

Mapillary is a crowdsourced street-level imagery platform.

Partially Free

MapSwitcher

Chrome extension switches between online map apps, maintaining (as far as possible) the map centre, zoom level, & directions of the source map.

Free

mapy.cz

Mapping service for Czechia

Free

_{Guide not available}

Maritime Awareness Project

South China Sea maps with oil and gas fields, fishing areas, air defense zones and administrative, claimed, disputed zones, submarine data cables.

Free

_{Guide not available}

NASA FIRMS

Displays a world map overlaid with infra-red data from one or more satellites, some, but not all of which may represent heat from fires and explosions.

Free

Nullschool Earth Map

View current and historic wind, weather, ocean and pollution conditions on an interactive animated map.

Free

_{Guide not available}

OpenInfraMap

Power lines, telecoms, solar, oil, gas & water infrastructure mapped globally.

Free

_{Guide not available}

OpenSeaMap

Sea map of borders, special zones, shipping lanes, with overlays of MarineTraffic and other sources

Free

_{Guide not available}

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Overpass Turbo

Overpass Turbo is a web-based tool for querying and visualizing OpenStreetMap crowd sourced data, aiding in extracting specific information like locations of amenities e.g.hospitals.

Free

PeakVisor

Dual window views for any global location: (1) a 2-D map & (2) a 3-D rendered terrain model, with photo fitting, shade/slope mapping, sun trails & weather data. In active development for OS research.

Free

QGIS

QGIS is a free Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS).

Free

Quick geolocation search

A tool that brings several maps into one place for easy location search.

Free

Resource Watch

A nonprofit platform, still in beta, that provides hundreds of data sets on the state of the planet’s resources and citizens. It is sponsored by the World Resources Institute and other organizations.

Free

_{Guide not available}

satellites.pro

Satellites.pro allows open source researchers to quickly switch between several free satellite imagery and mapping services.

Free

ShadeMap

ShadeMap is a global simulation of mountain, building & tree shadows for a given date & time. Base data is free, but users can buy 30cm accurate data per sq km for areas of special focus.

Partially Free

ShadowMap

Global map of 3D buildlings and the shadows they cast at a specific time a day

Free

Strava

Social media fitness app with exercise map based on users' GPS data.

Partially Free

Tencent Maps

Tencent Maps (formerly SOSO Maps) is a desktop and web mapping service application and technology provided by Chinese company Tencent, offering satellite imagery, street maps, street view (coverage) and historical view perspectives.

Free

Topotijdreis.nl

Over 200 years of maps and topography from the Netherlands.

Free

_{Guide not available}

UTM grid zones

An overview of the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system.

Free

_{Guide not available}

what3words

A proprietary geocode system which identifies any location on the surface of the earth to a resolution of 3 metres. The identifier is a unique combination of three words, available in 60 languagues.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Wikimapia

Wikimapia is a collaborative mapping project that aims to describe every location on Earth, combining the interactive features of a detailed map with the versatility of a wiki system.

Free

Yandex Maps

A platform offering detailed maps, satellite imagery, street views (static & sometimes dynamic imagery, including aerial views). Often the best available data on Russia & surrounding regions.

Partially Free

Satellite Imagery

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

Geolocation

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

Image/Video

Metadata

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

Resources

Maps

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

About Maps and Satellites

A guide to using map and satellite tools.

Free

Apple Maps

Apple Maps is a digital mapping service with detailed, interactive maps, satellite imagery, and location-based information.

Free

Baidu Maps

Baidu’s mapping service offering satellite imagery, street maps, and streetview (“Panorama” - zh:百度全景).

Free

Bellingcat OpenStreetMap Search

A user interface to search OpenStreetMap data for features in proximity to each other.

Free

Bing Maps

Bing Maps is a web mapping service provided by Microsoft that offers detailed geographical information and tools for route planning, location search, and satellite imagery.

Partially Free

Convert Geographic Units

A tool that converts various geographic coordinates to support diverse mapping and spatial analysis needs.

Free

F4Map

F4Map is an interactive 3D map visualization tool that provides detailed rendering of urban landscapes and geographical features.

Free

Gaode Maps

Gaode Maps (also known as AMap) is a mapping application and technology from the Chinese company Alibaba.

Free

Gjirafa

Mapping service for Albania (specially Kosovo)

Free

_{Guide not available}

Global Fishing Watch Map

The Global Fishing Watch Map is a digital platform for investigating fishing activities worldwide by utilising satellite and AIS data.

Free

Global Forest Watch

It helps to detect changes in forest cover (i.e., to track deforestation), fires, land use, and more. It also includes Global Fire Watch (VIRSS data)

Free

Google Earth Pro

Google Earth is a geospatial tool that provides detailed, global satellite imagery, maps, 3D terrain models, and the ability to explore geographic data interactively.

Free

Google Maps

Google Maps provides mapping information, satellite imagery and Google Street View imagery including historical Street View images.

Free

GovMap

GovMap provides an interactive map of Israel, offering users a wide range of data including property boundaries, planning information, and infrastructure details.

Free

Hitta.se

Mapping service for Sweden

Free

KartaView

KartaView is a crowdsourced, street-level imagery platform that allows users to contribute, view, and use photos to enhance and validate map data.

Free

MapChecking

This tool helps you estimate and fact-check the maximum number of people standing in a given area.

Free

Mapillary

Mapillary is a crowdsourced street-level imagery platform.

Partially Free

MapSwitcher

Chrome extension switches between online map apps, maintaining (as far as possible) the map centre, zoom level, & directions of the source map.

Free

mapy.cz

Mapping service for Czechia

Free

_{Guide not available}

Maritime Awareness Project

South China Sea maps with oil and gas fields, fishing areas, air defense zones and administrative, claimed, disputed zones, submarine data cables.

Free

_{Guide not available}

NASA FIRMS

Displays a world map overlaid with infra-red data from one or more satellites, some, but not all of which may represent heat from fires and explosions.

Free

Nullschool Earth Map

View current and historic wind, weather, ocean and pollution conditions on an interactive animated map.

Free

_{Guide not available}

OpenInfraMap

Power lines, telecoms, solar, oil, gas & water infrastructure mapped globally.

Free

_{Guide not available}

OpenSeaMap

Sea map of borders, special zones, shipping lanes, with overlays of MarineTraffic and other sources

Free

_{Guide not available}

OpenStreetMap

OpenStreetMap is a collaborative project to create a free editable map of the world.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Overpass Turbo

Overpass Turbo is a web-based tool for querying and visualizing OpenStreetMap crowd sourced data, aiding in extracting specific information like locations of amenities e.g.hospitals.

Free

PeakVisor

Dual window views for any global location: (1) a 2-D map & (2) a 3-D rendered terrain model, with photo fitting, shade/slope mapping, sun trails & weather data. In active development for OS research.

Free

QGIS

QGIS is a free Open Source Geographic Information System (GIS).

Free

Quick geolocation search

A tool that brings several maps into one place for easy location search.

Free

Resource Watch

Free

_{Guide not available}

satellites.pro

Satellites.pro allows open source researchers to quickly switch between several free satellite imagery and mapping services.

Free

ShadeMap

ShadeMap is a global simulation of mountain, building & tree shadows for a given date & time. Base data is free, but users can buy 30cm accurate data per sq km for areas of special focus.

Partially Free

ShadowMap

Global map of 3D buildlings and the shadows they cast at a specific time a day

Free

Strava

Social media fitness app with exercise map based on users' GPS data.

Partially Free

Tencent Maps

Free

Topotijdreis.nl

Over 200 years of maps and topography from the Netherlands.

Free

_{Guide not available}

UTM grid zones

An overview of the Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate system.

Free

_{Guide not available}

what3words

A proprietary geocode system which identifies any location on the surface of the earth to a resolution of 3 metres. The identifier is a unique combination of three words, available in 60 languagues.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Wikimapia

Wikimapia is a collaborative mapping project that aims to describe every location on Earth, combining the interactive features of a detailed map with the versatility of a wiki system.

Free

Yandex Maps

A platform offering detailed maps, satellite imagery, street views (static & sometimes dynamic imagery, including aerial views). Often the best available data on Russia & surrounding regions.

Partially Free

People

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

192.com

Searching for someone's address in the UK, phone number and who they live with according to electoral rolls.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Bellingcat Name Variant Search

Simple tool to help search for different ways of writing a name.

Free

Blackbird

Check usernames and email addresses on websites and social networks

Free

DeHashed

A platform that maintains a database of compromised credentials, with a newly-launched web domain registration search tool.

Paid

DiscordLeaks

Search hundreds of thousands of messages leaked from 180+ white-supremacist / nazi discord servers.

Free

Eniro

Yellow Pages (Swedish Edition)

Free

_{Guide not available}

Epieos

Checks where an email has been used. Based on Holehe.

Paid

_{Guide not available}

FastPeopleSearch

Mostly good for US.

Free

_{Guide not available}

GetContact

Phonenumber ID app - draws from crowdsourced contactbooks

Free

_{Guide not available}

Ghunt

A command line tool for obtaining information about Google accounts.

Free

Have I Been Pwned?

Does an email or a phone number appear in data breaches?

Free

Hitta.se

Mapping service for Sweden

Free

Intelx.io

Find user details in data breaches

Partially Free

Leak-Lookup

An online tool that allows you to search across public data breaches to surface credentials that may have been compromised.

Partially Free

Maigret

Maigret is a Python script that retrieves user information by searching for usernames across various websites and social media platforms.

Free

Namechk

A username and domain search tool that checks on which platforms or domain a given username is registered.

Free

NeutrOSINT

A tool for investigating Proton Mail addresses.

Free

NigeriaPhonebook

Look up by name, state, and phone number. Last names are partially censored for free accounts.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Person Lookup

find individuals, phonenumbers, and adresses

Free

_{Guide not available}

Pipl

Identity information for professionals

Paid

_{Guide not available}

Ratsit

Look up phone numbers/names (Sweden)

Free

_{Guide not available}

Resource Watch

Free

_{Guide not available}

Search Systems

Finding public record information online in over 70,000 databases organized by type and location to help you find property, criminal, court, birth, death, marriage, divorce records, licenses, deeds, mortgages, corporate records, business registration, and many other public record resources.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Sherlock

Check usernames across more than 400 websites and social networks.

Free

Skopenow

Social Media Investigations - name, phone, email, username searches

Paid

Spokeo

People search through email, phone, name

Paid

_{Guide not available}

Swedish Name Register

Find out how common a name is in Sweden based on census data

Free

_{Guide not available}

The Law Pages

Search criminal court case details in the UK, such as sentence, hearing, defendant, etc.

Free

_{Guide not available}

ThisNumber

An international directory of white pages and yellow pages phone books, and online directory enquiries. It's a free, independent and up-to-date guide to telephone directories on the web.

Free

_{Guide not available}

TrueCaller

Truecaller is a caller ID app that identifies incoming calls, blocks unwanted numbers and gathers phone numbers and names from contact lists. It also performs reverse phone number search.

Partially Free

TruffleHog

Find leaked credentials.

Free

WAtools.io

Track whatsapp activity, number, profile picture. Check if number is used, download profile pic, check online status.

Paid

_{Guide not available}

WhatsMyName

Search for usernames on several hundred platforms

Free

Worldwide Osint Tools map

Global overview of yellow/white pages, court cases, business registries etc.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Companies & Finance

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

527 Explorer

ProPublica's 527 Explorer is a database that allows users to examine the finances of organizations known as 527s in the United States, which can raise unlimited sums for political purposes.

Free

BlockExplorer

Following a bitcoin trail or following a bitcoin account?

Free

_{Guide not available}

China-related resources

Resources for research on companies in China.

Companies House

Search companies and individuals in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar.

Free

EDGAR

Database of corporate filings for the US

Free

EDGAR Command Line Interface (edgar-tool)

Tool for the retrieval of corporate and financial data from SEC's EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) database.

Free

Etherscan

An explorer that allows researchers to track wallets, transactions and more on the Ethereum blockchain.

Free

EU consolidated corporate registers

Consolidated company registers covering most of the EU, Iceland Liechtenstein and Norway.

Free

EU Sanctions Map

Database of sanctions imposed by the European Union

Free

Global Suppliers Online

A site dedicated to connect suppliers and buyers of goods from all over the world.

Partially Free

ICIJ Offshore Leaks Database

Find out who’s behind more than 810k offshore companies, foundations and trusts from the Panama Papers, the Offshore Leaks, the Bahamas Leaks and the Paradise Papers investigations.

Free

ImportGenius

Commercial supplier of shipment data for 19 countries.

Paid

ImportYeti

Search 60 million US customs sea shipment records, find company suppliers.

Free

LittleSis

Connects dots between influential / wealthy individuals in (mostly US) politics and business.

Free

Lumen

A research project collecting and publishing legal takedown notices for online content transparency

Free

North Data

Search for people and companies in EU corporate and trade registers + visualize relationships

Partially Free

OCCRP Aleph

Aleph offers a way to research sanctions lists, corporate registries, leaks, and more

Free

Open Ownership

Links to beneficial ownership registers.

Free

OpenCorporates

Comprehensive repository of company registries around the world

Partially Free

OpenSanctions

Open-source international database of sanctions data, persons of interest and politically exposed persons.

Partially Free

OpenSecrets

Data on campaign finance, lobbying, and spending in U.S. politics

Free

Osint Tools Map

An interactive worldwide map, showcasing business registries, court records, and other publicly available information to aid OSINT investigations and research.

Free

RuPEP

Online database of politically exposed persons in Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Free

SanctionsExplorer

A comprehensive database of current and historical OFAC/UN/EU sanctions

Free

UN Comtrade Database

United Nations free database of global trade.

Free

Wikipedia list of registers

Wikipedia list of official business registers around the world.

Free

Other Platforms

Tools for other platforms including Bluesky, Discord, Linkedin, Reddit, and Vkontakte.

Name

Description

Cost

Tool Review and Guide

4plebs

Searchable archive of specific 4chan boards. Makes it possible to read threads after they are purged from 4chan.

Free

Blackbird

Check usernames and email addresses on websites and social networks

Free

Bluesky Insights

Bluesky Insights is a free web-based analytics tool for the Bluesky social network.

Free

BskyFollowFinder/Bluesky network analyzer

A tool that identifies which Bluesky accounts are followed by a profile’s contacts but not by that profile. Can be used for expanding networks and social graph analysis.

Free

BskyThreadReader

BskyThreadReader is a web-based Bluesky thread viewer that allows anyone to read and share Bluesky threads without logging in.

Free

ClubhouseDB

Search users, number of followers/following, and date of registry

Free

_{Guide not available}

Disboard

Search for public discord servers

Free

_{Guide not available}

Discord Chat Exporter

A tool for exporting Discord chat logs in multiple formats.

Free

DiscordLeaks

Search hundreds of thousands of messages leaked from 180+ white-supremacist / nazi discord servers.

Free

Email to LinkedIn (Epieos)

Check if an email address is connected to a LinkedIn Profile

Free

_{Guide not available}

F5Bot

Sends you an email when a keyword is mentioned on Reddit.

Free

_{Guide not available}

FindClone

Searches images from VK profiles (within certain limits)

Free

_{Guide not available}

Google Account Finder (EPIEOS)

Find the profile picture and public Google Map Reviews + Photos associated with a G-mail adress. Also checks for phone numbers, and checks for email addresses on social networks

Free

_{Guide not available}

Gravatar Email Checker

Check if an email address has been used to comment on blogs and whether there is a profile image attached.

Free

_{Guide not available}

NameMC

Find usernames, track username changes on minecraft

Free

_{Guide not available}

Open Measures

Open Measures helps open source researchers investigate harmful online activity such as extremism and disinformation.

Partially Free

Parler Video Uploads Map

A map showing the approximate (100ft) location of where Parler videos have been uploaded.

Free

_{Guide not available}

Photo-Map.RU

Geotagged VK posts.

Free

_{Guide not available}

PSNprofiles

Search PlayStation username, see daily activity, games played, country, and profile pic

Free

_{Guide not available}

Redective

Analyse Reddit profiles - incl word frequency and active hours

Free

_{Guide not available}

Sherlock

Check usernames across more than 400 websites and social networks.

Free

Snap Map

Searchable map of geotagged snaps.

Free

SteamId.uk

Lookup player names, view (more) previously used names, and when accounts befriended eachother (Free). View screenshots of account, (bulk) seach based on previously used names (paid).

Partially Free

_{Guide not available}

Strava

Social media fitness app with exercise map based on users' GPS data.

Partially Free

Vk.watch

See public comments left by an account, profile photos used, and very basic facial recognition

Free

_{Guide not available}

WAtools.io

Track whatsapp activity, number, profile picture. Check if number is used, download profile pic, check online status.

Paid

_{Guide not available}

XboxGamertag

Search gamertags, see games played and recorded game clips

Free

_{Guide not available}

About Maps and Satellites

A guide to using map and satellite tools.

Introduction Maps and satellite imagery

Maps and satellite imagery are vitally important tools for open source researchers engaged in geolocation and chronolocation. Most people are familiar with maps and their use in helping to orient and direct us in our daily lives. However, this familiarity is something open source researchers should be wary of. Maps and satellites have many uses for open source researchers but they also come with important ethical considerations and technical limitations.

This section describes some of these general issues whilst the individual tools descriptions describe tool specific issues.

Ethical Considerations

Cultural Bias

Maps are inherently political artefacts. Many maps explicitly define borders of countries but the politics of mapping goes much deeper than this. A classic example of this is the reversal of the North South map shown below:

Bias towards the Global North can produce inaccuracy in reporting and research. The way maps are drawn also often reflects this bias.

This has real accuracy implications for open source researchers. The familiar and the used by Google Maps, Open Street map, Bing Maps, etc. are not accurate representations of countries and continents. The featured in the following West Wing clip may be enlightening:

Even 'North' itself is not necessarily something we can take for granted. There are many 'Norths' according to Yung Au in including:

True North: The northern most point on the spherical earth (which is distorted when looking at flat maps).
Grid north: The north that runs upwards alongside the grid lines on a flat map.
Magnetic North: The north as indicated by a compass which shifts over time.
Google Maps’ North

Maps are intertwined with cultural biases. Many other cultures create maps that have deeper layers of meaning than Western map makers. In Australia indigenous cultures create maps for locating water holes but also as ancestral records .

Some resources that explore these issues in more depth include:

Thinking Critically About Maps: Researching, Resisting and Re-imagining the World — The Kit 1.0 documentation (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Houston, D. (2017) Five maps that will change how you see the world, The Conversation. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Lucchesi, A.H. (2018) ‘“Indians Don’t Make Maps”: Indigenous Cartographic Traditions and Innovations’, American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 42(3). Available at:

3D Space

Three-dimensional space can also be another challenge for maps and map makers. Eyal Weisman's Open Democracy essay explores how three-dimensional, political and cultural space in the occupied West Bank are constructed and reproduced through architecture and maps_._ Much of Weisman's research agency 's work is engaged in mapping violence across time and space using forensic methods to counter institutional bias.

Privacy

Open source researchers need to be aware of how satellite imagery platforms track and use researcher's data. In Europe the requires companies, government bodies, and individuals to provide clear and transparent information about how personal data will be used. Google Maps for instance provides information about how it and how personal information is used. However, this information is not always easy to find or in a standard, easy to understand format. It's the responsibility of researchers to understand and protect their data. The Vice article will give you an idea of how much data maps track.

Researchers in turn have a responsibility to ensure the right to privacy of individuals or groups they may be monitoring.

In regard to further ethical considerations the following may be helpful:

Bennett, M.M. et al. (2024) ‘Bringing satellites down to Earth: Six steps to more ethical remote sensing’, Global Environmental Change Advances, 2, p. 100003. Available at: .
February 2021, M.P.// 25 (2021) Why we need to think about ethics when using satellite data for development, Devex. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).

Limitations

Mapping and satellite imaging services all have generalised limitations that open source researchers need to be aware of so they can present transparent and verifiable results.

Data Accuracy

Satellite imagery has limitations around accuracy that researchers should understand and be transparent about. The following video from European Space Imaging although focused on the commercial application of satellite imagery may help researchers understand some of these limitation better.

The video explains that there are a number of different considerations when talking about 'accuracy'. These include:

Absolute Accuracy: Does the pixel in the image correlate identically with its position on earth?
Relative Accuracy: the distance between objects in the images.
Resolution: in general the higher the resolution the imagery the more accuracy.
Orthorectofication: the curve of the earth, the angle of the satellite, the altitude of the ground captured are all processed using orthorectofication elevation models to provide a two dimensional representation. Different companies use different algorithms to do this correction with implications for accuracy. A good example of what orth-correction does can be seen .

Accuracy is not measured in the same way by all satellite imagery. There are two main ways of assessing accuracy in satellite imagery:

(CE90): This means that a minimum of 90 percent of the points measured has a horizontal error less than the stated CE90 value. Used by European Space Agency.
: other platforms use RMSE to assess accuracy.

Every mapping and satellite tool in the Bellingcat toolkit has it's own standards regarding accuracy which we aim to reference in the individual toolkit entry. An example of platform documenting accuracy would be

For some use cases aerial imagery rather than satellite imagery, can offer better location accuracy down to pixels and .

Data Currency

Satellite data may not always be up to date. Researchers should verify important information through other sources where possible.

With satellite imagery two factors are important to consider. First, the of a satellite in orbit is the revisit frequency of the satellite to a particular location. The more often it revisits a location the more chance that the area will be cloud free when the satellite passes over the location and the greater the chance of identifying when exactly things change on the ground. The second factor to be aware of is the between the satellite taking the image and the image being made available publicly on the satellite imagery platform. This can vary by location as well as by platform and the documentation isn't always easy to find. We aim to include this data with the individual toolkit entry.

Political Bias and Missing Data

As inherently political artefacts there are practical implications for researchers using mapping tools. Most maps not only exhibit political bias but deliberately exclude, blur or only provide low resolution imagery of state related facilities or some regions of the world.

Google Maps is a good example of a platform that chooses to restrict access to data they deem as sensitive. A full List of Google satellite map images with missing or unclear data is provided by Wikipedia. Researchers should be aware that areas of conflict are particularly sensitive to being excluded.

It's also important to realise that where you are in the world will influence the imagery you have access to, see .

Some countries have legislation which makes mapping services located in those countries particularly problematic. China, for instance, has specific legislation restricting digital mapping services including . Users inside China are also restricted from accessing many of the services Western researchers take for granted by the '' of China.

These issues are important to consider when working with maps and satellite imagery and particularly when publishing open source research where being transparent about these limitations is important.

Other resources

Wikis

SentiWiki (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).

Tutorials and Articles

‘Buying Optical Satellite Imagery? The Top Ten Things to Consider - Home - Aerial/Satellite Digital Mapping Solutions - LAND INFO ... landinfo.com’ (2020), 6 April. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
1. Introduction to The Politics of Verticality (no date) openDemocracy. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Key factors to consider when choosing between aerial & satellite imagery- Aerometrex (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
4. Spatial accuracy and Ortho-correction | 10 things to know about VHR satellite data (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Earth Science Data Systems, N. (2019) What is Remote Sensing? | Earthdata. Earth Science Data Systems, NASA. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Earth Science Data Systems, N. (2020) What is Data Latency? | Earthdata. Earth Science Data Systems, NASA. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Earth Science Data Systems, N. (2020) What is Synthetic Aperture Radar? | Earthdata. Earth Science Data Systems, NASA. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).
Tutorials | Center for Spatial Research (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).

Video Tutorials

Video course: Mapping for Journalists (no date) DataJournalism.com. Available at: (Accessed: 26th April 2025).

Books

Kurgan, L. (2022) Close up at a distance: mapping, technology, and politics. First paperback edition 2022. New York: Zone Books.
Bélanger, P. and Arroyo, A. (2016) Ecologies of power: countermapping the logistical landscapes & military geographies of the U.S. Department of Defense. Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England: The MIT Press.
Weizman, E. (2017) Forensic architecture: violence at the threshold of detectability. Brooklyn, NY: Zone Books.

Page maintainer

ACLED

ACLED provides data and analysis on political violence and protest around the world, facilitating research, policy making, and journalistic reporting.

URL

Description

ACLED provides detailed, up-to-date information on political violence and protest events worldwide. The toolset includes the , , , and a , allowing users to track, analyze, and forecast conflict dynamics. Users can download datasets and utilize interactive dashboards for in-depth analysis of trends, country-specific profiles, and more. Covering all countries and territories (≈240), ACLED’s data supports research, humanitarian, and policy applications by enabling users to observe conflict patterns, identify trends, and assess regional stability risks.

Timely Data: A detailed dataset on the dates, locations, actors, and fatalities of political violence and protests, updated weekly.
: Written reports by ACLED analysts and researchers based of ACLED data.
Analysis Tools: Interactive dashboards, trend reports, and maps visualizing conflict data over time and across regions.
Country Profiles: In-depth reports on specific countries, analyzing conflict dynamics and historical context.
Data Export: Downloadable datasets in various formats for custom analysis.

Some functions or Dashboards within ACLED (such as CAST) might not work with an Ad- or tracking-blocker or on browsers with very strict security settings. The author's research doesn't indicate that this is of high concern, but you're responsible for your own digital footprint. You can download monthly reports for most of the tools, or use a VM to connect to ACLED if you want to avoid switching off these tools on your computer.

Features

Data

: Weekly updated conflict and protest data, as well as
: Filters data by location, actor, and event type, with exportable tables and charts.
: Interactive trend-tracking for political violence and demonstrations.
: Provides forecasts for political violence up to six months ahead.
Conflict Exposure Calculator: Assesses population exposure to conflict within specified areas and timeframes.
Conflict Index: Ranks global conflict levels.
Special Projects: Focuses on conflicts like Ukraine and Yemen, with real-time monitoring.

Analysis - Tools

The following part of the text contains detailed function information in collapsable containers for convenience.

ACLED Explorer

The ACLED Explorer enables filtering and summarizing data, generating tables and charts showing conflict and protest-related data, including types, actors, locations, and periods from 2018 onwards.

ACLED Explorer functions

Data download: download results as a .csv file.

Date Range: filter by a customizable date range.

Geographic area: select regions or countries of interest.

Grouping: group the results by Region, Country, Province District, or Location.

Select specific Provinces or District

Select particular data: ability to select Actors or Actor Types.

Toggle event types: disaggregate the results by event types, sub-event types, or civilian targeting.

Time period grouping: group results by time period day or week.

Views: table view or chart view.

Available metrics: metrics including Event Counts or Fatality Counts

Example of the ACLED Table View below showing all countries of interest:

Example of the ACLED Explorer Chart View below

ACLED Trendfinder

ACLED Trendfinder provides interactive tools for tracking global political violence and demonstrations. It enables the identification of significant changes, historical context, and early warning signs of conflict emergence across countries and regions.

Trendfinder Functions

Annual Trend graph: a bar chart and line graph with a time range slider.

Compare: compare events to the previous month or year.

Dark theme toggle

Data download: download data in .xlsx format.

Filter by Event / Sub event Types: filter events e.g., Battles, Protests, Riots, etc.

Individual event details: when viewing subnational results, these are viewable on the map and include event and sub-event type and actors involved,

Map view: see events plotted on a map.

Table view: see a table of events by country or subnational area.

Reset button

Select country: filter by a specific country.

Table View - Event Count and Change Statistics: filterable by country, Provinces or District, Events in the current Week, Yearly Average, and Percentage Change.

Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.

The example below shows using the ACLED Trendfinder to examine all event types in the Netherlands for a specific week compared to the previous year:

ACLED Conflict Alert System (CAST)

The ACLED Conflict Alert System (CAST) forecasts global political violence events up to six months ahead, with monthly updates and accuracy metrics for previous forecasts.

Forecasts function overview

Map view: see forecast trends of decreases/increases from the average plotted on a map.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.
Table view of Forecasted Events: filterable by country, number of events, forecast average, and predicted change.
Filter by country: filter by country.
Filter by outcome: filter by what event types are expected.
Filter by comparing the forecast to the previous time period from one month to 12 months.
Filter by selected forecast date: up to six months in the future.
Forecast trends graph view: a line graph with a time range slider showing historical and forecasted events.
What's driving the forecast: a bar chart visualization of events behind the forecasts.

Accuracy metrics in the CAST system allow users to see how accurate the forecast is compared to the last six months.

Accuracy metrics overview

Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.
Map view: mean percentage error plotted on a map (toggle between percentage error and error).
Filter by time period: from six months or a specific month.
Filter by country: filter by country.
Filter by outcome: filter by what event types are expected.
Table view of Forecasted Events: Country, Observed Events, Forecast, Error, and Percentage Error (filterable by country).

Example below: the default view for May 2024.

Conflict Exposure Calculator

Shows the number of people exposed to conflict in the selected area and time period.

Conflict exposure calucator functions

Data download:: download data in .xlsx format
Level of aggregation: Country, Global, Provinces, or District Level Location.
Filter by event or actor type and Actors.
Filter by country: filter by country or countries.
Filter by date range.
Table View: Country, distance, best, percentage of the country population, and total events.

ACLED Conflict Index

Ranking violent conflict levels across the world.

Example below: May 2024.

Special Projects

Focused Conflict Monitoring: ACLED provides analysis on several current conflicts and political violence, including the , , and .

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web - any modern web browser.
API - to access ACLED Data, please register for an account in the or login with your existing account information.
Interactive Conflict Index Dashboard: requires registration with an email address.

Details of registration are available here:

Limitations

The ACLED dataset and tools come with several limitations that researchers should be aware of before deciding to utilize them in their projects:

Geographical Coverage: While ACLED covers over 50 countries around the world, there may be gaps in coverage, especially in regions with less accessible information or ongoing conflicts.
Data Updates: Though ACLED regularly updates its dataset, there can be a lag in reporting of certain events due to the time it takes to verify information. This might affect research that requires the most current data.
Resolution and Granularity: The level of detail and granularity of data can vary by location and event, potentially impacting analyses that require uniform detail across datasets.
Access Restrictions: Some detailed data or analysis tools may only be available to users with specific access levels, which could limit the scope of research for those with basic access.
Dependence on Open Sources: The quality and reliability of ACLED data is dependent on the availability and veracity of open sources. In regions where media is restricted or unreliable, this could impact the accuracy of the dataset.
Conflict Alert System (CAST): As a future forecasting system, it comes with caveats regarding accuracy. To understand more, see the methodology .

Researchers should consider these limitations in conjunction with their research goals and methodologies to determine if ACLED's tools and datasets suit their needs.

Ethical Considerations

When using ACLED's tools and datasets, researchers must navigate several ethical considerations to ensure responsible utilization and dissemination of sensitive information. Users are advised to consult ACLED's for detailed guidelines.

Data Misinterpretation: There is a risk that data could be misinterpreted or taken out of context, potentially leading to harmful conclusions or actions. Researchers must strive for accuracy and clarity in their analyses.
Bias and Representation: It's essential to acknowledge any biases in the data collection and reporting processes and understand how these may affect the representation of certain groups or incidents.
Ethical Use and Attribution: Users of ACLED data should commit to using the data ethically, including proper attribution and acknowledgment of ACLED as the data source, and should not use the data for purposes that could incite violence or conflict.

Researchers and users of ACLED data are encouraged to engage with these ethical considerations thoughtfully, ensuring their work contributes positively to global understanding and resolution of international conflicts.

Guides and articles

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

Official Wiki

ACLED offers a and maintains a for users seeking comprehensive information.

Tutorials and Articles

Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED). Available at: (Accessed: 15 May 2024).
The remains the primary resource for developers integrating ACLED data into applications.

Use Cases:

Eclipse Mania, Coastal Earthquakes, Bridge Collapse, and Breaking the Ramadan Fast. Available at: (Accessed: 15 May 2024).
Ruser, N. (2018) How to Scrape Interactive Geospatial Data, bellingcat. Available at: (Accessed: 15 May 2024).
‘Mapping the Unknown: Using ACLED Data and GIS to Understand Conflict Zones’, Medium, 20 October. Available at: (Accessed: 15 May 2024).
For more recent use cases, consider exploring ACLED's Analysis section, which features up-to-date reports and insights.

Video:

Accessing ACLED Data (2023). Available at: (Accessed: 15 May 2024).
The ACLED Conflict Alert System (CAST) (2024). Available at: (Accessed: 15 May 2024). Voukenas, A. (2023)
For the latest tutorials, visit ACLED's , which hosts current content on data access and tools.

Developer Resources

Community and Support

Tool provider

The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) - United States

ACLED was created by , a Professor of Political Violence and Geography at the University of Sussex, in 2005 as a component of her PhD work. Since 2014, ACLED has operated as a non-profit, non-governmental organization incorporated in Wisconsin. ACLED operates as an independent, impartial, international non-profit organization that collects data on violent conflict and protests globally. It is a registered non-profit with 501(c)(3) status in the United States

Advertising Trackers

This tool has not been checked for advertising trackers yet.
This tool uses . Use with caution.
This tool does not appear to use tracking cookies.

Page maintainer

AllTrails

AllTrails.com is a tool for discovering hiking, biking, and running trails worldwide, providing detailed trail maps, user reviews, and navigation support for outdoor enthusiasts.

URL

Description

AllTrails.com is a tool for discovering hiking, biking, and running trails worldwide, providing detailed trail maps, user reviews, and navigation support for outdoor enthusiasts.

AllTrails.com can be a valuable resource for open source researchers as it provides location data, user-generated content, and real-time information about various trails. Examples include tracking the movement patterns of individuals of public interest who share their activities publicly, analyzing geospatial data, and gathering insights from user reviews and pictures posted on the platform. It can also assist in understanding the terrain and accessibility of certain areas.

Features

Map

Current Location: option to centre map at users location.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.
Layers:
- Map Types: AllTrails, Road, Satellite, USGS topo (US only), Terrain, World parks, OSM, OCM
- Map Details: Waypoints, Photos, Nearby trails, Distance markers, Heatmap, Weather, Air Quality, Light pollution, Pollen
3D view
Compass North - realign the map to compass north.
Search - for locations including nearby.
Explore Filter - Sort and filter by the following attributes distance away, activity, difficulty, length, suitability, More filters eg attractions, ratings, highest point, etc.
Elevation / Gradient - Individual Trail maps include a line graph of elevations on route.
Print - Individual Trail maps
Preview trails - Individual Trail maps

Explore

Trails - Curated AllTrails content and user-created Community trails

Individual Trails

Photos
Directions
Print
Share
Description
Conditions: weather forecast, expected ground conditions and mosquitos.
Reviews: user reviews include the user profile, text and star rating.
Activities: user activities in this area.
Completed: list of users who have completed the trail.
Route FAQs

Community

Local: see public user activity nearby.
Following: see activity from user's that you follow.
Engagement: Like and Comment on posts.
Connect: connect with other users.

Profile - users' personal profile and where they have made public contributions that can be seen on other people's profiles.

Favourites
Photos
Reviews: reviews the user has made.
Activities
Completed: trails users have completed
Followers
Following
Stats
Lists

User Profile

Feed: activities of people you follow.
Create Map: create a custom trail.
Language
Saved
Settings - location, Units (Imperial or metric), calorie counter info, link to Facebook, Google, Apple, Garmin

Example below shows search for Vondelpark Loop in Amsterdam:

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Free Tier

Navigate on the trail
Favorite trails
Create lists

Paid Tier

Download offline maps
Get alerts for wrong turns
Live share activities
New Access 200+ Guides Know conditions before you go
Preview 3D Flyovers
Find trails by distance from you
Unlock more map details
Print maps for backup
Give back with 1% for the Planet

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser.
Mobile: iOS and Android
Email address: Email address for an account

Limitations

Subscription Fees: Some features require a paid subscription to access, see:
Offline Access: Offline maps are only available to Pro members, see:
User-Generated Content: Information can be inconsistent or outdated due to reliance on user reviews and submissions.
Coverage: Some trails might not be covered or accurately mapped in less popular regions. There is no generalised documentation on this and gaps in coverage will be found as you use the app.
Accuracy: AllTrails using crowd sourced data and has been criticised for accuracy issues see: and

Ethical Considerations

Privacy: open source researchers should exercise responsibility when using All Trails data as not all users will be aware of the .
Stalking: All Trails provides information that can facilitate stalking behaviours. Open source researchers should be aware stalking is a prosecutable offence in most countries, for instance in the UK see sections 2, 2A, 4 and 4A of the (PHA 1997) and . .

Guides and articles

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

Official Wiki

Tutorials and Articles

Cox, J. (2023) ‘AllTrails Data Exposes Precise Movements of Former Top Biden Official’, Vice, 8 March. Available at: (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
Getting Started with AllTrails+ Overview (2023) AllTrails Help. Available at: (Accessed: 17 June 2024).

Video Tutorials

How to Use AllTrails 2022 (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
How To Use the AllTrails App (For Beginners) (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 17 June 2024).
University of Connecticut - MediaSpace (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 17 June 2024).

Developer Resources

Community and Support

Tool provider

AllTrails, LLC - USA

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

Azure AI Video Indexer

AI video tool for facial detection and other types of insights.

URL

Description

Microsoft's Azure AI Video Indexer allows open source researchers to gain various types of insights from videos.

Through the use of facial detection the tool can automatically spot individuals who appear several times throughout a video. This feature can be helpful when analysing footage of crowd-like situations like protests or when working with vast amounts of video material.

Azure AI Video Indexer is also able to extract key topics or keywords from videos and it can be used to generate transcripts (also in several languages). Those features can reduce the time that is required to analyse a particular set of videos or audios, for instance from long city hall meetings.

Other features that can be useful for open source researchers are its ability to extract text in videos () and object detection. The tool is able to detect various objects, for instance

Steps

After creating an account, upload a file or add a video or audio URL by navigating to the "Library" tab.

The advanced "Indexing presets" allow users to configure settings to include models that can help extract insights about entities that are most relevant to their analysis. Some features such as face detection require a subscription.

What the Insight Tab shows

To test the tool, we uploaded the video . The video stars Bellingcat volunteers who explain the Bellingcat toolkit and its features to the open source researcher community.

To use the object detection feature of the Video Indexer tool, users can hover over the video progress bar and click on the black boxes that indicate where objects (from the which the tool knows) were found.

In our video, the tool identified two objects: A “laptop” which is visible at 0:56 seconds and a “clock”, which is actually the Bellingcat volunteer community logo, at 1:13 seconds. Most likely, the tool misidentified the logo as a “clock” due to its round shape.

In addition, the tool identified "Machine learning" and "Artificial intelligence" as two topics that are discussed in the video (see the screenshot above). It also indexed 30 keywords. Selecting one of the keywords brings up the exact timestamp of when this keyword was mentioned. Users can click on the black boxes on the progress bar to be brought to the relevant section of the video. To see all the instances when a particular keyword is mentioned throughout a video, just click "play next" or "play previous" beneath the progress bar.

Highly relevant for open source researchers is the tool's ability to extract faces from video footage. In our example, the tool has identified three individuals who mentioned their names in the video: Fraser, Laura, and Afton. On progress bar on the right, you can select a name to see where that person appears throughout the footage:

The tool is also able to detect "brands." In our case, it has identified GitHub, and tools like "Google Maps" from the toolkit interface that are shown in the footage. If information about entities are incorrect, the details can be edited under the Insights tab. Tap the edit icon (a pencil) in the top right corner to make changes.

The tool also analyzes emotions that appear in videos. For instance, according to the tool, our video displays 2.17% of joy. Finally, the tool also tries to give an overview of the different scenes that appear in the footage. In our case it found 13 scenes.

If the Insight section gets too crowded, users can select or deselect various options as shown below:

Timeline Section

The timeline section provides a transcript of the video and supports translations into . For accuracy, make sure to review the translation. If you are not familiar with the language, cross-check it with native language speakers for verification. The transcription text can also be edited by selecting the pencil icon in the top-right corner. The image below shows the translation from English into Urdu (click on the globe icon for more translation options):

It is also possible to download the results.

Free
Partially Free
Paid

The tool is paid but it provides a which allows to work with up to 10 hours of videos (40 for API users). Pricing details can be found .

Level of difficulty

Requirements

You need to create a Microsoft account or sign up through Google for using the Azure AI Video Indexer.

Limitations

Like any other tool, Azure AI indexer has its limitations. It does not cover all languages and therefore it may not be useful for all audios and videos. A list of supported languages can be found .

The facial detection feature may not work efficiently all the time, for example if the footage is of poor (low resolution) or there is bright coloring. Always make sure to double check your findings using other research methods.

It is also important to note that the tool is not able to identify individuals. It is able to spot if the same shows up several times in a video but the open source researcher still needs to find out who the person is (unless they are a celebrity). Microsoft only provides access to facial recognition services to .

Once a user uploads a video, the tool requires to mark a checkbox that explicitly states: "that use of any facial recognition functionality in this service is not by or for a police department in the United States." In addition, all users need to confirm that they have the rights to use and store the uploaded videos before they use the tool.

While Microsoft's Azure AI Video Indexer is able to help with object detection, the supported objects are still limited. Find a list of all supported objects .

Ethical Considerations

Ethical considerations include privacy concerns. Ethical journalism guidelines can be helpful in understanding how to use facial recognition features in your reporting. For instance, Poynter developed a for an AI ethics policy for newsrooms. You might also want to read Josephine Lulamae's reflections on the ethical use of facial recognition tools in the AlgorithmWatch article: (2022).

wrote about Microsoft's decision to limit access to facial recognition in .

Guides and articles

Microsoft’s Azure Guide: .

Microsoft Academy Hub: .

Henk van Ess: (GIJN).

Tool provider

Microsoft, United States.

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

Baidu Maps

A mapping application provided by Chinese technology company Baidu Inc.

URL

Main page, http://map.baidu.com/

API documentation, https://api.map.baidu.com/

Description

Baidu Maps offers maps, street view, satellite imagery, and real-time route planning. It is available via the web browser or as a mobile application.

The basics

In the web version, search for a location. To select layers, point your cursor to the bottom-right corner and 3 options will appear (i.e., default map view, satellite image, or street view). Select the layer you wish to explore.

Note that the reference number at the bottom left, e.g., "GS(2023)1234", refers to the year when the image was approved for publication by the relevant government authority, China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping. This is not necessarily the year when the image was captured.

Street view

Street views are generally available on the road networks, indicated by the thickened routes. For a static preview, place the cursor onto the route. Click to enter street view mode.

Street view images are captured by a Baidu-operated fleet of vehicles, which are fitted with single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras, GPS and inertial navigation sensors. However, the fleet's image capture schedules are not made public.

Panoramic preview for street view

See above: From the regular map view, point to the main road (where street view is more likely to be available), right-click to show a shortcut menu > select the first item which means "panoramic preview" in English.

See below: The 360º preview is shown.

Time machine 时光机

The "time machine" function allows you to access older street view images, going as far back as 2013 (if available). From the current street view image, the time machine function is available at the bottom, indicated by a clock icon.

The Enigma of Coordinates in China

Most of the world uses the coordinate system WGS-84 (colloquially known as Earth coordinates), whereas China uses GCJ-02 (Mars coordinates). GCJ-02 uses an encryption algorithm that applies random offsets to the latitude and longitude of locations. Obfuscating the geographic data is for national security purposes.

Baidu Maps goes even further in its BD-09 coordinates system, applying additional encryption based on GCJ-02.

Where to get the coordinates in Baidu Maps

When searching for a location on Baidu Maps, the BD-09 coordinates are shown in the URL.

Another way to search is: https://api.map.baidu.com/lbsapi/getpoint/. Search for a location and the BD-09 coordinates are shown in the top-right. Note that in Chinese mapping tools, longitude comes before latitude.

To search by coordinates instead, enter the coordinates (longitude first) and check the box for reverse search using coordinates.

3D models

A 3D view is available. Baidu Maps also offers an API for building third-party apps that leverage 3D models and live data: https://lbs.baidu.com/solutions/threedsvisualization

Global coverage

Baidu Maps' coverage and capabilities are available globally, though the user interface is only available in Chinese. When searching for locations outside China, English search terms can be used.

Underlying technologies and data providers

Baidu Maps' positioning and navigation capabilities are powered by the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System 北斗卫星导航系统. BeiDou is the global positioning and satellite technology developed by the Chinese government, and competes with GPS and Galileo. (For more about BeiDou: see Wikipedia; BeiDou official website; an academic article in Satellite Navigation, 2020.)

For all Chinese mapping tools, satellite imagery is provided by China Siwei Surveying & Mapping Technology, which uses data and imagery from DigitalGlobe, the US company.

Outside China, Baidu Maps has a partnership with HERE Technologies, the Amsterdam-based mapping and data company. Other information providers include OpenStreetMap, MapKing (for Hong Kong and Southeast Asia) and LocalKing (Taiwan).

Similar tools

Open-source researchers can cross-reference with other leading mapping services, including AMap (Gaode Maps) and Tencent Map (QQ Maps).

For open-source researchers accessing Chinese map tools from overseas, Baidu Maps is the only tool that provides street view on the web browser. (Street view is not available on AMap, and is only available in Tencent Map's mobile version.)

Note that all three mapping tools use (at least in part - for their China coverage) the BeiDou Navigation Satellite System for their positioning capabilities. The exact ways that BeiDou is leveraged in each mapping tool depends on the device, the chip, and the location where the mapping tool is used.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

(Developer API use may be charged)

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser
Mobile: iOS and Android (basic functionality is available without registering an account)
Developer Platform: For individual developer accounts, only Chinese citizens can register. (Individuals must be between ages 18 and 65. Real-name registration and a selfie of the individual holding their ID are required.) Company developer accounts can be opened by overseas companies.

Limitations

Researchers and developers should consider several limitations:

Language Barrier: The user interface is only available in Chinese.
Access Speed: International users will experience slower access speeds, especially if using a VPN.
Barriers accessing the API: Non-Chinese individuals will have difficulty registering a Baidu developer account, preventing them from using Baidu's location-based services APIs. (See FAQ #23 for Baidu location-based services account authentication - in Chinese and English; Baidu Developer Account Registration Procedure - in Chinese).

Ethical Considerations

See the Bellingcat toolkit's About Maps and Satellites page for some general caveats when working with maps and satellite imagery including censorship and content control.
Privacy Concerns: Like many mapping services, Baidu Maps gathers user data, raising concerns about user privacy. (Concerns about Baidu Maps' collection of user data were raised in a 2016 report from Citizen Lab, University of Toronto and in an April 2021 notice from the Cyberspace Administration of China, which named all leading Chinese mapping tools among 33 apps for extensively collecting user data, beyond what is relevant to their service provision.)

Guide

Tutorials

Baidu Maps (Baidu Ditu 百度地图) And Tutorials in English (no date) BaiduinEnglish. https://www.baiduinenglish.com
Extracting Chinese geographic data from Baidu Map API. (December 2020) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1536867X20976313
Cross-platform complementarity: Assessing the data quality and availability of Google Street View and Baidu Street View (Feburary 2025). https://doi.org/10.1177/27541231241311474

Video Tutorial

Baidu Maps : The Chinese Google Maps (2023). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKVUOgoDUxs (French with English transcription).

Articles

How China is tearing down Islam. Financial Times. (November 2023) https://ig.ft.com/china-mosques/
Interrogating China’s “Google Maps” to Investigate the Xinjiang Detention Centers. March 2021. Global Investigative Journalism Network. https://gijn.org/stories/interrogating-chinas-google-maps-to-investigate-the-xinjiang-detention-centers/
Baidu found China’s “ghost cities,” but it is keeping their locations mostly a secret (2015). Quartz. https://web.archive.org/web/20151105031544/http://qz.com/540571/baidu-found-chinas-ghost-cities-but-it-is-keeping-their-locations-mostly-a-secret/

Tool provider

Baidu Inc http://www.baidu.com/ - China

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

Bellingcat Volunteer Team

Auto Archiver

Bellingcat's tool to automatically archive social media posts, videos, and images. Free and Open-Source.

URL

Description

The Auto Archiver, developed by Bellingcat, is an designed for journalists and researchers to systematically archive digital content from social media and the web. Users can input URLs (for example, into a Google Sheets document or a CSV file), and the tool will automatically archive the posts, videos, images, or webpages at those URLs. It supports multiple platforms – including Twitter (X), Telegram, TikTok, Instagram, VKontakte, Bluesky, Truth Social, and even general websites – using the optimal method for each (e.g. or direct download via yt-dlp). If all else fails, it will submit the link to the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine as a fallback for basic preservation (, ). Archived content can be enriched with additional data (such as cryptographic hashes, timestamps, screenshots, transcripts, and metadata) and saved either locally or to remote storage (for instance, a cloud bucket or Google Drive). The status and results of each archiving attempt are logged back to the source (e.g. appended to the Google Sheet or an output CSV), providing a clear record of what was captured.

Why It’s an Essential Tool

The Auto Archiver’s automation, expanded platform support, and use of robust archiving techniques make it indispensable for open-source investigations. Unlike manual archiving – which can be time-consuming and inconsistent – this tool enables rapid, reliable capture of information, ensuring that valuable online content remains accessible even if deleted or altered. Its open-source nature means the community can verify its methods and adapt the tool to specific needs, providing transparency and flexibility essential for responsible use. Bellingcat and others in the OSINT community have actively used Auto Archiver in fast-moving crises and major conflict investigations (for example, during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) to save evidence that might disappear (). It has also been adopted by partner organizations like the Centre for Information Resilience and OSR4Rights to systematically archive content from conflict zones (). In practice, once the tool is set up, an investigator can simply copy-paste links of interest (from Telegram, TikTok, Twitter, etc.) into the designated sheet or interface, and the Auto Archiver will quickly preserve the content – a process described as “a life-saver for investigators” when dealing with volatile information ().

Notable instances and case studies:

Russia-Ukraine War: capture social media posts, videos, and images shared by both official and individual accounts on platforms like Telegram and Twitter. During the initial stages of the invasion, many accounts posted videos and images showing military movements, damage to infrastructure, and civilian experiences. Due to the risk of these posts being deleted or censored, the Auto Archiver has been a critical tool for creating a permanent record of this content, aiding in ongoing investigations and historical documentation.

Human Rights Investigations in Myanmar: The tool has reportedly been used to , especially during the 2021 military coup. The tool enabled researchers to capture posts documenting protests, government crackdowns, and other rights abuses, many of which were at risk of being taken down by the government or by the platforms themselves under pressure.

Election Violence Evidence Preservation: The Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) has highlighted the Bellingcat Auto Archiver as a critical tool for preserving video evidence related to election violence, an issue of growing concern in 2024 and 2025. Its ability to simplify the previously complex process of video archiving led to its inclusion in GIJN's .

Tracking Misinformation and Disinformation Campaigns: Researchers focusing on misinformation have utilized the Auto Archiver (and comparable tools like Hunchly) to . For example, during elections or in the context of high-profile political events, coordinated misinformation can quickly flood social media platforms, often spreading widely before accounts or posts are removed. The Auto Archiver preserves these posts, allowing analysts to later examine the strategies used in these campaigns, even if the original content is no longer publicly accessible.

Documentation of Environmental Disasters: In , such as the 2020 wildfires in Australia or the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the Auto Archiver has been used to record firsthand accounts, videos, and images shared by residents. These records serve not only as evidence for immediate response and analysis but also as historical documentation that can assist future disaster response planning and research.

Supported Platforms

Platform

Primary Archiving Method

Fallback Method

Key API/Credential Requirements (Optional/Required)

Usage of Auto-Archiver

Auto-Archiver Ecosystem

The Auto Archiver API serves as a crucial intermediary layer, designed to manage users, Google Sheets containing URLs for archiving, and individual URL submissions. It leverages Celery workers to asynchronously process these archive requests by invoking the capabilities of the core bellingcat/auto-archiver tool. This architecture allows for scalable and non-blocking archival operations. The API supports authentication via Google OAuth Apps, providing a secure method for user access, and can also grant full control via an API token. Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) is enabled, permitting web applications from different domains to interact with the API. The entire API is designed to be run using Docker, simplifying its deployment and management.

A key feature of the API is its sophisticated user management and access control system, configured via a user-groups.yaml file. This file defines user groups, which in turn dictate access levels, operational quotas, and the specific orchestrator configurations to be used for archiving tasks. Users can be assigned to groups either explicitly by their email address or implicitly based on their email domain. Individuals not fitting into predefined groups are assigned to a default group, whose permissions can be restricted as needed. Permissions are granular, allowing administrators to control aspects such as:

read: Defines which groups' archives a user can access (all, none, or a specific list of groups).
read_public: A boolean enabling search access to public archives.
archive_url: A boolean enabling the archiving of individual URLs within that group.
archive_sheet: A boolean enabling the archiving of entire spreadsheets.
manually_trigger_sheet: Allows manual triggering of sheet archiving.
sheet_frequency: Defines options for how often sheets are archived (e.g., "hourly," "daily").
max_sheets: Limits the total number of spreadsheets a user can manage.
max_archive_lifespan_months: Sets a retention period for archives in S3 storage.
max_monthly_urls / max_monthly_mbs: Imposes quotas on the number of URLs or total data size a user can archive per month.
priority: Assigns a "high" or "low" priority to archiving tasks from that group.

Purpose and Current Status: The Auto Archiver UI, also referred to as the Auto Archiver Setup Tool, was initially presented as a prototype demo service hosted by Bellingcat at auto-archiver.bellingcat.com. Access to this instance is managed by Bellingcat's team and is typically granted to open-source researchers, journalists, or aligned groups, with limited quotas per user. The UI aims to provide a more user-friendly graphical interface for interacting with the Auto Archiver system, likely simplifying tasks such as submitting URLs for archiving and managing existing archives, by communicating with the backend API.

Significantly, the code for this UI is now open-source under an MIT license and is available on GitHub (repository bellingcat/auto-archiver-ui, formerly potentially bellingcat/auto-archiver-setup-tool). This development allows organizations to deploy their own instances of the UI, providing their teams with an accessible front-end to their self-hosted Auto Archiver API and core tool. The UI is built using Vue.js and JavaScript.

Self-Hosting: Step-by-Step Setup (Updated)

Set Up Google Cloud (if using Google Sheets): Create a Google Cloud project and enable the Google Sheets (and Drive) APIs for it. Set up a Service Account in Google Cloud, download its JSON credentials, and share your Google Sheet with the service account’s email. This “non-human” account will allow the Auto Archiver to read and update your sheet on your behalf. (.)
Download and Install the Tool: You can install Auto Archiver on your own machine or server in a few ways:
- Option A – Docker: Install Docker, then pull and run the pre-built image. For example: docker pull bellingcat/auto-archiver && docker run -it --rm -v ./secrets:/app/secrets bellingcat/auto-archiver --config secrets/orchestration.yaml. (This command downloads the image and runs the archiver using a configuration file in a local secrets folder.)
- Option B – Pip: Ensure you have Python 3.10+ installed, then install the Auto Archiver package from PyPI by running pip install auto-archiver. This will add an auto-archiver command to your system. (Alternatively, you can still clone the repository and install its requirements manually, but the PyPI package and Docker image simplify this process.)
Install System Dependencies: Make sure additional system tools are available:
- FFmpeg – for processing and saving video or audio content.
- Firefox (or another supported browser) and Geckodriver – for any web automation tasks like capturing screenshots or loading dynamic pages (headless Firefox is used by default for certain modules).
- (Optional) Fonts (Noto) – installing the Noto font family is recommended to ensure Unicode characters render correctly in screenshots/PDF printouts (especially for non-Latin scripts).
Configure Environment and Credentials: The Auto Archiver uses a YAML configuration (commonly orchestration.yaml) to enable/disable modules and specify credentials. You can create or edit this config file manually, or use the built-infor guided setup. In the config (or a separate .env file referenced by it), provide the paths and keys it will need:
- The path to your Google service account JSON file.
- API keys, tokens, or login credentials for any platforms you plan to archive from (Telegram API ID and bot token, Twitter API bearer token or login cookies, VK username/password, etc.). Instagram archiving may require setting up the optional InstagrAPI service and for it.
- Choose your feeder (input source) module – e.g., Google Sheets (requires sheet ID and credentials), CSV/console, or others – and your desired storage module (e.g,. local disk, an S3 bucket, Google Drive). Enable or disable any extra enricher modules (like screenshot, hashing, transcription) as needed. The modular design allows you to load only what you need.
- Note: Keep all secret keys/tokens in the secure .env or the config file (which you should not share publicly) rather than hard-coding them. This protects your credentials and maintains data integrity.
Run the Archiver: Start the tool using your chosen method. For example, if installed via pip, run the command auto-archiver --config orchestration.yaml (adjusting the path to your config). If using Docker, the container may already be running the service (depending on the run command). Once running, begin feeding it URLs:
- If using Google Sheets, paste or enter the target URLs into the designated sheet and watch as the Auto Archiver processes each entry. The status (success or error, archive identifiers, etc.) will be written back to the sheet in adjacent columns.
- If using a CSV or CLI input, run the archiver with the CSV file or input the URLs as prompted, and check the output log or report file for results.
- The tool will automatically determine which extractor module to use for each URL based on its domain/platform. For example, a TikTok link will invoke the TikTok extractor, a YouTube link will use the generic/yt-dlp extractor, a Telegram post will use the Telegram or Telethon extractor, and so on. Content and metadata will be saved according to your configuration (either on local storage or uploaded to your chosen cloud storage). The Wayback Machine extractor may also run as a backup to capture a snapshot of the page ().

Secure your keys: Remember to store API keys and credentials in a protected file or environment variable, not in plain code. Avoid exposing these secrets in any public repository or shared environment to prevent abuse or unauthorized access.

Configuration Deep Dive

Configuration is central to tailoring the Auto Archiver's behavior:

Orchestration Files (orchestration.yaml): This YAML file is the primary configuration for the core Auto Archiver. It defines archiving strategies for different platforms, specifies storage backends (local, S3, Google Drive), configures media processing options, and sets other operational parameters. When using the Auto Archiver API, at least one secrets/orchestration.yaml file must be created and referenced. If the API's "archive sheets" feature is used with a database feeder for Google Sheets, an additional orchestrationsheets-sheets.yaml file with the gsheet_feeder_db feeder and database enabled and configured is also necessary.
Environment Variables (.env files): To securely manage sensitive information such as API keys, paths to credential files (like the Google Service Account JSON), and other deployment-specific settings, the Auto Archiver utilizes .env files. The core tool typically looks for a .env file in its project directory. The API component uses distinct files for different environments, specifically .env.prod for production and .env.dev for development setups.
The New Configuration Editor: Recognizing that manually editing YAML files can be complex and error-prone, the v1.0.0 release introduces a "Configurations Editor". This tool, accessible via the new documentation website (auto-archiver.readthedocs.io), is designed to simplify the creation and modification of orchestration.yaml files. The build process for the documentation site includes steps to generate this editor as an HTML page (scripts/generate_settings_schema.py and npm run build for scripts/settings). This suggests a web-based utility, possibly running client-side, that provides a guided interface for configuring the Auto Archiver, thereby lowering the technical barrier and potentially reducing configuration errors. This is a significant usability improvement, directly addressing one of the tool's noted limitations regarding setup complexity.

API Deployment: The Auto Archiver API is designed for Docker-based deployment. The GitHub repository provides Makefiles with targets like make dev for spinning up a development environment (which may include services like Redis) and make prod for production deployment. Setup involves configuring the appropriate .env file (.env.dev or .env.prod) and the user-groups.yaml file to define user access and permissions.
UI Deployment (Self-hosted): For organizations wishing to deploy the Auto Archiver UI, the process involves fetching the Vue.js-based source code from its GitHub repository (bellingcat/auto-archiver-ui). The project is built using yarn (e.g., yarn build). The resulting static assets can then be deployed to any web hosting service that supports static sites (e.g., Firebase Hosting, Netlify, AWS S3 with CloudFront, or a traditional web server). Critical to this setup is ensuring the UI is correctly configured to communicate with the organization's self-hosted instance of the Auto Archiver API. The original setup instructions mention dependencies on Firebase and Google Cloud projects , which self-hosters may need to replicate or adapt based on their infrastructure.

The varied deployment options reflect a tiered approach to complexity. Docker offers a streamlined path for the core tool, while pip provides flexibility for Python-centric users. Full self-hosting of the API and UI offers maximum control for organizations but demands greater technical expertise and infrastructure management. This flexibility caters to a wide spectrum of users, from individual researchers to large investigative teams, though the "setup complexity" limitation becomes more pronounced as one moves towards deploying the full ecosystem.

To secure API keys, store them in a protected environment file (e.g., .env) rather than directly in the code, use environment variables to access them; avoid sharing or exposing keys in public repositories to prevent unauthorized access and ensure data integrity.

This setup covers the essentials to get the Auto Archiver running. More detailed troubleshooting and configuration options can be found in the .

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Google Cloud Service Account (JSON credentials) – required if using Google Sheets integration or Google Drive storage.
Python 3.10 or above – required if installing via pip or running from source.
Docker – optional, if you choose to deploy via Docker container instead of local installation.
FFmpeg – for handling video/audio downloads and conversions.
Firefox browser and Geckodriver – for automated web content rendering (e.g. to take screenshots or navigate pages).
Telegram API ID & Hash and a Bot Token – optional, for archiving Telegram messages via the API/Bot.
Twitter API Bearer Token – optional, for Twitter API extraction (if using the official API method; not needed if using cookie-based or generic extraction).
VKontakte login (username & password) – optional, for archiving content from VK that isn’t publicly accessible without login.
Instagram credentials – optional, for Instagram content that requires authentication (used with the Instagram API extractor/InstagrAPI service).
Bluesky account – optional, not required for public Bluesky posts ()
Internet Archive account – optional, with your own credentials (to increase archiving rate limits)
Stable Internet connection – required for the tool to access and archive online content.

(Most platform credentials are only needed if you intend to archive from that platform and the content isn’t publicly accessible. Public content from many sites – e.g. YouTube, Facebook, TikTok – can often be archived without logging in, thanks to the integrated yt-dlp backend.)

Limitations

Initial Setup Complexity: While improved, the setup can be complex for first-time users. It involves configuring cloud credentials, API keys, and installing system dependencies. The new configuration wizard and Docker images have reduced this burden, but a basic technical proficiency is still necessary to get the tool running correctly (). Users may need to troubleshoot environment issues or adjust configurations for their specific use case.
Platform & API Dependence: The Auto Archiver relies on third-party platforms’ APIs and front-end structures, which are subject to change. If a social media platform alters its URL format, API access, or introduces new anti-scraping measures, some extractor modules might break until updated. The tool’s maintainers actively push updates (and the tool can auto-update its yt-dlp component) to adapt to changes, but there may be short lapses in functionality for certain sites (). Additionally, some platforms (e.g. Instagram, Facebook) do not provide easy methods for third-party archiving of content, meaning the Archiver might not capture those perfectly without an authorized session or may require workarounds like providing your login cookies.
Archiving Gaps for Certain Content: The Wayback Machine fallback does not fully preserve videos or interactive media (). While the Auto Archiver attempts to download media content directly (using platform APIs or scraping) so that videos are saved, if all automated methods fail and only a Wayback snapshot is taken, the result may be a page without the actual video or dynamic elements. Highly dynamic or encrypted content (such as livestreams, ephemeral stories, or posts behind certain paywalls) may not be captured completely. Furthermore, very large files or high volumes of links could hit rate limits or timeouts on some services. Users should be aware of these edge cases and, when possible, manually verify that critical videos/images have been successfully saved (for example, by checking the output folder or cloud storage to see that media files are present).

Ethical Considerations

Respect Privacy and Consent
- Public vs. Private Content: Only archive content that is publicly accessible and intended for public consumption. Avoid archiving private materials or data that could infringe on someone’s privacy rights without clear public-interest justification.
- Sensitive Data: Be cautious with content involving minors, vulnerable individuals, or personal information (e.g. medical or legal details). Even if publicly posted, such content should be handled with care and probably avoided unless crucial to an investigation.
Ensure Content Authenticity and Accuracy
- Verify Content: Archiving is not a substitute for verification. Always verify the source and context of the content before using it in reporting. False or misleading information can be archived just as easily as accurate information. Treat archived material as evidence to be corroborated, not automatically as truth.
- Preserve Metadata: When possible, preserve metadata (timestamps, author, geolocation tags, etc.) during archiving. This information can be vital for establishing authenticity and timeline, especially if the content is later used in legal or historical contexts.
Minimize Harm and Avoid Misrepresentation
- Context Matters: Consider the context in which archived material will be presented. Content from conflict zones or sensitive events can be misinterpreted if taken out of context. Provide appropriate context when sharing archived clips to avoid fueling misinformation.
- Avoid Manipulation: Do not alter archived content. Present the material as it was originally, and refrain from editing or manipulating screenshots/videos in a way that could mislead. The goal is to preserve, not to create new distortions.
Adhere to Platform Terms and Legal Constraints
- Platform Policies: Check each platform’s terms of service and API usage policies. Some platforms may prohibit automated scraping or require permission for certain kinds of data collection. Use the tool in a way that does not flagrantly violate terms, to avoid legal or account repercussions.
- Intellectual Property: Respect copyright and usage rights. Archiving news videos or photographs, for example, might raise copyright issues if you later publish them. Consider fair use and always attribute the original source. The Auto Archiver’s output is for research and evidentiary purposes.
Legal Implications of Automated Archiving
- Jurisdictional Restrictions: Laws on data archiving vary by country. If you are operating in a jurisdiction with strict data protection or cybercrime laws, make sure that using the Auto Archiver (especially on content containing personally identifiable information) is legal. Obtain legal advice if unsure.
- Safety of Sources: In repressive environments, archiving certain content (even if public) might create a trail that could endanger the poster or others. Be mindful of what you archive and who could potentially access the records. If necessary, keep archives secured and consider the operational security of your archiving activities.

Guides and articles

Ramalho, M. (2022, September 22). Preserve Vital Online Content With Bellingcat’s Auto Archiver. Bellingcat.

Bellingcat/auto-archiver. (2024). [Python]. Bellingcat. (Original work published 2021)

Tool provider

Bellingcat

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.

The tool itself does not appear to use any advertising trackers. However, if you use the Google Sheets integration, be aware that Google’s services use tracking cookies. In operational use, the Auto Archiver runs locally or on your own server, so your data stays under your control.

Page maintainer

Bulletpicker.com

Bulletpicker.com is a collection of ammunition guidebooks and manuals from several different armed forces.

URL

Description

The compiles a wide range of ammunition manuals and guidebooks from multiple military forces. Users can search the database easily, and every item provides a link back to the original source. Each ordnance item in Bulletpicker has its own page, typically including technical diagrams, real-life images (if available) and a written overview.

NOTE: This website contains information about ordnance, explosives, and related items for educational and reference purposes only. The content should not be used for: (1) attempting self-guided disposal of explosive devices; (2) manufacturing explosive devices or components; (3) handling unexploded ordnance without proper training; (4) any illegal activities involving explosive materials.

According to the tool provider, Bulletpicker contains

The tool provider also says that its purpose is data-sharing between : Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD), Public Safety Bomb Technician (PSBT), and commercial UXO (Unexploded Ordnance) and is accessed by a : personnel from government agencies, historians, archaeologists, forensic experts, and others working in related fields.

that the platform has:

Technical info on ~4,000 ordnance and related items
Access to 1,300+ publications in PDF format
A downloadable version for offline use in remote areas or those operating in places with limited connectivity which is available for download

According to the tool website, these technical manuals are scanned as PDF.

NOTE: When researching ordnance, explosives, and related items using Bulletpicker, it is essential to remember that the content is not for identification or instructional purposes and does not take the place of a qualified specialist. Users are responsible for verifying information with other official references.

Key Areas

TIP: Because the website contains a vast repository of resources, users can use the search function on the top left for keywords.

The contents are organized into the following categories, accessible through the navigation menu on the left side of the page.

1. - This section is a collection of manuals from different armed forces (including historical manuals)

2. - this section contains resources on various fillers, defined as the These are the explosive materials packed inside an ordnance and are the substances that do the job of creating the explosion. Contents are organized in alphabetical order by name of the explosive agent and contain technical information.

3. - This section contains a list of various weapon systems, along with a brief introduction to each system. If you are new to the subject matter, it is recommended to start by exploring the “General Information” tab before moving on to more technical sections.

Each type of ordnance has a subcategory organized by country.

For example:

Users interested in resources related to Ukrainian ordnance can follow the steps as follows:

Ordnance → Bombs → Ukraine

Information on ballistic properties () can be found under "description" or "functioning."

4. - According to this , a fuze is a “device with explosive components designed to initiate the main charge” and determines when the explosion happens. This section of the website lists various types of fuzes which are categorized by country. Some types contain a short description, an image, a short description of its function, hazardous components, if any, - for example . Also note that sometimes items will contain just a diagram and no real-life photo, or just a real-life photo with no diagram. Sometimes, these items contain both.

The content is organized by type of ordnance in which the fuze is used, and then followed by a subcategory organized by country.

For example:

Fuzes → Bombs, Clusters and Dispensers → France

WARNING: When researching ordnance, explosives, and related items using Bulletpicker, it is essential to remember that the content is not for identification or instructional purposes and does not take the place of a qualified specialist. Users are responsible for verifying information with other official references.

Use cases

Based on the content, Bulletpicker.com could be used for:

Basic Identification of Ammunition in Ukraine: The website includes a copy of the 2024 guide to Basic Identification of Ammunition in Ukraine, in both
Historical Research: Accessing information on older ordnance, such as “” or "”. It can be a valuable archive for technical manuals from old and recent conflicts.
General Knowledge: Learning about different types of explosives, chemical agents, and related items. Because the website has an extensive categorical organization, it allows users to develop a comprehensive knowledge of weapons systems, their technical specifications, and other identifying characteristics across multiple countries and time frames.
Technical Reference (with caveats): Although the site explicitly states that it is not for identification or instruction by unqualified individuals, trained specialists may use it as one reference point among others. For those with foundational knowledge or who have professional qualifications, this tool may be helpful because it provides data such as:
- Hazardous components, if available
- Chemical composition of a filler
- Ballistic properties
- and
- Precise measurements

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Based on the disclaimers and the technical nature of the subject matter (Ordnance, Explosives), navigating and understanding the information on Bulletpicker.com might require some prior knowledge or a careful approach. Beginner users without a background in this area should exercise extreme caution and know the site's limitations.

Requirements

A modern web browser with JavaScript enabled
PDF Reader

Limitations

The content is not for Demining, Unexploded Ordnance (UXO), or Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) information.
Not designed to teach EOD/UXO technicians or deminers.
Not designed to identify UXO or ordnance.
Content is not for identification or instructional purposes for unqualified individuals.
Does not replace qualified specialists.
Users are responsible for verifying content with other official references.
Bulletpicker, LLC is not associated with the DoD or the US Government.
Bulletpicker, LLC does not handle classified Government documents or data.
Proximity to UXO is always dangerous and should be avoided; only trained personnel should handle it.

Based on our review, here are additional limitations:

Foundational knowledge required

The content of Bulletpicker.com is intended for those with a foundational background on military weapons systems. Beginner users will not find introductory content. It is not designed for beginner users, and assumes they possess foundational knowledge of ordnance terminology and identification.

Content Variability:

Information depth and organization vary across the different sections of the website, possibly due to the reliance on public domain materials and sources with expired copyrights. This creates noticeable inconsistencies in coverage.

For example, includes resources for 13 countries, while the covers eight countries plus an “unknown” category.

According to the tool provider, variation in content is due to several reasons, including: (1) Many documents exist but are classified as “For Official Use Only” (FOUO), making their distribution illegal. (2) Documents that appear on document hosting websites, such as Scribd or archive.org, are not allowed to be posted on the website, as this can result in immediate legal issues from authorities. (3) without special permission.

Another example is that not all items will contain an image or diagram.

According to the tool provider, this is because some images are classified as sensitive materials, have poor image quality, or require time management due to the massive volume of submissions received.

Ethical Considerations

Given the sensitive nature of the information (ordnance and explosives), users should consider the ethical implications of how they use this information. It should not be used for any illegal or harmful activities. Respecting the disclaimers and limitations of the site is imperative.

Guide

None at the moment.

Tool provider

Ted Carlson and several

USA

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

Apple Maps

Apple Maps is a digital mapping service with detailed, interactive maps, satellite imagery, and location-based information.

URL

Description

Apple Maps can be useful for open source researchers due to its high-resolution imagery and detailed mapping capabilities. Here are some features of interest:

High-Resolution Imagery: Provides clear satellite views, useful for analyzing geographical and structural details.
Detailed City Data: Includes 3D views and indoor maps of significant landmarks, airports, and shopping centers.
Search Functions: Location search by name, coordinates, or landmarks.
Environmental Data: Offers data on air quality and weather, helpful for tracking environmental conditions in specific areas.
Privacy-Focused: Ensures that data collected from usage isn't tied to user profiles, maintaining researcher anonymity. See and the .

Features (MacOS and mobile):

3D view
Compass North: realign the map to compass north.
Current Location: option to centre map at users location.
Directions: get directions from your current location or between two locations by car, walking, public transport or bike including travel time.
Favourites: add new place to favourites
Guides: create collections of locations in a guide.
Language: supports multiple languages.
Layers: multiple map layers available including Explore, Driving, Public Transport and Satellite.
Look Around (Street View): see current street view imagery ().
Print: print the current map or save it to PDF.
Search: search by address, general location or latitude and longitude.
Send to phone (from the desktop): share the current view to your phone.
Sharing and embedding: share selected locations as a link or to Apple Desktop applications.
Weather: see the current weather at the selected location.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.

The example below shows a 3D view in Apple Maps Desktop of a search for Amsterdam:

Limited functionality available on the web at:

Use Cases

Apple Maps, with its rich features and extensive data, can be a powerful tool in the realm of open source research. Here are some potential use cases:

Geolocation Verification: Verifying the location of a photo or video shared on social media to confirm the authenticity of claims made online.
Investigative Reporting: Tracking and mapping out relevant locations to a story, thereby providing readers with a clearer understanding of the spatial relationships and geographical details of the investigation.
Historical Analysis: Comparing current maps with historical data to highlight changes over time in areas of interest, which can add depth to stories on urban development, environmental changes, or socio-economic shift.
Infrastructure Analysis: Analyzing satellite images and 3D maps of infrastructure for changes or developments that might indicate political, military, or economic events.
Environmental Monitoring: Monitoring changes in landscapes, forest cover, water bodies, etc., to report on environmental issues or natural disasters.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser
Mobile: iOS
Developer Platform: Apple account with email address and a credit card.

Limitations

Coverage: While Apple Maps has significantly improved its coverage over the years, there are still some regions, particularly in developing countries, where the map data might not be as detailed or up-to-date as in the US or Europe. Apple's documents Apple Map's coverage.
Look Around (Street View): Apple Maps' Look Around feature, similar to Google's Street View, is not as widely available globally. Its coverage is limited to major cities and places of interest. Apple's documents Apple's Look Around coverage and their page detail where and when images are being collected.
Cross-Platform Availability: Apple Maps is primarily available on iOS, macOS, and watchOS devices. Its limited availability on non-Apple platforms could be a drawback for users seeking cross-platform compatibility. Windows users can use (in beta) or have a look at .
Limited Web Version: the web version (Apple Maps on the web) lacks significant functionality like searching and street view.
Screenshots Use: screenshots may be used for non-commercial purposes but must be attributed e.g. Map data © 2024 Apple Inc.. For more information see .
API Rate Limits: the developer API has rate limits for more information, see .
API Use: the Apple Maps API has specific restrictions on things like caching, see the on this and for information about commercial use.

Ethical Considerations

Open source researchers using Apple Maps should consider the following ethical implications:

Bias and Representation: The limited coverage in developing countries and the focus on major cities and tourist attractions can lead to an implicit bias, portraying a skewed image of the world. Researchers should be mindful of this in their reporting and seek to provide a balanced view. See and .

Guide

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

Official Wiki

No official wiki: Apple provides limited information here:

Tutorials and Articles

Learn – Apple Maps for iOS & Mac – TheMacU.com (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 12 April 2024).
Organize places in My Guides in Maps on iPhone (no date) Apple Support. Available at: (Accessed: 12 April 2024).updated, T.P. last (2022)
Apple Maps: 17 essential tips and tricks, Tom’s Guide. Available at: (Accessed: 12 April 2024).

Video Tutorials

Maps for iPhone is AWESOME now! (FULL Tutorial + iOS17) (2023). Available at: (Accessed: 12 April 2024).

Developer Resources

Community and Support

provided as part of the Apple Maps app.

Tool provider

Apple Inc. - United States

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

Bing Maps

Bing Maps is a web mapping service provided by Microsoft that offers detailed geographical information and tools for route planning, location search, and satellite imagery.

URL

Description

Bing Maps is a web mapping service provided by Microsoft. It offers users access to detailed maps and driving directions, as well as features such as street view, 3D maps, and traffic updates. The tool serves various purposes, from helping users navigate from point A to B efficiently, to planning trips, and conducting geographical research.

Features:

Language: supports multiple languages.

Bing Maps is available in the following formats:

Web
Mobile
Developer API

Example search results for the term Amsterdam:

Use Cases

Bing Maps can be a valuable tool for open source researchers in various ways, such as:

Geolocation Verification: Verifying the location of a photo or video shared on social media to confirm the authenticity of claims made online.
Investigative Reporting: Tracking and mapping out relevant locations to a story, thereby providing readers with a clearer understanding of the spatial relationships and geographical details of the investigation. One issue to remember is that Bing map imagery may not be up to date see for more information.
Historical Analysis: Comparing current maps with historical data to highlight changes over time in areas of interest, which can add depth to stories on urban development, environmental changes, or socio-economic shift.
Infrastructure Analysis: Analyzing satellite images and 3D maps of critical infrastructure for changes or developments that might indicate political, military, or economic events.
Environmental Monitoring: Monitoring changes in landscapes, forest cover, water bodies, etc., to report on environmental issues or natural disasters.
Gathering Geopolitical Intelligence: Mapping conflict zones, territorial control changes, or military movements using updated satellite imagery to understand geopolitical dynamics.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Developer API may incur costs depending on usage (see: )..

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser
Mobile: iOS and Android
Developer Platform: Azure account with email address and a credit card.

Limitations

Licensing and Cost: Bing Maps API incurs costs for extensive usage beyond the provided free usage quotas, which might not be suitable for projects with limited budgets (see: ).
Data Coverage: While comprehensive, Bing Maps has less detailed mapping data in certain remote or less-populated regions compared to other services such as Google Maps.
Developer API Limits: There are daily rate limits on API calls, which may impact large-scale applications or services requiring high numbers of requests (see: ).
Update Frequency: The frequency of map updates for certain areas may not be as regular as some users require, potentially affecting the accuracy of the maps. See for more information.
Feature Set: Although Bing Maps offers a wide range of functionalities, it lacks features found in other mapping services, such as the more advanced analytical tools and detailed terrain information found in Google Earth Pro.

Ethical Considerations

When open source researchers use Bing Maps, they should consider the following ethical aspects:

Privacy and Anonymity: Be cautious when reporting on sensitive areas or topics. Ensure individuals' locations or movements are not disclosed without consent, especially in contexts where revealing locations could endanger lives or privacy.
Data Accuracy and Misrepresentation: Verify the accuracy of the information provided by Bing Maps. Misrepresenting a location, either intentionally or accidentally due to outdated or incorrect map data, can lead to misinformation and harm reputations. For more information see .
Impartiality and Bias: Understand the limitations of Bing Maps in representing disputed territories or areas of conflict. Be aware of how the depiction of these areas might convey a particular political stance or bias, affecting the impartiality of the reportage. Examples of this can be seen in and .

Guide

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

Official Wiki

No official wiki (but the Bing Maps Blog is available here: )
Unofficial GIS Wiki:

Tutorials and Articles

Hanham, M. (2015) There’s a Map for That, bellingcat. Available at: (Accessed: 10 April 2024).
Khachatryan, N. (2019) The Mysterious Disappearance of Jeannette Island (on Google Maps), bellingcat. Available at: (Accessed: 10 April 2024).

Video Tutorials

How to Create and Share Collections in Bing Maps (2022). Available at: (Accessed: 10 April 2024).
How to use Bing Maps for Routing Multiple Addresses (2021). Available at: (Accessed: 10 April 2024).

Developer Resources

Getting Started: Familiarize yourself with Bing Maps by exploring the official .
Developing with Bing Maps: Discover how to integrate Bing Maps into your applications with .

Community and Support

Community Forum:

Tool provider

Microsoft - United States

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

Blender

Blender is an open-source 3D creation suite supporting the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and motion tracking, even video editing.

URL

Description

Blender is a tool for 3D creation, designed to support a wide range of tasks from modeling and animation to rendering and video editing. It is developed as an open-source project, making it entirely free to use for both personal and commercial purposes. The software is well-suited for artists, animators, and designers looking to create detailed 3D models, engaging animations, and realistic visual effects. One of the key features of Blender is its ability to support the entire 3D pipeline, simplifying the workflow for users by providing a single platform for all 3D creation needs. It has a role in open source investigations as a tool for visualising, simulating and geospatial analysis.

The image below shows a Blender model on the left used in Bellingcat's .

Use Cases

Blender, while primarily seen as a tool for 3D modeling and animation, can indirectly support open source research activities in several ways:

Visualizations: Create detailed 3D visualizations of geographical locations, buildings, or items based on data gathered during Open source investigations. This can help in understanding the spatial characteristics of an area or object.
Simulations: Simulate scenarios based on open source research data, such as the movement of people or vehicles. This can be useful for understanding incidents.
Information Presentations: Use Blender's video editing capabilities to produce presentations or reports that incorporate 3D models and simulations based on gathered intelligence.
Geospatial Analysis: Though not a direct application, 3D models created in Blender can be used alongside geospatial analysis tools to enhance the understanding of terrain and other geographical data.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Desktop minimum requirements:

Windows 8.1 (64-bit), CPU: 4 cores with SSE4.2 support, RAM: 8 GB RAM, GPU: 2 GB VRAM with OpenGL 4.3.
macOS 11.2 (Big Sur), CPU: Apple Silicon or Intel, RAM: 8 GB, GPU: GPU with Metal 2.2.
Linux Distribution with glibc 2.28 or newer (64-bit), CPU: 4 cores with SSE4.2 support, RAM: 8GB, GPU: 2 GB VRAM with OpenGL 4.3.

Limitations

Performance on Low-End Devices: Blender requires a relatively powerful computer, especially for complex scenes or high-poly meshes. Users with low-end devices may experience lag or inability to use some features effectively. For rendering models in particular it's worth reading carefully about how to fine tune Blender starting with the Blender manual's .
Steep Learning Curve: Due to its comprehensive suite of tools and features, Blender can be overwhelming for beginners.
Limited Technical Support: Being an open-source project, Blender relies on community and volunteer support. There's no official technical support team, which might be a limitation for commercial projects requiring immediate assistance.

Ethical Considerations

When considering the use of Blender, it's essential to address certain ethical considerations:

Open Source Contribution Ethics: As an open-source tool, the ethics around contribution and use should be discussed. Users and developers should consider how they contribute back to the community, either through code, documentation, or financial support.
Data Privacy: The Blender software tool does not collect user data for improvement or analytics purposes. Only if you download and contribute to do they do this. The Blender website collects minimal with no third party tracking user data detailed here:
Sustainability: The environmental impact of running high-performance software like Blender, especially in terms of energy consumption during rendering processes, should be considered. Users and developers might look for ways to minimize this impact.

Guide

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

Official Wiki

: full official Blender manual.

Tutorials and Articles

Blender Guru (2022) Blender Guru. Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
PremiumBeat (2021) Complete Beginner’s Guide to Blender - PremiumBeat, The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat. Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Blender for Forensic Architecture - M2 Hospital Bombing in Aleppo (2017) BlenderNation. Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Sheldon, M. (2023) Anatomy of a Shelling: How Russian Rocket Artillery Struck Mykolaiv, bellingcat. Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Gonzales, M.S., Giancarlo Fiorella, Jake Godin, Carlos (2024) Russian Missile Identified in Kyiv Children’s Hospital Attack, bellingcat. Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).

Books

: WikiBook for Blender
Brito, A. (2024) Blender 4.0: Precise Modeling for Architecture, Engineering, and 3D Printing.

Video Tutorials

: Official YouTube channel for Blender, the Free and Open Source 3D Creation Suite.
Blender 4.0 Beginner Donut Tutorial (NEW) - YouTube (no date). Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Modelling from a Photograph - Blender (2019). Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Camera Matching in Blender – Forensic Architecture Investigative Toolkit 01 (2023). Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Camera Calibration - fSpy to Blender (2019). Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).
Perfect Photo and Camera Match with fSpy and Blender (2018). Available at: (Accessed: 26 April 2025).

Developer Resources

: code and create Blender.

Community and Support

: Find independent Blender groups all around the globe.
: an independent chat server created to help the Blender community to communicate in real-time (registration required).
: Blender Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for people who use Blender to create 3D graphics, animations, or games. It only takes a minute to sign up.
the Place to get the latest news about Blender.

Tool provider

The (2002), - the Netherlands.

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

BskyFollowFinder/Bluesky network analyzer

A tool that identifies which Bluesky accounts are followed by a profile’s contacts but not by that profile. Can be used for expanding networks and social graph analysis.

URL

Description

BskyFollowFinder is a web-based tool that identifies second-degree connections on Bluesky—specifically, it finds accounts that are followed by the people you follow but that you haven’t followed yourself. By leveraging Bluesky’s , the tool automates social network analysis to recommend potential new follows. This provides valuable insight into your network by ranking suggestions based on the frequency they appear among your followees.

This functionality can be useful for open source researchers, investigative journalists, and analysts who need to map social relationships, identify key influencers, and understand community structures on the platform.

Key Features:

Automated Second-Degree Analysis
- The tool collects the accounts that a user follows and then compiles the connection lists of those accounts. This results in a ranked list of second-degree suggestions—accounts that are frequently followed by the original user’s connections. This analysis is limited to a single hop without exploring deeper network layers.
Filtering for Niche Accounts
- A toggle option allows the filtering of results to prioritize smaller or more specialized accounts over universally popular ones, enabling the discovery of unique voices that might otherwise be overshadowed by mainstream profiles.
One-Click Following (Optional)
- Suggestions can be viewed without requiring a login. However, for users who wish to follow accounts directly from the tool, a password integration is available to facilitate authenticated API calls for one-click following. (Thus, when a password is supplied after the analysis, "follow" buttons appear next to the results.)
Efficient Data Retrieval
- By leveraging Bluesky’s public APIs, the tool efficiently retrieves connection information.

Example Use Cases

A researcher examining disinformation networks can use BskyFollowFinder to pinpoint influential hubs. If many known disinformation actors follow a particular account, it may serve as a critical node for further investigation.

Using BskyFollowFinder to pinpoint influential hubs in a disinformation network involves a systematic approach. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how you might do that:

Compile a List of Known Disinformation Actors: Begin by identifying a set of Bluesky accounts that have been previously flagged or verified as disinformation sources. This can come from prior open source investigations, trusted reports, or expert lists.
Run Individual Network Analyses: For each actor, input their handle into BskyFollowFinder to generate a ranked list of accounts they follow, highlighting common connections among the selected profiles.
Aggregate and Compare Results: Collect the output from each disinformation actor. Look for accounts that repeatedly appear across multiple analyses. If several known disinformation actors follow a particular account, it likely serves as a central node, or influential hub, in that network.
Verify the Critical Node: Once you’ve identified an account that appears frequently, dig deeper:
- Profile Analysis: Review the account’s profile, bio, and content to understand its role and influence.
- Cross-Reference: Check if this account is mentioned or linked in other open source research reports, social media analyses, or disinformation research.
- Contextual Review: Evaluate its interactions and network position by looking at who engages with the account and what content it promotes.
Enhance Your Analysis with Visualization Tools: For a broader picture, consider exporting the data and using network visualization tools like or . Import the common nodes and their connections to visualize the network structure, which can help confirm the hub’s influence and reveal additional relationships.
Document Your Findings: Record your methodology, the handles analyzed, common nodes identified, and any corroborating evidence from further investigation.

Journalists new to Bluesky can quickly discover key voices in their niche by identifying accounts frequently followed by trusted contacts.

To leverage BskyFollowFinder for community growth and influence mapping—helping journalists discover key voices in their niche—you can follow these steps:

Identify Trusted Contacts: Start by listing the Bluesky accounts you already follow and trust. These may include colleagues, well-known activists, journalists, or experts in your area of interest.
Run a Network Analysis: Enter your own Bluesky handle (or that of a trusted contact) into BskyFollowFinder. The tool will compile the follow lists of your trusted accounts and rank suggested accounts based on how many of your contacts follow them. The more frequently an account appears in these lists, the more likely it is a key influencer in your niche.
Evaluate the Suggestions: Review the ranked list to identify which accounts consistently appear across multiple trusted networks. Click on these accounts to examine their profiles, read their bios, and assess their content to ensure they align with your niche and values.
Expand Your Network: Once you’ve identified promising key voices, consider following them. Over time, as you build your network, run the analysis periodically to capture new influential voices emerging within your community.
Integrate with Visualization Tools (Optional): For a broader perspective, you can export the list of suggestions and import it into network visualization tools like or . These tools help you map out the social graph visually, revealing clusters and the most interconnected nodes within your community.
Document and Iterate: Keep a record of the accounts you follow and monitor their influence over time. This documentation can serve as a baseline for further analysis and can help you refine your criteria for what constitutes a “key voice” in your niche.

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Beginner-friendly: No technical skills are required – just enter your Bluesky handle and review the ranked list of recommendations.

Requirements

A Bluesky account (only if you want to access your account and follow suggested users).
Your Bluesky username for personalized results.
Optional: Enter your Bluesky password (stored in your browser) to enable one-click follow actions securely.

No additional API keys, downloads, or complex setup is necessary.

Limitations

"One-Hop" Analysis only: BskyFollowFinder looks only at the user’s direct connections (the accounts they follow or who follow them), and doesn’t go further into “friends of friends” or deeper network layers.
No Graph Visualization: Outputs are provided as a ranked list; it does not generate visual network maps like or .

Ethical Considerations

Social Graph Exposure: Revealing connections can inadvertently expose personal networks. Investigators should use insights responsibly, particularly when analyzing vulnerable subjects.
Best Practices: Use the tool as part of a broader investigative methodology, ensuring conclusions are corroborated with additional data.

Guides and articles

Theo Sanderson’s Bluesky Post:
Bluesky API Documentation:

Tool

Platform

Use Case

Best Combination: Use BskyFollowFinder to generate a list of suggested connections, then export or integrate the data into Gephi or Maltego for advanced network analysis.

Tool provider

(London)

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.

(The is the only cookie found on this website.)

Page maintainer

DeHashed

A platform that maintains a database of compromised credentials, with a newly-launched web domain registration search tool.

URL

https://dehashed.com/

Description

DeHashed has compiled a searchable database of leaked personal information and sensitive data, and launched its web domain registration search tool in April 2025.

The platform now operates across four service lines:

Search: DeHashed's original offering, Search allows users to search through billions of records, including names, email addresses, usernames, IP addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, vehicle identification numbers, and web domains.
Monitoring: Its new Monitor function alerts users in the event that their personal data, such as email addresses, is leaked. The free subscription allows for 10 monitor tasks.
API: Users can integrate the Dehashed API into their own applications.
WHOIS: The newly-launched WHOIS database allows users to search through web domain registration information, including historical data.

DeHashed is ostensibly designed for individuals and companies to detect and monitor data breaches in real time, but its Search and WHOIS offerings also be effectively used for open source research.

You can search by domain or field, increase or decrease the number of results displayed, use wildcard characters, run regex searches (a form of advanced searching that looks for specific patterns) and mix operators (e.g. email and username together).

DeHashed publishes a detailed search guide here, explaining how to search by field, use wildcard characters, or search a specific data origin. The platform also published a list of its data sources here, and has a FAQ page here.

Using Search for Open Source Investigations

For example, you can use DeHashed to help search for someone who is trying to conceal their identity.

You can start by running an email address through DeHashed to identify accounts your subject maintains, along with the passwords associated with those accounts (do not try to log in to any person's account, this is unethical!). You can then go back to the DeHashed search engine and run a new search for that password, which may identify a whole new set of accounts and email addresses that use the same password. That way, you might be able to find out whether your subject is operating under an alias name or email address, all the while using and recycling the same passwords.

You might also find IP addresses and location-specific accounts that can help you start spotting patterns and clues as to your subject's location or activities.

Pay attention to their usernames and passwords. Do they contain numbers that could represent dates of birth? Or the name of the city they live in?

Record any relevant results and data points as you go to map out a subject's online footprint. How many usernames, email addresses, IP addresses are they linked to? What do these tell us about their online activities, interestes, location etc.?

Step-by-step guide on how to use Search

The search engine is extremely simple to use and user-friendly. You can run a keyword search either by field or across all fields:

If you search by, say, email address, you will get a list of various data points associated with that email, including names and passwords. You can then run more searches against, for example, the names and passwords you identified during your original search with a view to finding more accounts and generating fresh research leads.

It is free to search if you set up an account with just an email and password, but you need a paid subscription to actually view the results. See below for pricing information.

Using WHOIS for Open Source Investigations

WHOIS databases can help you understand who is behind a website. There are two main contexts/ways you can approach this:

Run a search against a domain name to find out more information about the identities of the individuals or companies that have registered a website.
Run a search against an individual or organisation to find out if they run any websites.

Step-by-step guide on how to use WHOIS

Search by domain name, keyword, IP address or other domain-related information. The different categories are in the screenshot below, and the search engine will prompt you with the type of information you need to enter for each category.

There are two main ways you can search:

The name of the domain (website) by using the WHOIS tab to find out current registration information, or the WHOIS History tab to retrieve information regarding previous owners or changes in ownership over the past ten years;
Any information you might have about the owner, ranging from name and physical address to their email address and phone number, by using Reverse WHOIS.

You will need to purchase credits to run a search.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

You can use Search for free, but you need to purchase a subscription to view the results.

To use WHOIS, you need to buy credits.

The current pricing information for each one of its four offerings can be found here (click 'Purchase').

Level of difficulty

Requirements

You have to create an account to run searches. This is relatively easy and requires only an email address and password.

Limitations

DeHashed aggregates leaked data and is not a comprehensive repository of every email address, username etc. in existence. If you can't find a data point in DeHashed, it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

Ethical Considerations

Consider the ethical and legal implications of analysing and using leaked user data in your research. Carefully consider and decide whether to use this data in keeping with the nature and purpose of your work. Does the end justify the means? Also consider potential legal regulations in your country and industry.

Guides and articles

The following YouTube tutorial demonstrates how to use DeHashed creatively to generate new research leads. NB: the tutorial uses the old version of the platform, but the research tips are still valid.

Tool provider

Not so clear. The website's privacy policy suggests that DeHashed is registered to an address in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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

Ana

DiscordLeaks

Search hundreds of thousands of messages leaked from 180+ white-supremacist / nazi discord servers.

URL

https://discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja/discord/server/

Description

Unicorn Riot is a non-profit media organization in the United States. In the course of its reporting on hate groups and extremist networks, Unicorn Riot’s reporters have collected Discord and Rocket. Chat, and Skype chat logs—often by monitoring or infiltrating private servers—and made them publicly accessible for journalistic and research purposes. The “DiscordLeaks” web app allows the public to browse, search, and investigate these leaked chat logs, primarily focusing on far-right groups.

Purpose, Methodology, and Scope

Purpose and Scope: DiscordLeaks is an online database created by the media collective Unicorn Riot to publish leaked chat logs from private Discord servers used by white supremacists and far-right groups. (unicornriot.ninja, discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja) Unicorn Riot’s mission is to expose the hidden organizing and communications of these groups as a form of public-interest journalism(unicornriot.ninja).

Since the 2017 Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, Unicorn Riot has obtained hundreds of thousands of Discord messages from dozens of extremist servers and made them accessible to journalists and researchers(discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja). As of recent reports, the DiscordLeaks archive hosts millions of chat posts from over 80 Discord servers tied to racist and far-right activities (unicornriot.ninjaunicornriot.ninja). This initiative is part of Unicorn Riot’s broader “Far-Right Investigations” project aimed at shining light on extremist networks while they believed they were speaking in private(unicornriot.ninja,unicornriot.ninja).

Methodology: Unicorn Riot journalists collected these chat logs in the course of investigating hate groups, often by infiltrating or monitoring private Discord servers with the help of anonymous sources. (unicornriot.ninjagithub.com)

For example, on the eve of the Charlottesville rally (Aug 2017), an informant provided Unicorn Riot with access to Discord planning chats, which the journalists then downloaded as evidence of organized violence(unicornriot.ninja,unicornriot.ninja). The leaked Discord data is processed by Unicorn Riot’s team—personal information of targets of harassment is redacted for safety—and then uploaded in batches to the public DiscordLeaks web app(unicornriot.ninja). All software for the DiscordLeaks platform was developed by Unicorn Riot and volunteer engineers, enabling full-text search and cross-referencing across the leaked chats(unicornriot.ninja,unicornriot.ninja). The platform also hosts logs from other chat services (like Rocket. Chat and Skype) that Unicorn Riot obtained during related investigations(unicornriot.ninja). Unicorn Riot emphasizes that making these primary source materials public enhances understanding of far-right tactics while supporting data journalism efforts(unicornriot.ninja,unicornriot.ninja).

Limitations Acknowledged: Unicorn Riot notes that DiscordLeaks is not an exhaustive record of all extremist chatter, only what their team could access (github.com). The archive is limited to the servers and time frames captured; some chats may be missing if servers were deleted or not fully logged(github.com). Content from the leaks is published “as-is” – Unicorn Riot does not alter messages beyond necessary redactions, so errors or misinformation by the original users remain in the logs(github.com). The DiscordLeaks site itself issues a disclaimer about external links, warning that Unicorn Riot hasn’t vetted any URLs inside the chats (which could be malicious), and advises readers to use caution and anonymity tools when browsing the leaked messages (discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja). In terms of editorial limits, Unicorn Riot has stated they withhold or censor certain details to protect individuals targeted by hate (for instance, they removed identifying info of people whom extremists discussed harming)(unicornriot.ninja).

Overall, Unicorn Riot presents DiscordLeaks as a research tool but cautions that it represents only a snapshot of specific communities and may contain unverified claims or propaganda posted by those users (github.com).

Key Use Cases and Features:

Browsing Leaked Chat Logs
- Users can navigate individual servers, channels, or participants within the archive.
- Logs span multiple platforms (Discord, Rocket. Chat, Skype), with Discord being the primary focus.
Searching and Filtering
- The site provides search capabilities for specific usernames, keywords, or phrases.
- Basic and advanced search modes help narrow down results by date range or server.
Investigation of Far-Right Networks
- The logs often reveal organizational details, ideological discussions, and event planning.
- Researchers and journalists can identify patterns and connections between groups or individuals.
Public Access to Primary Source Material
- Allows open scrutiny of communications that have historically been private.
- Encourages transparency about hate-speech activities and extremist discourse.

When/Why a Researcher or Journalist Might Use DiscordLeaks:

Documenting Extremist Organizing:
- Example: A journalist investigating a local protest or rally might discover planning details in the leaked chat logs.
- Outcome: Gaining insight into the coordination, participants, and strategies of hate or extremist groups.
Tracking Cross-Platform Activities:
- Example: A researcher might compare chat discussions on Discord with related user accounts on other social platforms.
- Outcome: Revealing how certain narratives or calls to action propagate across platforms.
Verifying Claims or Rumors:
- Example: A public figure is rumored to have participated in a far-right server chat. A search might confirm or disprove it.
- Outcome: Fact-checking direct quotes or involvement in extremist communications.
Studying Group Dynamics and Radicalization:
- Example: An academic researcher could analyze the text content of logs to see how extremist language evolves over time.
- Outcome: Identifying shifts in rhetoric, recruitment strategies, or new ideological trends.

What DiscordLeaks Shows

Server and Channel Logs:
- Usernames, messages, timestamps, and attachments (where applicable).
- Topic-specific channels, such as organizing events, sharing propaganda, or casual conversation.
Cross-References of Activity:
- The ability to track a specific user across multiple messages or servers.
- Potential references to external resources, websites, or memes shared within the community.
Data from Other Platforms:
- Beyond Discord, archives from Rocket. Chat or Skype channels are also available, depending on what Unicorn Riot reporters collected.

Search and Browsing

Basic Browsing:
- Servers: Navigate to https://discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja/discord/server/ and select a server of interest.
- Channels: Within a server, browse channels to view sequential chat logs.
- Users: Go to https://discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja/discord/users and select a user to view their contributions.
Basic Search:
- Navigate to https://discordleaks.unicornriot.ninja/discord/search.
- Enter search terms.
- Choose to search a single server or all servers.
Advanced Search:
- Select “Advanced Search” to refine queries further.
- Specify a server (optional).
- Enter date parameters (optional).
- Click the “Search” button to view filtered results.

Investigations and Research Using DiscordLeaks as a Source

Legal Evidence: The leaked Discord chats have been used in court proceedings against white supremacists. Notably, attorneys in the Sines v. Kessler civil lawsuit (filed by victims of the Charlottesville violence) submitted Unicorn Riot’s Discord logs as evidence of planners’ intent
(unicornriot.ninja). Observers pointed out that discussions in the chats (e.g. about weapons and running over protesters) bolstered claims that the rally organizers conspired to commit violence (cjr.org). Prosecutors in the criminal case against the Charlottesville car attacker, as well as other civil suits, also reviewed the DiscordLeak logs for relevant communications(cjr.org). In these ways, Unicorn Riot’s published leaks have directly informed investigations and accountability efforts after far-right violence.
Investigative Journalism: Many news outlets have cited DiscordLeaks to expose extremist activities. For example, ProPublica tapped the Charlottesville Discord chat dump to report how white supremacists joked about vehicular attacks weeks before Heather Heyer was killed; while doing so, ProPublica independently verified the identities of at least two users from the leak to confirm the authenticity of the conversations
(propublica.org, propublica.org). &#xNAN;HuffPost journalists used Unicorn Riot’s Discord chats to identify members of hate groups embedded in institutions – in 2019 HuffPost revealed 11 U.S. military service members as participants in’s Discord server, after cross-referencing the leaked messages (vice.com, vice.com). Similarly, local reporters have used DiscordLeaks to link extremists to real-world actions; for instance, chat evidence from the leaks helped journalists document how Patriot Front members coordinated vandalism and propaganda campaigns nationwide (vice.com, vice.com).
Academic and Analytical Research: Scholars and extremism researchers have incorporated the DiscordLeaks dataset into their studies. A 2020 study on far-right online radicalization noted that researchers leveraged Unicorn Riot’s Discord data from 129 different Discord servers to compile narratives of “redpilling” (radicalization) in those communities
(osf.io). The large corpus of leaked chats provides rich text for content analysis – for example, researchers have analyzed the language and memes in Identity Evropa’s Discord conversations to understand recruitment and group dynamics(unicornriot.ninja). Think tanks have also cited DiscordLeaks; for instance, the Hedayah extremism research center referenced Unicorn Riot’s Discord archive in discussions of how white supremacists communicate and plan online (hedayah.com).
Investigative collectives like Bellingcat have directly mined the data to map networks: Bellingcat’s researchers reported that Unicorn Riot’s archive contained over 760,000 Discord messages (Feb 2017–Mar 2018) from far-right groups, which they analyzed to track how fascist activists attempted to influence police and community events (bellingcat.com).

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Beginner-Friendly (Web Browser Usage)
- Basic searching or browsing chat logs is straightforward; it requires only a browser.
Moderate for In-Depth Research
- Large-scale text analysis, cross-referencing multiple users or servers, and systematic data collection may require more advanced skills.

Requirements

A modern web browser.
Stable internet connection.

Limitations

Partial Coverage: This is not a comprehensive archive of all Discord servers, or even all far-right servers. It only includes servers that Unicorn Riot’s team had access to.
Potential Data Gaps: Some servers or channels might have been deleted or not fully logged, leading to incomplete archives.
Relevance: The data can be most useful to those who already know the group, channel, or user they’re investigating.
Unverified Accuracy: Logs are presented as-is. Names, time stamps, or content may be incomplete or contain disinformation.

Ethical Considerations

Infiltration and Privacy: The content originates from private servers that were accessed through journalistic or infiltration methods. Though published publicly, it may include sensitive or personal information.
Content Sensitivity: Chat logs may contain hate speech, extremist rhetoric, or graphic content. Users should proceed with caution.
Legal and Ethical Use: Verify the context and consider potential legal implications if referencing this material in publications or research. Always handle personal data responsibly.

Tool provider

Unicorn Riot, based in the United States, is a decentralized, educational non-profit media organization.

Advertising Trackers

This tool has not yet been checked for advertising trackers.
This tool uses tracking cookies. Use with caution.
This tool does not appear to use tracking cookies.

Page maintainer

Martin Sona

Chronotrains

Chronotrains is a free interactive map designed to explore the reach of Europe’s extensive rail network. Enter a starting point and travel time to see reachable destinations by train.

URL

https://www.chronotrains.com/en

Description

This tool helps users visualize train destinations within Europe. When users hover with the cursor over a city or a particular train station on the map, Chronotrains unveils a map where concentric zones radiate outward. This depicts all the destinations reachable by train within a chosen duration of up to eight hours.

Using the Map:

- Click on any train station to set it as your starting point.

- Select the amount of time you want to travel (e.g., minimum 1 hour, up to 8 hours maximum).

- The map will update to show the areas you can reach within the selected time frame.

As of Dec 2024, the map may sometimes include not just information on the approximate travel time but also the trip's price.

Exploring Options:

- Use the map to explore different travel possibilities. You can move around the map, click on different stations, and see how travel times change.

Key Features:

Interactive Map

Why it matters: This visualization helps users quickly understand the reach of train travel from different locations, which can be useful for trip planning and understanding regional connectivity.

Travel Time Visualization

Why it matters: This feature allows users to easily compare travel times between different locations, helping them make informed decisions.

Data integration

How it works: According to the tool’s website, this map integrates data from Deutsche Bahn through Direkt Bahn Guru.

Possible use cases

While originally used to plan trips, Chronotrains can be repurposed for open-source investigations.

This can aid open-source investigations with a time-sensitive location element.

It can be used to:

Potentially verify travel claims: By entering a location and timeframe, investigators can determine if a reported train travel aligns with what is realistically possible.
Potentially track movement patterns: Analyze potential routes and locations reachable by train within a specific timeframe, helping identify areas a person of interest might have visited.

How does it work?

The platform’s GitHub page explains the tools' inner workings.

What the Map Shows:

Isochrones: Imagine you start at a specific train station. An isochrone map shows you how far you can travel from that station within a certain amount of time and in multiple directions. For example, it can show all the places you can reach in 1 hour, 2 hours, and so on, heading North, South, East, or West.

How It Works:

1. Building a Graph:

Think of a graph like a map, but instead of just showing locations, it also shows their connections. In this case, the "nodes" (points) on the graph are train stations. The "edges" (lines connecting the nodes) represent the journey times between these stations.

2. Exploring the Graph:

For each station, the system checks which other stations you can get to in a certain amount of time. For example, it might check which stations you can reach from Station A within 1 hour, 2 hours, and so on.

Data Source:

Deutsche Bahn (DB) Data: The information about train times and stations comes from Deutsche Bahn. Deutsche Bahn cooperates routes with different countries' rail systems (https://io.deutschebahn.com/en/services/passenger-rail/) and therefore has data on train schedules for international destinations (based on 2023 Integrated Report, p.38, p.49). According to DB International Operations’ website, “DB’s regional services do not only operate in Germany, but also across borders and in other European countries, including the UK, Czech Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Poland, and Portugal.”

API by Direkt Bahn Guru: This data is made easier to access and use through a tool (API) provided by Direkt Bahn Guru, which helps organize and provide the data in a convenient format.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Internet connection
Computer or mobile device

Limitations

Data Unavailable for Some Countries

Currently, Chronotrains.com does not seem to provide train data for outgoing journeys from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Belarus. However, data is available for neighboring countries, and some connections are displayed. For instance, train stations in Croatia include destinations that extend into Bosnia and Herzegovina, which are then visible on the map.

NOTE: To determine if data is available for a specific location, check the individual train stations represented as dots on the map. Filled dots indicate available data, while empty (white) dots signify the absence of outgoing train information.\

As of January 2025, the map started including some train data in Turkey and Montenegro. Russia still does not have any data available on the tool.

While Ukraine is marked as available on the map, it may be incomplete. Make sure to cross-reference with other neighboring countries’ train data, such as Polrail, and Ukraine’s national railway network, Ukrainian Railways.

Accuracy

Chronotrains.com includes a caveat that the travel times are based on estimates only provided by Deutsche Bahn data (Under FAQs). Actual arrival times may not always match. Therefore, it is important to use this platform ony for estimates.

Adding Connections (“Edges”) Between “Closeby Stations” Based on Assumed Walking Speed

According to its GitHub page, “closeby stations” and “assumed speed” are defined as follows:

Closeby stations: If two stations are close to each other (less than 10 km/6.2 mi apart), the system will add a connection between them, which is then reflected on the map.

Assumed speed: The system also assumes that you can walk/travel between these stations at a speed of 9/km/h (5.59 mph) - which is described as “faster than walking but slower than biking.”

It is important to note that this speed can vary from person to person and that this is an average estimate. So, when looking at the data on Chronotrains, keep these limitations in mind.

Local Transit Exclusion

The tool does not show options involving connections by local transit methods such as buses, bikes, or walking. The tool provider offers the following explanation on the tool's Github page: "Because local transit is not included for most cities, there are no journeys available between different stations that can actually be connected by bus, bike, or on foot."

Specifically, as mentioned above, if two locations are more than 10 km/6.2 mi apart, it will not display a journey/connection. For instance, if a user wants to go from point A to point D:

a. The train stops at point B and does not go directly to point D.

b. You could take a bus or bike from point B to point C.

c. From point C, you could catch another train to reach point D.

If the distance between Point B and Point C (where the user intends to get a connecting train) is more than 10 km/6.2 mi apart, then it will not appear on the map.

These types of multi-modal journeys, which involve switching from a train to a bus or bike and then back to a train, are not included in the dataset.

Assumed Interchange Time

According to its GitHub page, when switching from one train to another, the system assumes it takes 20 minutes. Since this can be variable depending on the person or unforeseen transit delays, the data should be taken as an estimate and needs to be cross-checked with other train schedules.

Some Trains May Not Be Reflected on the Map

A post from May 2023, shows that certain train connections that should be visible on the map may not appear (to date, the issue described in the post does not seem to occur anymore at that specific location). In addition, there is another reason why some train information is missing. Since Chronotrains also uses data from Direkt Bahn Guru, this GitHub page acknowledges that: “The API includes most trains in central Europe, but data availability gets significantly lower the further away stations are from routes (co-) operated by DB.” Also, according to this page, trains from smaller companies are often not included compared to those from state-owned operators, probably because they don't share data as much.

Data From Deutsche Bahn API Has Limits.

No Single Dataset: Public transport route data in Europe remains fragmented, with no single comprehensive dataset available.

Incomplete Data: According to this page, public transport data availability varies across Europe, with some countries lacking entirely.

Regional Data Only: Other countries only provide data by region or by specific transport operators (like in France).

Hard to Combine: Because the data is so scattered and inconsistent, it's difficult to combine it into one complete dataset.

Ethical Considerations

Chronotrains is best used in conjunction with other tools and other sources of information. Ensure transparency, acknowledge limitations, and prioritize obtaining corroborating information through other tools.

Transparency and Disclosure:

As mentioned above, Chronotrains uses data based on pre-scheduled train times and not real-time tracking. It includes this caveat under its FAQs section. As mentioned under the “Limitations” section, data are based on the user’s assumed walking speed and assumed duration for changing between trains. These variables can modify the estimates that the map shows. It is, therefore, important to disclose these limitations when using it as a tool for your investigations.

Accuracy:

Chronotrains' data should be treated as an estimate or an investigative lead that needs further verification. While Chronotrains uses established train schedule data, it's important to consider if there could be any bias within that data itself. For instance, if certain routes are less frequently traveled or have less up-to-date scheduling information, this could skew the results generated by Chronotrains.

If less frequently traveled routes are underrepresented, the overall dataset might not accurately reflect precise travel estimates. However, this does not drastically compromise the overall quality and reliability of Chronotrains' data. These travel estimates can still be valuable, particularly when coupled with mitigation strategies such as regularly verifying data from multiple reliable sources, including real-time updates and local transit information.

Guides and articles

A description and demo for the tool, including an interview with the tool provider: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ODcetbkq7U

Tool provider

Benjamin Tran Dinh, https://x.com/_benjamintd, France, https://x.com/chronotrains

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

Afton

Distill.io

Distill.io is a website change monitoring tool that allows users to track changes on web pages.

URL

Description

Distill.io is a website change monitoring tool that enables users to track changes on web pages and receive alerts via multiple channels, including email, SMS, and push notifications. It supports various types of content such as web pages, PDFs, JSON, Word documents, XML, feeds, uptime, and sitemaps. Available as a web app, browser extension, and mobile app, Distill.io allows users to monitor websites both locally and in the cloud.

Practical Applications for Open Source Researchers

For Open Source Researchers, Distill.io can be an invaluable tool for:

Monitoring Target Websites: Keep track of updates on websites related to investigations, such as changes in content, new postings, or removals.
Tracking Social Media Profiles: Monitor public social media pages or profiles for updates without the need to log into the platform.
Alerting on Keyword Changes: Set up alerts for specific keywords or phrases appearing or disappearing from web pages, which can signal significant events.
Watching Dynamic Content: Use advanced selection tools to monitor content that changes dynamically, such as JavaScript-rendered pages.
Archiving Web Page Changes: Maintain a history of changes to a web page, which can be useful for documenting the evolution of information over time.
Monitoring Hidden Elements: Detect changes in hidden HTML elements or metadata that might not be immediately visible on the page.

Key Features Beneficial for Open Source Researchers

Visual Selector Tool:
- Allows users to select specific parts of a web page to monitor.
- Useful for focusing on relevant sections and ignoring irrelevant content.
(Regex):
- Enable advanced pattern matching to monitor specific text patterns.
- Helpful for filtering and extracting specific data from complex pages.
Content Extraction:
- Ability to extract and export data from monitored pages.
- Supports formats like CSV or JSON for integration with other analysis tools.
Change Highlighting:
- Visual representation of what has changed on the page.
- Simplifies the process of identifying significant alterations.
Scheduling and Frequency:
- Customizable check intervals, with paid plans offering more frequent monitoring.
- Potentially useful for time-sensitive investigations where prompt alerts are crucial.

Using Distill.io

First, you can register with your own email, or use a dedicated email address or alias. You can see all running monitors on your . You can monitor websites, feeds, JSONs, PDFs, Word documents, uptime and whole sitemaps (alpha, may be buggy).

When you add a new monitor, you make the following choices:

: Whether to monitor the whole page or only a part of it. Select the if you want to monitor only certain parts (recommended).
Device: - Distill.io can run locally or in the cloud. This determines whether it only checks while your computer is running (local) or 24/7 (cloud). In the free plan, you can run only a limited number of trackers in one account, but more locally than in the cloud. Consequently, you can check cloud-based monitors in the , while local monitors live in .
Name: Pick a name for your Monitor that's easy to recognize for you and informative. You may want to configure several monitors for one website, so consider the purpose as well when picking a name.
Actions: The free service allows you to send yourself an , or if you're running a local monitor, open the website, get a notification, or . Paid customers can choose a number of additional notification options. Noteworthy among those are push notifications if you're using the (be mindful of possible tracking), , notifications on , (which allow developers to integrate it into 3rd party services)
: How often do you need your source to be checked for changes?

When you add a monitor you can use the Visual Selector Tool, to select only those parts of the website that you want to be alerted about if they change. These could be release versions, GitHub issue submissions, or parts of a text that contain information about a person or entity.

After you click save, your monitor will be active.

Additional Tips for OSINT Researchers

Combine with Other Tools:
- You can use Distill.io with other open source research tools to integrate data from Distill.io with databases or visualization tools.
Use Cloud Monitors for Reliability:
- One option is to run monitors on Distill.io's servers, ensuring continuous monitoring even when your device is offline. For monitoring tasks where information can change quickly this can be critical because uptime is constant.
Leverage API Access:
- The highest-tier plans offer API access, but lower-tier plans offer webhooks and similar automation tools like the possibility to run macros locally. That can help integrate monitoring data into custom applications.
Monitor Authentication-Protected Pages:
- Distill.io supports monitoring pages that require login. This can ensure compliance with terms of service and legal considerations when monitoring such content.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Free Plan:
- Up to 25 local monitors
- 5 cloud monitors
- 1,000 checks per month
- 30 email alerts
- Limitations: Maximum check interval of 6 hours for cloud monitors
Paid Plans:
- Starter Plan: Increased limits and faster check frequencies (e.g., every 10 minutes)
- Pro Plan: More monitors, higher check frequency (e.g., every 5 minutes), SMS alerts
- Enterprise Plan: Custom solutions with the highest limits and priority support
- Pricing: Detailed pricing is available on the Distill.io pricing page

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Account Creation:
- Required for synchronization across devices and accessing cloud monitoring features
Browser Extension:
- Available for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Edge
- Local Monitoring: Runs checks when the browser is open
Mobile App:
- Available on iOS and Android
- Features: Receive push notifications and manage monitors
Desktop App:
- Availability: Check the Distill.io website for the latest information
- Advantage: Allows local monitoring without keeping the browser open

Limitations

Free Plan Limitations:
- Limited to 25 local monitors and 5 cloud monitors
- Minimum check interval of 6 hours for cloud monitors
- Limited number of email alerts per month
Cloud Checks:
- Limited by the subscription plan
- Faster check frequencies require higher-tier plans
Local Checks:
- Require the browser or desktop app to be running
- Less reliable if the device is turned off or disconnected from the internet
Dynamic Content:
- Monitoring JavaScript-rendered content may require advanced configuration
- Some dynamic elements might not be captured without using cloud monitors

Ethical Considerations

Privacy and Legal Compliance:
- Keep the website's terms of service in mind when monitoring website changes
- Be aware of legal regulations regarding automated access or scraping
Responsible Use:
- Avoid overloading target websites with excessive requests
- Use appropriate check intervals to minimize impact
Data Validation:
- Verify the accuracy of monitored changes before acting on them
- Be cautious of false positives or changes that may not be relevant

Guides and articles

What is Distill? | Distill. (2023). Retrieved August 1, 2024, from

Local Monitor vs. Cloud Monitor | Distill. (2023). Retrieved August 1, 2024, from

Distill (Director). (2023, May 26). How to Use the Visual Selector in Distill [Video recording].

Tool provider

Distill.io by Neemb LLC (Delaware), U.S.

Contact Information: Available on their

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

Datawrapper

A tool for creating interactive charts, maps, and tables from your data, offering a user-friendly interface for visualizing information.

URL

https://www.datawrapper.de/

Description

The purpose of the tool is to help users convert raw data into interactive and visually appealing graphics without requiring advanced technical skills. According to a Datawrapper co-founder:

"[”. Its target users are primarily journalists, researchers, and data analysts who would like to communicate data insights effectively. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalism Datawrapper as "an open source tool for anyone who wants to create a chart or map from their data, came out of the knowledge that expecting every journalist to know code is unrealistic."

How it works

Datawrapper is particularly helpful during the analysis and presentation stage of digital open-source investigations. It supports three categories of visualizations: Chart, Map, and Table. Note that the charts, maps, and tables generated are, by default, interactive. They will respond to the user’s mouse hovering over the various data on display.

TIP: It is helpful to check the website or its blog prior to beginning a project. It covers straightforward descriptions of various chart, map, and table types. This is useful for determining which kind of data and how many data points you need for a particular type of visualization.

NOTE: Prepare your data. Ensure that your data is organized, complete and refined prior to adding the data on the interface.

CHART

Charts can turn complex data into visual representations that are easier to interpret. It simplifies information by distilling large amounts of data, making it easier to grasp key trends, patterns, and outliers without having to wade through raw data. It can also reveal relationships between variables.

If using Datawrapper to create a chart, users have four main steps to complete. They (1) upload their data, (2) double-check that data is displayed correctly, (3) visualize, and, finally, (4) publish/download or embed the final product.

Upload Data

Users can upload data in four ways:

Copy and paste an already existing data table into the empty field to the right.
Upload an XLS/CSV file (typically one used in MS Excel)
Connect to Google Sheets by inputting a link.
Enter a URL link to an external CSV file.

Check Data

Datawrapper includes this step to allow users to verify the accuracy of their uploaded data and ensure that the tool displays the information as intended. Users should carefully check that all rows and columns are present, verify that each cell contains the correct value, confirm that there is no missing data, and make sure that the categories are correctly represented.

Sample Steps for Checking Your Data (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Suppose you’re using Datawrapper to create a chart showing the number of armed conflict incidents reported in various countries over the past year. After uploading your data, Datawrapper prompts you to review it.

1. Check Rows and Columns: Ensure that your dataset includes all the countries you want to analyze and that each country has data for all relevant time periods or types of incidents. For instance, verify that rows are present for countries like “Country X,” “Country Y,” and “Country Z,” and columns are included for different types of incidents, such as “Military Engagements,” “Civilian Attacks,” and “Terrorist Incidents.”

2. Verify Cell Values: Double-check that each cell displays accurate incident counts or details. For example, if “Country X” should have recorded 200 military engagements in the past year, ensure that this number appears correctly in the corresponding cell.

3. Look for Missing Data: Check for any gaps in the data. If “Country Y” is missing data for “Civilian Attacks,” confirm whether this is due to a data reporting issue or if the data is genuinely unavailable. Ensure that this omission is intentional and not an error. Missing data should be addressed or noted appropriately.

4. Confirm Category Accuracy: Ensure that the categories are accurately labeled. For instance, make sure that the column headers correctly represent types of armed conflict incidents and are not mistakenly labeled with unrelated categories. Also, confirm that the row headers accurately list the countries and not the types of incidents.

Visualize

This section lets users customize their chart to the most minute features, allowing the audience to understand the data effectively. Click on the different tabs below to see a representative list of features that can be customized.

Users have about 20 types of charts to choose from based on their needs. If unsure, the web interface has hints to help users determine which chart may work well for their type of data source.

They are bar charts, stacked bars, grouped bars, split bars, bullet bars, column chart, stacked column, grouped columns, lines, multiple lines, area chart, scatter plot, dot plot, range plot, arrow plot, election donut, pie chart, multiple pies, donut chart, multiple donuts.

The refine tab allows users to customize the details of your chart. This includes customizing the text, date format, and grid on the horizontal axis. As well as the formatting of the values on your chart (whether dates or currency, etc). Users can customize the opacity, colors and sort the data (smallest first, largest first, etc).

This tab is critical for providing context on the information users are conveying. It includes the Title, Description, Notes, and, most importantly, the Data Source and links to the Data source, if available.

The final step on the visualization tab is Layout customization. The key features are: (1) Availability to produce output in different languages;

(2) Users can also customize the footer section of the chart. This includes links to data source download, image download options, shareable link, and social media share buttons. Sharing findings, and data sources are especially useful for open-source investigators, since investigations and methodology needs to be replicable to be reliable.

TIP on the "Annotate" tab: The “Notes” section can be useful for explaining limitations to data sources, margin of errors, or other caveats about the data that should be transparent to readers.

NOTE on the "Layout" tab: Output locale language does not translate content users input but translates the built-in features of the tool itself (see Limitations Section).

Publish/Embed

The final step is to publish the chart. This step is particularly important if users plan to embed it in websites or blogs or share the visualization on social media platforms. Visualizations are private by default unless users publish them.

NOTE: Datawrapper does not share visualizations publicly, even after publishing. It becomes visible only if users forward the URL to other individuals or embed it in their websites.

Any changes made to the chart will not be visible to the audience until you "republish" the chart.

Users can also export or duplicate the visualization. Users can export in PNG (image) format. This is a static and non-interactive version that users can download for printing or integration in reports.

TIP: Once published, any changes to formatting or editing will not be reflected. Users will have to republish their visualization after making any changes. Go to the publish section, and click “Republish.”

Users will end up with something that looks like this (Area Chart):

MAP

The map feature in Datawrapper is especially beneficial for open-source investigations, particularly when visualizing geolocated or verified incidents.

These maps can visually represent complex data, making understanding and communicating findings easier. Investigators can use these maps to track and display various types of information, such as geographic distributions, locations of events, or the spread of certain phenomena over time. The interactive aspect allows viewers to engage with the data, zoom in on specific areas, and access detailed information, which is crucial for transparency and thorough analysis in investigations.

The types of maps you can produce are: Choropleth map, Symbol map, and Locator map.

Choropleth map

A type of thematic map in which areas (such as countries, states, or regions) are shaded or patterned in proportion to the value of a specific variable. The purpose of a choropleth map is to visually represent the distribution of a variable across different geographic areas.

Potential open-source use case for choropleth map (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Imagine you have a map of your country, and you want to show where people have the most and least access to something, like internet speeds.

A choropleth map is like a color-coded version of this map. Each area on the map, such as states or counties, gets a different color based on how high or low the internet speeds are there. For example:

Dark Purple - might mean super fast internet speeds.

Light orange - might mean average speeds.

Yellow - might mean slow speeds.

So, when you look at the map, you can easily see which areas have the best internet speeds and which ones don’t. The colors help you quickly understand and compare the data across different regions.

Select your map

This step allows users to select what kind of base map is needed for data visualization. The Datawrapper list of maps contains a huge selection. The types of maps available are: World maps, regional maps, and country maps. As a plus, some countries have different subtypes available as well. For instance, Argentina also includes a map divided by departments, by electoral districts, or by provinces. It also has available a map subtype that is city-specific, such as the Argentina - Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area.

TIP: Users can also upload their own maps. However, this is a slightly advanced feature and you may consult

Add your data

Step 1 - Upload: There are four ways to add your data:

Fill in the automatically generated table (located on the right of the screen):

This section is automatically prefilled with two columns: Column A for the name of the Country or/Territory and Column B for the values. You can enter the values manually in Column B based on your dataset.

Upload a file: CSV or Excel (located to the left)
Copy and paste data (located to the left)
Connect a remote data set: input a link to external data (i.e., data from NASA) or connect to Google Sheets.

NOTE: The pre-made table seems to depend on the kind of map you select in the previous step. If you choose a World Map for your data, it will populate Column A with a list of countries in that map. If you choose a map of Asia, it will fill Column A with a list of countries for that continent.

Step 2 - Match: To use the map, your data needs to have information like country names, short names, and codes. In this step, choose the preferred naming convention for countries. In addition, make sure you have all the columns and rows you need to display your data.

NOTE: If the user does not use the rest of the countries/locations on the list, they will be grayed out in the map.

Visualize

Just like in the CHART section above, the Visualize tab lets users customize their map to the most minute features, allowing the audience to understand the data effectively. Click on the different tabs below to see a representative list of features that can be customized.

The refine tab allows users to customize the details of the map. This includes:

Customizing the colors to represent different values;
Deciding whether you want the legend on display and the way the legend looks.
Making the map zoomable or not, and the location of the zoom button;
Map appearance: whether you want a full map or a partial map on display, the size in pixels, and map alignment;
Appearance of region borders (or not).

Like above, this tab is critical for providing context on the information users are conveying. It includes the Title, Description, Notes, and, most importantly, the Data Source and links to the Data source, if available.

TIP: The “Notes” section can be useful for explaining limitations to data sources, margin of errors or other caveats that should be transparent to readers.

Similarly, the final tab under “Visualize” is Layout customization. The key features are:

Availability to produce output in different languages;
Customize the footer section of the chart to include links to data source download, image download options;
Ability to include a shareable link and social media share buttons;

Below is a sample interactive symbol map to demonstrate what the final product may look like:

making it possible to represent categories alongside numerical data. This new feature helps reveal more nuanced regional patterns and tells a richer story beyond a single data point.

Symbol map

A symbol map, sometimes called a point map or dot map, is a type of thematic map used in data analysis to represent data points or values across geographic areas using symbols. Instead of shading regions like in a choropleth map, a symbol map uses symbols, such as dots, icons, or shapes, to show the location and magnitude of a variable.

Key Features of Symbol Maps (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Symbols Represent Data: Each symbol on the map represents a specific quantity or value. For instance, a dot might represent a certain number of people, a business, or an event.
Size and Color: The size and color of the symbols can vary to convey different magnitudes or categories. Larger or differently colored symbols can indicate higher values or different categories.
Geographic Context: Symbols are placed on the map according to their geographic locations. This helps visualize how data points are distributed across different regions.

Comparing Values: Symbol maps allow users to see patterns, trends, and distributions of the data across different areas. They are useful for understanding spatial relationships and concentrations.

Potential open-source use cases of symbol map (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Tracking the outbreak of armed clashes in a region or disease outbreaks:

Armed clashes in a region: Symbol maps can visualize and analyze the distribution and frequency of armed clashes across various regions in a country over a specified period of time.

Disease Outbreaks: If tracking a disease outbreak, symbols could represent the number of reported cases in various locations, helping to visualize areas with higher or lower case numbers.

NOTE #1: Prepare your data (do not skip this step): Whether you are using your own data or using data from an external source, it is important to make sure the data has all the information required by Datawrapper. For symbol maps, “ will need (1) addresses/place names or (2) latitudes/longitudes to know where you want your points to be.” Users should be as specific as possible.

Example of specificity of addresses/place names as provided by the :

Neighborhood: Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
City: New York City, New York
Zip Code: 11212, Kings County, New York
County: Kings County, New York
State/Land: New York State, USA

NOTE #2: Use latitude/longitude coordinates for better precision. According to the tool, uploading latitudes and longitudes ensures accurate mapping because city names can be ambiguous or duplicated. For instance, the name "Vancouver" could refer to cities in different locations, like Vancouver, Canada, or Vancouver, Washington, U.S.. Geocoders, including Datawrapper, might default to the most prominent city with that name unless precise coordinates are provided. By using latitudes and longitudes, you ensure that the exact locations are mapped correctly, avoiding confusion from similar or differently named places.

The steps for creating a symbol map are very similar to those for the choropleth map (See above). There is a slight difference in the “Visualize” section of symbol maps. Click on each tab below to see the different features.

Customize symbols of your choice and their size.
Users can also customize the colors and choose the column they want to be highlighted on the map. For example, if looking at incidents of armed clashes in Burkina Faso, a user might want to highlight how many of those are targeting civilians. In this case, select the column “civilian targeting”.
Customize map features: by making the map zoomable or by including an “inset map” to provide context on the location for those who are not familiar with it.

Just like in charts, this section is critical for providing context on your data. It includes putting a Title, Description, Notes, and, most importantly, the Data Source and links to the Data source, if available.

TIP: The “Notes” section can be useful for explaining limitations to data sources, margin of errors or other caveats that should be transparent to readers.

Similarly, the final tab is Layout customization. The key features are:

Availability to produce output in different languages
Customize the footer section of the chart to include links to data source download, image download options
Ability to include a shareable link and social media share buttons

Below is a sample symbol map. After doing the steps outlined above, the symbol map should look something like this:

Datawrapper now supports arrow maps, also known as swing or hedgehog maps. These maps are valuable tools for visualizing directional changes in data. NOTE: This map type is useful when users have to analyze two opposing data sets. They can show "swings" between these two opposing categories, such as shifts in political party support or geographic increases and decreases in metrics like population or housing prices. Arrow maps are especially useful for election coverage. Steps on how to use them are available

Locator map

A locator map is a small map that shows the location of a specific area within a larger context. It's often used to orient viewers and provide a geographical perspective. According to, “They are a great choice if you want to show where something is located or happened.”

Possible open-source use case for locator maps (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Locator maps can be useful tools for open-source investigators. They provide visual context for data, helping to:

: Understand the spread of events or information across a region.
Identify Patterns: Recognize trends or clusters in data distribution.
Compare different datasets to verify accuracy and completeness.
(especially geolocated incidents in conflicts or violent protests): convey complex information to audiences through visual storytelling.

By placing data in a geographic context, investigators can gain deeper insights and uncover hidden connections.

For example: showing demolitions and evictions in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, may benefit from showing the different locations of demolished buildings in the neighborhood.

Below are the main steps for creating locator maps:

Data Preparation

Identify locations: Determine the specific locations you want to highlight on your map.
Gather coordinates: Collect the latitude and longitude coordinates for each location. You can use tools like Google Maps to obtain this information.
Prepare data: Organize your location data into a CSV or Excel file with columns for latitude, longitude, and location name (optional).

Create a New Map

Log in to your Datawrapper account or create a new one.
Click on "Start Creating" and then select "New Map."
Choose the "Locator Map" option.

Add Markers

Markers are

NOTE: Every marker's position is fixed to the map's position; if you move the map view, the markers will move along with it.

Click on the "Add Markers" button.
You have two options:
(1) Manual input: Enter the latitude and longitude coordinates for each location directly into the fields.
(2) Upload CSV: If you prepared your data in a CSV, upload it here. Datawrapper will automatically populate the map with markers based on the latitude and longitude columns.
Customize marker appearance (color, size, icon) as needed.

Design Your Map

Base map: Choose an appropriate base map from the available options. Consider the style and level of detail required for your map.
Zoom level: Adjust the zoom level to focus on the desired area while providing enough context.
Map style: Customize the map appearance with colors, fonts, and other design elements to match your branding or preferences.

TIP: Users can adjust the zoom level, rotation, tilt, and height of the map. Decreasing the tilt can show mountains if the location has dramatic terrain.

Add Annotations

Labels: Add labels to your markers by clicking on them and entering the location name.
Pop-ups: Create informative pop-ups for each marker by adding additional details such as descriptions, images, or links.
Legend/“Map Key”: Include a legend to explain the meaning of different marker types or colors if necessary.

Publish and Embed

Once you're satisfied with your map, click on "Publish."
Choose the desired embed code format (HTML, iframe, etc.) to integrate the map into your website or other platforms.

NOTE: Locator maps can be exported in GeoJSON format

TABLE

Tables are highly versatile data visualization tools, allowing for the inclusion of text, numbers, images, and charts within each cell. This structured approach makes it easier to communicate complex information effectively.

Prepare Your Data

Organize Your Data: Ensure your data is well-organized in a spreadsheet or CSV file. Each column should have a header, and each row should represent a different data point.
Check Data Types: Ensure your data is correctly typed (e.g., numerical, text). Datawrapper will automatically recognize these types, which helps format the table correctly.

Start a New Visualization

Click on "Create a New Chart.": After logging in, you’ll be taken to the dashboard. Click on the "Create a New Chart" button.
Select "Table": Datawrapper offers several chart types, but for this tutorial, select "Table" from the list of options.

Table Creation

Choose the "Table" chart type.
Customize your table:

Add a title and description.
Adjust column widths and formatting.
Use color coding or highlighting for emphasis.

Data Visualization

Integrate charts: Add small charts (sparklines) within table cells for visual representation of data trends.
Highlight key information: Use conditional formatting to draw attention to specific data points.

Publishing and Sharing:

Choose a publishing option (embed, share link, download).
Customize the appearance of your table (theme, colors, fonts).
Publish your table and share it with your audience.

Additional Tips (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Keep it simple: Prioritize clarity and readability.
Label clearly: Ensure column headers are descriptive and easy to understand.
Use whitespace: Enhance readability by adding space between columns and rows.
Mobile-friendly: Design your table to be responsive for different screen sizes.

COLLABORATION AND TEAMS

Datawrapper offers team features, enabling multiple users to work together on visualizations. This is particularly useful for investigative teams, allowing for shared insights and efficient workflows. It is also especially useful for collaboration within one organization and in instances where a team from one organization partners with a team from another organization.

Detailed instructions on creating and managing Teams in Datawrapper can be found and. However, below is a summary of those steps and some important caveats.

NOTE #1: According to the tool provider, if you create a team, you will automatically be the team owner, and every member of a team can use the features of the team owner's pricing plan. For example, if you bought a custom plan with two custom design themes, and you create a team, everybody in your team will be able to create charts with these two themes, use the PDF export, and use all other custom features.

NOTE #2: Even as a “team owner,” members you have invited have the ability to edit the visualizations. Every member can edit, publish, or embed any visualization in a team folder.

Click between tabs to see the steps:

Log in to your Datawrapper account.
Click on the menu icon (☰) and select "My Teams."
Click on the "Create team" button.
Give your team a name and invite members.

Before creating a new chart, map, or table on Datawrapper, ensure you're working in the correct team. Check the top right corner to see which team is currently selected (with a checkmark).

Organization: Create folders within your team to keep visualizations organized.
Collaboration: Share visualizations and collaborate with team members in real-time.
Team Settings: Customize team settings, including default folders, notification preferences, and embed code options.

NOTE: Collaboration in Teams. This means all members can access the edits and visualizations simultaneously. Users can see when colleagues are editing, and they can see yours. The edits are associated with an icon showing the account info/picture of the team member.

If you work with a team or with a Teams account, Datawrapper's visualization archive is a central hub for all your team's visualizations. It includes features like folders, team-wide search, and custom fields to streamline management, whether you're solo or part of a large team. This new feature appears to be available to all accounts, not just the paid tiers. \

POWERPOINT INTEGRATION

Datawrapper recently PowerPoint. In sum, the features are:

New Add-In for PowerPoint: Datawrapper released a free add-in for PowerPoint, available on Microsoft AppSource.
Access & Edit Visualizations: Access, embed, and edit all your Datawrapper visualizations directly within PowerPoint.
Private Visualizations: Visualizations remain private by default, with no need to publish them online.
Real-Time Updates: Stay connected to live data sources and update visualizations in one click before presentations.
Cross-Platform Adaptability: Visualizations created in PowerPoint can be used interactively on websites, as PNGs on social media, or in PDFs and print reports.
Interactive Visualizations: A separate add-in enables fully interactive features like zoomable maps, hover tooltips, and sortable tables. Learn more in the Datawrapper Academy.

After testing this, we learned that the format differs slightly from the web version. The menu and editing options seem limited compared to the web interface. It may also take more time to familiarize yourself with the PowerPoint interface. Depending on the computing capability of your device, the visualizations in PowerPoint tend to lag sometimes whenever a feature in the visualization is being edited.

Summary of key features that may be helpful for beginner open-source researchers (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Platform: Datawrapper is a web-based tool accessible from any device with internet access.
Integration: Supports integration with various data sources and formats for data import.
Collaboration: users can set up teams to collaborate on a project.
The Free version has unlimited visualizations and a lot of powerful features.
Customization: It provides options for customizing the look and feel of visualizations to match user preferences
Export Options: Allows users to export visualizations in static format such as in PNG, PDF, or have an interactive graph in HTML that users can forward to social media, or embed in websites.
Easy User Interface: Datawrapper features a straightforward interface, drop down menu and integrated hints and explanation for users.
Support: Offers well-written tutorials and support resources through their or through their .

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

NOTE: Even the free version includes robust features and can perform most data visualization tasks very well. The information on the pricing is available at:

Level of difficulty

For charts and tables, the difficulty is level 2 out of 5.

For maps, the difficulty level can increase from 2 to 3 out of 5.

The difficulty level also increases as your dataset gets more complicated. The difficulty level also depends on the detail of customization users want in order to communicate their data in these visualizations. Each visualization type has many features that are not obvious to beginners.

Requirements

Create a user account;
Internet connection and a modern browser;
Desktop device;
An organized external dataset;
Users may need a subscription to access extra features. The free version, however, is more than enough for many users.

Limitations

1. Charts:

Data Skills: Creating clear charts might require some knowledge of Excel formulas and data formatting. Uploading incomplete data can lead to unexpected results. Datawrapper has a list of troubleshooting issues that seem to be related to how CSV files are formatted prior to uploading them, for instance, on , or .
Missing Data: Line charts might show gaps if your data has missing values. This isn't always a bad thing, but it's important to understand why the gaps appear.
- Patchy data in line charts sometimes appears if the dataset is missing values. Sometimes it is because there is no data available (in which case Datawrapper does not want to mislead by filling in a connection between one data point and another). Sometimes it is because of .

2. Maps:

Geocoding Knowledge: You'll need a basic understanding of geocoding, which is the process of converting addresses to map locations.
Geocoding Accuracy: Datawrapper's geocoder . Some locations might be misplaced. Knowing the exact coordinates of a place can help avoid errors.
Base Map Issues: Datawrapper might have trouble displaying certain base maps if the data format is unusual.
- Datawrapper “if there is a slash in one of the country descriptions, e.g. "Bosnia/Herzegovina", it might cause Datawrapper to not parse the data properly. If you get rid of the slash and write 'Bosnia and Herzegovina', the data will load properly.”
Map Zoom Levels: Setting map zoom levels correctly is crucial. If not done right, labels might disappear when zooming in or out, confusing viewers.
- Some map features and their functions are not immediately obvious to the user. For example, errors appear when making the map zoomable. Map labels sometimes do not appear at all.
- When you embed a map, it starts at a zoomed-out view. This is okay for a general overview, but it can be difficult to see details. Zooming in lets you explore specific areas.
- If you don't set it up right, important information like city names or labels might disappear when you zoom in or out. This can be confusing for people trying to understand your map.
- Datawrapper explains that "you will find that the map labels don't show up before you either zoom in or set the minimum zoom for labels to 1.” To avoid this, you need to make sure the labels are visible, no matter how much people zoom in or out.
Copy-Pasting and CSV Import Errors A significant limitation of the map feature arises during the data import process, particularly when copying and pasting data such as a list of locations and their respective coordinates. Based on our tests, there are instances where some values are successfully copied into the platform, while others are either omitted or altered unintentionally. Names of the locations are also sometimes missing from the list or rearranged in a different order. This inconsistency can introduce errors in the dataset and compromise the reliability of the final visualization.
Potential Data Alignment Issues The irregularity in data transfer can lead to misaligned rows or columns, especially when working with large datasets. This may require additional manual verification to ensure that all data points are correctly mapped to their respective geographies.
We found that employing data in smaller batches may be a more reliable approach. For extensive datasets, consider pasting or importing the data in smaller batches to detect errors more quickly and amend any errors immediately.

3. General:

Data Preparation: Data needs to be well-organized and clean for Datawrapper to work effectively. This might require some data analysis skills or a good understanding of your data and its purpose. Uploading incomplete data can lead to delays and errors.
- Prepping and organizing data requires some background in data analysis or, alternatively, a really good understanding of your data and what you want to highlight. This is particularly an issue because Datawrapper can take time to load data and is prone to formatting errors. According to this , “Training staff and extracting meaningful insights post-visualization are additional hurdles.”
Data Limits: Datawrapper . Uploading very large datasets can lead to slow loading times and lag.
Updates: You can't update visualizations once published. However, you can update the data each time you open the chart and republish.
Translations: Datawrapper can translate the built-in features of the tool, but not the content you manually enter (like the chart title). This can be confusing for viewers in different languages.
- However, it translates the built-in features of the tool itself. For example, the chart's title is usually put in manually by the user. If this title is in English, it will not be translated once users choose an output locale in a different language. Measurements (miles/kilometers), names of countries, distance, and date formatting are all part of the tool and will, therefore, be translated if specified in the output locale.
Privacy: For the free account, Even if you cancel your subscription or delete your account, your visualizations will (see also ).
Single Sign-On: Free and custom plans don't offer a central login system for managing user access.

For a more complete list of limitations, see:

Ethical Considerations

The main ethical consideration about data visualizations is the possibility that information can be misleading, no matter how good it looks: Thisdiscusses the possibility that charts can be misleading and that data interpretation has some general pitfalls.

of common pitfalls (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Cherry-picking Data: Selecting only data points that support a particular narrative while omitting others.

Outliers: Emphasizing or downplaying outliers to influence perception.

Visual tricks such as “Chartjunk,” which refer to excessive clutter or unnecessary elements that can distract from the main message.

Misleading Visual Elements: Using colors, shapes, or sizes that can alter perception.

However, to mitigate this, practice is key. "This practice of constantly interrogating your data with a careful skepticism is likely the most important aspect of working with data," writes .

Guides and articles

Bellingcat Research

This tool was used in a Bellingcat investigation: By Pooja Chaudhuri and Melissa Zhu

Datawrapper guides

Datawrapper Academy:

Datawrapper Training Slides:

How to create teams and other guides related to working in collaboration:

Guides from other sources

Video Tutorial: . By Adam Robert Marton, University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Guide from The Guardian:

Guides about Misleading Charts and Graphs:

University of Pittsburg

Nightingale, Journal of Data Visualization Society

Dataspire.Org

Tool provider

Datawrapper, Germany

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

EDGAR Suite

Tool for the retrieval of corporate and financial data from SEC's EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) database.

URL

https://pypi.org/project/edgar-tool/

Source code is freely available on GitHub (v 2.1.2 – 15 May 2025, last checked July 1st)
Users can download edgar-tool (the CLI) directly from PyPI

EDGAR Database Overview

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) serves as the SEC’s public database of corporate filings. It includes both quantitative and qualitative data for legal entities that issue securities in the U.S. Accessible since the mid-1990s, EDGAR offers its data for free, rendering it a crucial resource for corporate OSINT, financial analysis, and investigative endeavors.

Why Use edgar-tool Instead of the EDGAR Website?

Despite EDGAR’s utility, its web interface can be difficult to use for large-scale tasks or specialized queries (e.g., no simple batch downloading, no single RSS feed for multiple entities, etc.). edgar-tool overcomes these limitations by:

Automating Search & Download: Scrapes EDGAR in chunks, merges results, and exports them in .csv or .jsonl, avoiding repetitive manual page-by-page downloads.
Enabling Large-Scale Analysis: The tool can handle thousands of filings, letting you run advanced queries (like tracking mentions of a keyword in multiple forms).
Filterable RSS: Subscribes to the broad EDGAR RSS feed, but filters results by the specific tickers you care about, generating a single consolidated file.

EDGAR Command Line Interface (edgar-tool) — Detailed Overview

1. Automated Bulk Retrieval of Filings

Challenge with EDGAR Web: The SEC interface typically requires browsing multiple result pages and downloading PDF/HTML documents individually. This is tedious and prone to errors when dealing with dozens or hundreds of filings.
edgar-tool Solution: Text Search automates queries, segmenting them into manageable “chunks.” It then merges all pages into a single .csv or .jsonl file and can optionally download the linked filings themselves.
- Example: Searching for references to “ESG,” “cybersecurity,” or any specific phrase across 1,000 documents becomes a single command instead of manual page-by-page clicks.

2. Standardized Financial Data from XBRL

Challenge with EDGAR Web: While EDGAR makes data from XBRL filings available, companies often define their own custom tags. Basic direct comparisons of net income or total assets across different issuers can be messy or incomplete.
edgar-tool Solution: It references a custom library of commonly used GAAP/XBRL tags mapped to plain-English financial metrics. This leads to more consistent results (e.g., “revenue,” “net income,” “debt,” etc.) for each company.
- Example: Instantly fetch a unified time-series for any public company’s key statements (balance sheet, income statement, cash flow) without sifting through dozens of custom tag variations.

3. Flexible, Filtered RSS Feed for Company Monitoring

Challenge with EDGAR Web: You can subscribe to EDGAR’s broad RSS or individual company feeds, but not a single feed covering all your target companies in one place. It’s easy to miss filings or get overwhelmed by irrelevant results.
edgar-tool Solution: RSS commands filter the main EDGAR feed by specific tickers or CIKs (Central Index Keys). You get a consolidated .csv or .jsonl with the latest filings from only the entities you care about.
- Example: Monitor five technology stocks for new 8-K or 10-K forms. Receive daily or hourly updates in one file, rather than visiting multiple feeds or searching manually.

4. Comprehensive Search Parameters & Output Options

Search Parameters:
- Keywords/Phrases: partial or exact matches (“cyber risk,” “carbon offsets”).
- Entity Data: Tickers, CIKs, or company names for narrower focus.
- Filing Types: Choose among annual reports (10-K), quarterly (10-Q), registration statements, or insider trading forms.
- Date Ranges: Limit to, say, “2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31.”
- Location: In or principal executive offices located in a certain region (e.g., “Egypt”).
Output Options:
- .csv (default) or .jsonl for easy integration with Excel, Python pandas, or other data tools.
- .json or .jsonl for line-by-line JSON objects—handy if you want to parse them with scripts or feed them into advanced analytics (like an NLP pipeline).

5. Command-Line Simplicity & Python Integration

CLI Usage: A single terminal command (e.g., edgar text_search "John Doe") runs queries with optional arguments for specialized tasks.
Python Compatibility: If deeper analysis or automated workflows are desired, you can embed edgar-tool results in Jupyter notebooks, or orchestrate them within a Python pipeline (particularly helpful for large OSINT or data-mining projects).

6. Support for Large Queries & Retry Logic

Challenge: EDGAR enforces ~10 requests/second, and long queries can stall or fail.
edgar-tool: Includes a retries feature, random wait intervals (--min_wait / --max_wait) to stay within EDGAR’s usage guidelines. Automates re-requests if the initial call fails, ensuring robust data acquisition over big searches.

7. Periodic or On-Demand Data Gathering

RSS Interval: The --every_n_mins option repeatedly checks for new filings, appending them to an ongoing output file. This is convenient for near real-time monitoring of evolving corporate disclosures.
Ad Hoc Search: The text search can be run once for immediate insight or scheduled (e.g., weekly) to track mentions of a certain keyword over time.

8. Extra Tools: Financial Profile CSV

In addition to the real-time search & RSS, the tool’s maintainers provide a financial dataset in .csv form. This dataset aims to unify official EDGAR numbers into consistent lines for each public company, making cross-company or time-series analysis more straightforward.
- Great for generating quick historical charts (like net income trends) in Excel or Python.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

edgar-tool requires the Python interpreter to download and use. It supports any currently maintained version of Python (Python >=3.9 as of this writing). Check the Programming Language section of edgar-tool's release page on PyPI for officially supported versions. When in doubt, use the latest stable Python version. You can download the latest version of the Python interpreter from www.python.org/downloads/.

Limitations

Data Coverage: EDGAR is strongest post-2001, with partial coverage from 1994–2000. No private-company data.
Rate Limits: The SEC enforces max requests (~10/s). The tool handles this by spacing or retrying requests, but massive downloads still take time.
Potential Gaps in XBRL: Some foreign or unusual filers may use custom or incomplete tags that limit the consistency of the standardized table. Although edgar-tool references a standard XBRL library, some foreign filers or unusual forms can break uniform tagging.
No Summaries: The tool provides raw documents and structured metadata but does not generate textual summaries or deeper analytics for you.

Ethical Considerations

SEC Policy Compliance: Do not exceed EDGAR’s official usage limits or circumvent established disclaimers.
Legitimate Use: Data here can be sensitive. Ensure compliance with securities laws regarding insider information or derivatives of that info.
Attribution: Cite EDGAR as the data source and handle CSV outputs responsibly (especially if dealing with personal or sensitive content).
Data Accuracy: Some filers might have irregular or missing data. Always cross-verify if your investigative or financial conclusions have major consequences.
Respect the SEC's Internet Security Policy and Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
Respect the SEC EDGAR API's fair access policy & current 10 requests/second max request limit

Guide

Official GitHub: Bellingcat/EDGAR for usage instructions, advanced macros, and code examples.
Bellingcat Article: “New Tools Dig Deeper into Hard-to-Aggregate US Corporate Data” (Dec 18, 2023) by George Dyer.
- Illustrates how to harness text search for ESG trends, unify financial time-series across multiple companies, and track multiple tickers via a single feed.

Tool provider

George Dyer (former Bellingcat Tech Fellow)

Advertising Trackers

This tool has not been checked for advertising trackers yet.
This tool uses tracking cookies. Use with caution.
This tool does not use tracking cookies.

Page maintainer

Martin Sona

Gaode Maps

Gaode Maps (also known as AMap) is a mapping application and technology from the Chinese company Alibaba.

URL

Main site: www.amap.com, or www.gaode.com

API docs: lbs.amap.com/api

Description

Gaode Maps offers maps, satellite imagery, directions (for driving, public transport, and walking), and real-time augmented reality navigation for driving. It is available via the web browser or as a mobile application. (The app was previously known as AutoNavi, and is currently named AMap outside China.) A few highlights:

Global data: Maps, directions and recommended transport data are available globally, though the data are most detailed for China.
Mobile app "AMap Global" available in English: The English mobile app offers basic functions including map search, satellite imagery and directions in China. (Other functionalities may be limited.)
Notably, Gaode Maps does not offer street view.

As for all Chinese mapping tools, satellite imagery is provided by China Siwei Surveying & Mapping Technology, which uses data and imagery from DigitalGlobe, the US company. Gaode Maps for iOS and Android users in China

Gaode Maps is a data provider to Apple Maps. The Apple Maps app automatically switches to using Gaode Maps data when the device is in China (e.g., when global iPhone users travel from overseas to mainland China, or when the iPhone is bought in China).
In many Android phone models sold in China, Gaode Maps is pre-installed instead of Google Maps.

Unless specified, all functions described on this page can be accessed without registering for an account.

Basic search

After searching in Pinyin or Chinese characters, select the layer or function.

Select layers - English annotations

Here are the layers and functions, annotated in English. Your view may be different depending on your country. Web browser toolbar

Mobile view

On the web browser view, a reference number is shown at the bottom left, e.g., GS(2025)1234. The year refers to when the map was approved for publication by China's State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping.

(According to Article 15 of the Mapping Administration Regulation, 2015, all maps for public dissemination must be approved by the relevant government body. Exceptions are made for maps of tourist destinations and metro lines. For reference, see the regulation in Chinese or this 2018 news article in English.)

No street view available

Gaode Maps does not offer street view (the function was removed several years ago), making the tool less directly useful for geolocation.

The "wonder" 奇境 function (aerial photos in select locations)

In the mobile app, a function called 奇境 (translates as "wonder", pinyin: qijing) is available for select locations, usually scenic places such as parks and tourist sites. The function allows users to view the location during different times of day, weather conditions, or seasons.

Worldwide coverage

The app provides global data for over 200 countries, including street maps, route navigation (driving, public transportation, or walking) and business locations. Here's an example:

Business owners from any country could add their locations and information onto AMap (for instance, to attract Chinese travellers who may visit their countries).

Getting coordinates

Within AMap, if you search for a specific location, the coordinates are shown in the URL, in longitude-latitude format.

For background: China uses a coordinate system called GCJ-02 (colloquially known as Mars coordinates), whereas the rest of the world uses WGS-84 (Earth coordinates). GCJ-02 uses an encryption algorithm to apply random offsets to the latitude and longitude of locations. Obfuscating the geographic data is for national security purposes.

If you use Google Maps, the coordinates you obtain for China are already in the GCJ-02 system, though in latitude-longitude format. Please note that in Chinese mapping tools, coordinates are shown with longitude first. To search for a location in Gaode Maps using coordinates, go to https://lbs.amap.com/tools/picker, select the option to search by coordinates, and enter the coordinates in longitude-latitude format.

3D maps

API documentation for 3D map and 3D model are available. (Enter coordinates in the code template to see the 3D map of the location you're searching for.)

User generated reviews

User-generated reviews are available in the mobile app only (without account login).

Using AMap in English (mobile app only)

The English version is only available as mobile app. In your app store, search "AMap Global", download and install.

Functions not available in the English mobile app:

Map data from outside of China
User-generated reviews and photos originally posted in Chinese

If you downloaded the app (Gaode Maps) in Chinese, and need to change the language to English

Select the user icon (indicated by the blue arrow).
Select the settings icon.
Scroll to the bottom, select General 通用.
Select Language Settings 语言设置.
Select English. A pop-up message will ask you to re-start the app for the language to be updated.

Similar tools

Gaode Maps, using the international branding "AMap", is the only Chinese mapping tool that offers a full English language interface in its mobile version. In comparison, Baidu Maps provides maps globally in its Chinese interface, whereas provides only maps for China.

Gaode Maps does not offer street view imagery. Instead, researchers can see Baidu Maps for a more comprehensive set of street view images, and check Tencent Maps for images from roughly 5 to 7 years prior. Resulting from a 2021 merger between Tencent and Sogou, older street view imagery captured by SOSO Maps (now defunct mapping tool) was integrated into Tencent Maps.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser
Mobile: iOS or Android (or HarmonyOS). Globally available. User accounts can be set up with international phone numbers.
API: Individuals must register with their real name, including providing their ID and Alipay account. Individual developer accounts can only be used for educational or nonprofit purposes, and not for commercial purposes. This is strictly enforced. If claiming educational or nonprofit status, users may be asked to provide government-approved supporting documents.

Limitations

No street view
Language barrier: In the web version, the user interface is only available in Chinese.
Barriers accessing the API. Although not explicitly stated in Gaode Maps' documentation, non-Chinese citizens and companies may have difficulty setting up a developer account due to requirements of identification and/or supporting documents.
Geographical barriers: VPNs are banned in China and there are limited gateways for international internet traffic to interact with Chinese websites. Overseas users may experience slower speeds and more frequent prompts to login.

Ethical Considerations

See the Bellingcat toolkit's About Maps and Satellites page for some general caveats when working with maps and satellite imagery, including a general discussion on censorship and content control.
Gaode Maps (as seen in its former name AutoNavi) develops the data and software infrastructure needed to support internet connected cars. Such surveying and mapping data are increasingly considered sensitive and protected information in China.
Privacy Concerns: Like many mapping services, Gaode Maps gathers user data, raising concerns about user privacy. (An April 2021 notice from the Cyberspace Administration of China named all leading Chinese mapping tools among 33 apps for extensively collecting user data, beyond what is relevant to their service provision.)

Tool provider

Alibaba Group https://www.alibabagroup.com - China

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

Bellingcat Volunteer Team

Gephi

Open-source network analysis and visualization software

URL

https://gephi.org (0.10.1 as of May 2025)

Description

Gephi is a free, open-source tool for network visualization and analysis, widely used to explore and represent relationships in large datasets, such as social networks, links between documents, or web structures. Gephi allows users to create customizable network graphs, analyze metrics (like centrality and clustering), and identify patterns within complex datasets. The tool supports importing various data formats (CSV, GEXF) and offers plugins for advanced functionality. It can be used in journalism and open source research to visually analyze and reveal hidden connections in data, such as by examining online misinformation networks.

Gephi has the ability to create detailed, interactive, and visually compelling network graphs. This visual appeal helps to highlight complex relationships within data, making it easier for journalists to uncover hidden links between entities like individuals, companies, or groups. This capability can be particularly valuable for investigative stories where clear visual representation of connections can be crucial for audience understanding.

Gephi includes built-in support for computing key metrics that help identify important nodes in a network. Three core metrics commonly used are degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality:

Degree Centrality measures how many direct connections (edges) a node has. A node with a high degree centrality has many links to others, making it well-connected. It’s essentially a count of immediate neighbors.
- What it indicates: Nodes with higher degree centrality can be influencers or hubs that directly reach many others.
- Example: In a Twitter network, a user with connections to many others (through follows or mentions) would have high degree centrality.
Betweenness Centrality measures how often a node lies on the shortest paths between other nodes. In other words, a node with high betweenness centrality is a critical broker or bridge in the network.
- What it indicates: Such nodes connect different clusters or sections of the graph; they may not have the most connections, but they control information or resource flow by being on the paths that link others. A higher betweenness means a greater brokerage role. They act as gatekeepers or intermediaries.
- Example: In a criminal network, a person who links two otherwise separate groups (even with only a few connections themselves) likely has high betweenness – remove that person and the network might fragment.
Closeness Centrality: Measures how “close” a node is to all others in the network, typically defined as the reciprocal of the total distance from that node to all other nodes. A node with high closeness centrality can reach all others quickly (in few hops on average).
- What it indicates: This can identify nodes that are centrally positioned overall (not in a geographical sense, but in network topology). Such nodes could quickly disseminate information to the entire network.
- Example: In a social network, someone at the “center” of the friend-of-friend graph (even if they aren’t connected to everyone directly) will have a high closeness score, meaning they are on average a short distance from anyone in the network.

Further important concepts and metrics available in Gephi

Core Concepts

Weighted vs. Unweighted Metrics: Many of these measures (degree, clustering coefficient, path length, centralities) can be computed in both unweighted (treating all edges equally) and weighted modes (if your edges have an associated weight).
Directed vs. Undirected Graphs: For directed graphs (e.g., Twitter follow networks), some metrics like in-degree/out-degree, PageRank, and HITS become crucial. In undirected graphs (e.g., co-appearance networks), you only have a single “degree” measure.
Plugins & Experimental Metrics: Gephi’s plugin repository may offer additional statistical measures or variants (for example, advanced community detection algorithms, Hierarchical Edge Bundling, timeline-based metrics, or new centrality formulas). Be sure to check the Gephi Plugin Center if you need specialized metrics.

Graph-Level Metrics

Average Degree
- What it is: The mean number of connections (edges) each node has.
- Why it matters: It quickly shows how well-connected the network is on average.
Network Diameter
- What it is: The longest shortest path in the network (i.e., the greatest distance between any two nodes when traversing via the shortest route).
- Why it matters: The diameter indicates how “spread out” or “deep” the network is; a large diameter suggests that it takes many hops to travel from some nodes to others.
Graph Density
- What it is: The ratio of actual edges in the graph to the maximum possible edges if every node were connected to every other node.
- Why it matters: Reveals how close the graph is to being fully connected (1.0 = complete graph).
Connected Components
- What it is: Identifies distinct sub-networks (components) in the graph where each node is reachable from any other node within the same component.
- Why it matters: Shows whether the network is all in one piece or if it breaks into multiple isolated clusters.
Average Path Length
- What it is: The mean number of steps along the shortest paths between all pairs of nodes.
- Why it matters: It gives a sense of how easily (in how many hops) information or influence can spread across the network.
Average Clustering Coefficient
- What it is: A measure of how often nodes form tightly knit groups (where neighbors of a node are also neighbors with each other). Gephi can calculate both global (average) and node-level clustering.
- Why it matters: High clustering indicates the presence of local “communities” or “cliques” in the network.
Modularity (Community Detection)
- What it is: A method that partitions the network into modules (clusters) where nodes within the same cluster have more connections to each other than to other clusters. Gephi computes a modularity score and assigns each node a “community” label.
- Why it matters: It helps reveal sub-communities or tightly connected groups and is useful for identifying fractions, interest groups, or hidden structures.

Node-Level Metrics

Degree / Weighted Degree
- What it is: The count of direct connections each node has. In weighted graphs, edges can have a “weight,” and Weighted Degree sums those edge weights.
- Why it matters: Nodes with higher degree may be more influential or have more direct relationships.
Degree Distribution
- What it is: Shows how degrees (numbers of connections) are distributed across all nodes. Although not a single numeric metric, Gephi can compute and plot a distribution chart.
- Why it matters: Helps identify whether a few nodes dominate in connectivity (e.g., a power-law distribution) or if most nodes have similar degree.
Betweenness Centrality
- What it is: Counts how often a node lies on the shortest paths between other nodes.
- Why it matters: Captures “broker” or “bridge” nodes that can control information flow across different parts of the network.
Closeness Centrality / Harmonic Closeness
- What it is: Measures how close a node is to all others (based on the sum of shortest path distances). “Harmonic closeness” is a variant that handles disconnected graphs more gracefully.
- Why it matters: A higher closeness value means the node can reach the rest of the network more quickly (in fewer hops).
Eigenvector Centrality
- What it is: Measures a node’s influence based not just on its connections but also on the importance of the nodes it connects to.
- Why it matters: A node connected to other high-scoring (influential) nodes will have a higher eigenvector centrality, reflecting second-order influence.
PageRank
- What it is: A well-known algorithm used initially by Google Search to rank web pages. It assigns higher scores to nodes with inbound links from other high-scoring nodes.
- Why it matters: Useful for directed networks (e.g., Twitter mention/follow graphs), where it identifies nodes with influential incoming connections.
HITS (Hubs & Authorities)
- What it is: The Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search algorithm calculates two scores per node: a Hub score (links to many good authorities) and an Authority score (linked from many good hubs).
- Why it matters: In a directed graph (like web links), hubs are nodes pointing to strong authorities, while authorities are nodes receiving links from good hubs. Helps identify specialized roles in the network.
Eccentricity
- What it is: The greatest distance from a node to any other node in the same component. In other words, how far is the furthest node?
- Why it matters: Nodes with lower eccentricity can be seen as more “centrally” located (they’re never too far from anyone). This is another perspective on centrality, complementing closeness or betweenness.

After running the statistical analysis functions, results can be used to visually style the graph (e.g., sizing nodes by centrality values). In sum, Gephi visualizes networks and quantifies network structure with built-in measures of centrality (degree, betweenness, closeness, etc.), which can be helpful for investigative analysis.

Gephi in Investigative Journalism

Social network analysis has been used to investigate political influence through campaign contributions, social media manipulation (e.g., election interference via coordinated accounts), and even tracking of criminal or extremist networks. Gephi's network analysis features allow journalists to trace these relationships systematically. Noteworthy examples of the use of Gephi in high-profile cases include:

Panama Papers: The ICIJ’s Panama Papers investigation (2016) involved analyzing a massive trove of offshore financial records. Reporters used network analysis tools, including Gephi to visualize and explore the web of offshore entities and connections. By converting people and companies into “nodes” and their relationships (e.g., directorships or client links) into “edges,” Gephi helped journalists uncover hidden connections in the data. This article cited the case showing how graph visualization enabled the team to trace complex ownership networks and find key intermediaries in the offshore schemes. (Note: ICIJ also used graph databases like Neo4j and a web interface, but Gephi was used for certain analyses and producing visualization graphics.)
9/11 Terrorist Network Analysis: Shortly after the 2001 attacks, analyst Valdis Krebs mapped the connections between the hijackers and associates to show how they were interlinked. Krebs’s paper “Mapping Networks of Terrorist Cells” (2002) demonstrated that even though no single terrorist was connected to all others, there were focal points (connectors) in the network. This analysis pre-dated Gephi (Krebs used available SNA tools of the time), but it’s precisely the kind of investigation Gephi excels at today. Modern journalists and researchers have replicated such network mapping using Gephi to illustrate terrorist cell structures and identify key influencers. Brant Houston (Univ. of Illinois journalism professor) points to Krebs’s 9/11 network mapping as a tutorial example for anyone learning social network analysis. (Note: although Gephi itself wasn’t used in 2002, later analysts could easily perform similar analyses with Gephi’s tools.)
They Rule Project: They Rule (2004–2005) is an investigative data visualization project by artist Josh On, which mapped the interlocking directorates of major U.S. corporations. It provided an interactive web interface for exploring how corporate board members overlap between companies, revealing tight networks of corporate governance. While They Rule wasn’t built with Gephi (it was a custom web app), it’s been cited in the same breath as network journalism examples for its visualization of power networks. The project showed, for instance, that 87 of the top 100 US companies shared board directors, concentrating power within a small elite. An investigative journalist could use Gephi to achieve a similar analysis by importing board membership data and visualizing those connections. So while not a Gephi case per se, it’s a relevant example of network visualization in journalism.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Learning Curve

Due to its extensive features, Gephi has a moderate learning curve. Still, beginners can start with basic tutorials and sample datasets to understand the interface and critical functions like layouts, filters, and metrics. A good strategy is to focus on one feature at a time: experiment with layouts to arrange nodes, use filters to simplify complex networks, and apply basic metrics like centrality to interpret relationships. As they become comfortable, users can explore plugins and advanced features like time-based visualizations for more tailored analyses.

Gephi has an active user community that can provide help and share tips. The primary hub in recent years has been the Gephi Facebook Group, which serves as the main place to ask questions and get support. This Facebook group effectively replaced the older official forum. (The legacy Gephi Forum exists, but as of 2018–2019 it saw declining activity and new questions are directed to the Facebook forum.) Additionally, Gephi’s developers and power users monitor the GitHub issue tracker.

Requirements

No account is needed, but Java installation is required.

Limitations

Gephi can be run most modern computers, but computing requirements increase with graph size. It can be less intuitive for beginners, and certain advanced functions may require plugins or scripting knowledge.

Ethical Considerations

Using Gephi to visualize networks from sensitive or personal data requires ethical handling, particularly regarding privacy and consent, and careful interpretation to avoid misrepresenting the connections shown.

Data integrity is crucial for users of Gephi, as the accuracy and reliability of network visualizations depend directly on the quality of input data. For investigative journalism, any insights or patterns revealed through Gephi's analysis are only as trustworthy as the data provided. Poor data quality — such as incomplete records, unverified sources, or outdated information — can lead to misleading visualizations that misrepresent relationships or inflate the importance of specific network nodes. To ensure meaningful results, Gephi users must verify data sources, validate accuracy, and cross-check information before visualizing it. Maintaining high data integrity not only strengthens the credibility of the analysis but also allows for responsible storytelling, helping to prevent the spread of misinformation and ensuring that network insights are grounded in factual, well-vetted data.

Guides

Official Wiki

https://github.com/gephi/gephi/wiki

Complete Beginners

Levallois, C. (2017, January 20). Simple Gephi Project from A to Z. https://seinecle.github.io/gephi-tutorials/generated-html/simple-project-from-a-to-z-en.html

General / Advanced / Multi-Language

Levallois, C. (2024, November 27). Gephi Tutorials. https://seinecle.github.io/gephi-tutorials/

Grandjean, M. (2024). Gephi. Retrieved November 30, 2024, from https://www.martingrandjean.ch/gephi/ (Tutorials incl 30 Gephi examples)

Videos

Martin Grandjean. (2022, September 21). GEPHI - Introduction to Network Analysis and Visualization (Tutorial) [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXtbL8avpik

Journalism-Specific

Global Investigative Journalism Network (Director). (2023, September 30). GIJC23—Using Social Network Analysis for Investigations [Video recording]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-D8E8JY86b4

Books

Cherven, K. (2015). Mastering Gephi Network Visualization. Packt Pub Ltd.

Gephi Cookbook | Cloud & Networking | Print. (n.d.). Packt. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://www.packtpub.com/en-us/product/gephi-cookbook-9781783987405?type=print

Barabási, A.-L. (2016). Network Science. http://networksciencebook.com/ (this is EXCELLENT!)

Open Datasets

Datasets. GitHub. Retrieved November 30, 2024, from https://github.com/gephi/gephi/wiki/Datasets

ASNR - Animal Network Data. Retrieved November 30, 2024, from https://bansallab.github.io/asnr/data.html (ASNR aims to assemble and provide a comprehensive index of real-world animal interaction data sets across all taxa. Only high-value peer-reviewed data.)

Comparison with similar software

NodeXL: NodeXL is an add-in for Microsoft Excel that provides network analysis and visualization within a spreadsheet interface. It is Windows-only (as it hooks into Excel) and comes in a free “NodeXL Basic” version and a paid Pro version. It allows users to import edge lists into Excel and generates graphs from those tables. This approach makes it simple to edit data (you can leverage Excel formulas, etc. for node attributes). Brant Houston explained that NodeXL is integrated with Excel, making it very simple for beginners who are comfortable with spreadsheets. It’s suitable for quick, small to medium-sized network analysis; however, it may struggle with large graphs. Also, advanced visualization customizations and real-time manipulation are more limited than those of Gephi. NodeXL offers a more gentle learning curve and even has built-in data importers for social media (in the Pro version) but lacks the visual polish and plugin extensibility of Gephi. (One might use NodeXL to gather or preprocess data and then use Gephi to fine-tune the visualization, as some workflows suggest.)
Palladio is a web-based network visualization tool developed at Stanford’s Humanities + Design lab. It runs entirely in the browser – no installation required – and is geared towards historians and humanists for exploring complex historical datasets. Palladio is described as a “simple but powerful exploratory data visualization tool” that focuses on ease of use. You can upload spreadsheet data (nodes and links) and interactively create network views, maps, and timelines. It’s great for quickly visualizing a dataset and finding patterns without coding. However, Palladio has notable limitations: since it’s in-browser and meant for lightweight use, it can become slow or unstable with very large datasets. It also hasn't seen active development in a few years but still works in digital humanities classrooms for introducing network analysis before moving to more comprehensive tools. Compared to Gephi, Palladio is less feature-rich – it doesn’t compute advanced network metrics or offer extensive styling options.
PyVis: is a Python library for interactive network visualization. It allows you to generate network graphs in Python and output them as an HTML page (using the JavaScript library vis.js under the hood). Essentially, PyVis is a wrapper that brings the interactivity of vis.js to Python users, so you can script the creation of a network visualization and then view it in a web browser. PyVis is not a GUI tool – it requires writing Python code. It works well with Jupyter notebooks: you can create a Network object, add nodes/edges, and then display an interactive network within the notebook or export it to an HTML file. The result is a web-based visualization where you can pan, zoom, and even click on nodes for details. PyVis offers flexibility for developers (since you can automate tasks and integrate with data analysis pipelines in Python), but it’s less user-friendly for non-coders. It also depends on the browser for rendering, so extremely large networks may be hard to handle (just as any web-based viz would). Gephi might handle larger networks better performance-wise (using OpenGL), whereas PyVis/vis.js running in a browser could hit memory or speed limits for huge graphs. Also, PyVis itself doesn’t compute SNA metrics – you’d use Python libraries (like NetworkX) to do analysis, then use PyVis purely for visualization. PyVis is good for creating interactive visuals with a few lines of code. This makes it a complementary tool: Gephi for point-and-click exploration and PyVis for scripted, shareable interactive diagrams.
Neo4j (with Datashare Plugin): Neo4j is fundamentally different from the above – it’s a graph database rather than a dedicated visualization tool. It's optimized for storing and querying graph data (nodes and relationships) and managing very large, complex networks. It allows the user to run complex queries (using its query language Cypher) to find patterns, shortest paths, sub-networks, etc., in the data. In practice, one might use Neo4j to crunch the data (find communities, run graph algorithms, handle millions of records), then use a visualization front-end (like Gephi, or Neo4j’s own Bloom and Browser interfaces, or Linkurious) to visualize the result. Neo4j does come with basic visualization: the Neo4j Browser GUI can display query results as a node-link diagram, but these are not as customizable as Gephi’s visualizations. A key difference: Gephi works on static data you load into it (good for snapshot analysis and visual exploration), whereas Neo4j is a continuously running database that can be updated and queried in real-time (good for dynamic or very large datasets where you need to sift through data systematically). In short, Neo4j vs Gephi is not an either-or; they often complement each other. Gephi is for visual interactive analysis, Neo4j is for data storage and algorithmic analysis. Also of note: Neo4j is not purely open-source in all its editions (the Community edition is open-source, and enterprise features are commercial), whereas Gephi is fully open-source. For an investigator, choosing Neo4j would depend on needing to handle huge networks or integrate the graph with other systems; choosing Gephi would be about interactive exploration and presentation-quality visuals.

Tool provider

Gephi Consortium (open-source community, CTO : Mathieu Bastian)

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

Martin Sona

Global Fishing Watch Map

The Global Fishing Watch Map is a digital platform for investigating fishing activities worldwide by utilising satellite and AIS data.

URL

https://globalfishingwatch.org/map

Description

The Global Fishing Watch Map is a digital platform designed to provide visibility into the activities of the global fishing fleet. Using satellite technology and Automatic Identification System (AIS) data, this tool provides transparency about fishing activities worldwide. The map is created with the intent to assist governments, research institutions, and conservation organizations in monitoring and managing marine resources more effectively.

This platform offers a variety of features to its users, including the ability to track vessel movement in near real-time, view historical data, and analyze fishing effort. Users can explore different layers of data, such as marine protected areas, to understand the impact of fishing on sensitive habitats. The tool has been used to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by making the activities of fishing vessels more accessible and transparent to the public and relevant authorities.

Features:

Activity Layers: see the following
- *Apparent fishing effort (AIS): filter by Sources (AIS and VMS), Flags (by country) and Gear Types.
- *Apparent fishing effort (Regional Vessel monitoring system (VMS): filter by Sources (AIS and VMS) and Flags (by country).
- *Vessel presence: filter by Sources (AIS and VMS), Flags (by country) and Vessel Type.
Additional layers: a Layer Library provides a range of additional layers are available including: Bathymetry, Chlorophyll-a concentration, Coral reefs, Encounter events (AIS), Mangroves, Marine ecoregions, Night light detections (VIIRS), Nitrate concentration (NO3), Radar detections (SAR).
Coverage: global but can be limited in some areas.
Data: download Base Layers as data.
Events: select a date and see the following categories of event - Dust and Haze, Manmade, Sea and Lake Ice, Severe Storms, Snow, Volcanoes, Water Color, Wildfires.
Language: limited to English, Spanish, French or Indonesian.
Layers -Detections: filterable Night light detections (VIIRS), filterable Radar vessel detections (SAR)
Layers - Environment: filterable Bathymetry layer.
Layers - Events: Encounter Events locations where two vessels, a carrier and fishing vessel, were within 500 meters for at least 2 hours and traveling at a median speed under 2 knots, while at least 10 km from a coastal anchorage.
Layers - Vessels: search for vessels or add them from the map.
Layers (Reference): EEZs, FAO major fishing areas, Fixed infrastructure e.g. oil rigs, wind farms (SAR, Optical), High seas, Latitude longitude grids, Locations, MPAs (ProtectedSeas), MPAs (WDPA), RFMOs all filterable.
Location search: search by ocean name or MPAs or EEZs.
Measure distance: measure distance between points in kilometres.
Screenshot: download a screenshot of a specific area as a PNG file format.
Sharing: share the workspace state as a link.
Time bar settings: set Activity, Detections, Tracks, Vessel speed, Vessel depth.
Time bar tool: select date ranges of fishing events by day, month or year. Create animations over time and bookmark a time range.
Vessel search: search by Name, IMO, MMSI or call sign.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.

Registered account features:

Advanced vessel search: search on attributes such as IMO, Call sign, Owner and Flag.
Carrier Vessel Portal: access to the Carrier Vessel Portal.
Data download: downloadable vessel events.
Save workspace: save the state of the workspace.

The example below shows search results for location search term New Zealand filtered for New Zealand Flagged vessels for both AIS and VMS.

Global Fishing Watch is available in the following formats:

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Email address: a registered account is required for some of the advanced features.
API: a registered account and an API Token

Limitations

The Global Fishing Watch Map, while useful when monitoring and visualizing maritime activities, does have its set of limitations:

Data Delay: The platform cannot display real-time data due to processing times, leading to potential delays in the information presented.
Data Coverage: Not all regions or vessels may be tracked effectively due to limitations in satellite coverage or non-participation in AIS (Automatic Identification System) broadcasting.
Accuracy Concerns: The tool's reliance on AIS data means that it is subject to potential inaccuracies or intentional AIS tampering by vessels wishing to avoid detection. (See: Clark, L. (no date) ‘Google’s Global Fishing Watch is using “manipulated data”’, Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.com/story/global-fishing-watch-false-data-windward/ (Accessed: 5 May 2024)).
Resource Intensive: Using the platform's advanced features and processing large datasets can require significant computing resources, which may not be accessible to all researchers.
Learning Curve: The complexity of the interface and the vast amount of data available can be overwhelming for new users, requiring time and effort to navigate effectively.
API Rate limits: rates limited to 50,000 daily API requests per day and 1,550,000 per month.
Language: limited to English, Spanish, French and Indonesian.

Ethical Considerations

While the Global Fishing Watch Map provides invaluable insights into maritime activities, it raises several ethical considerations that merit attention:

Privacy and Surveillance: The tool's ability to track and display the location and activities of vessels can raise privacy concerns, particularly in relation to the monitoring of individuals without their explicit consent.
Data Bias and Equity: Given the tool's reliance on AIS data, there might be a bias in favoring the monitoring of vessels equipped with AIS over smaller, local boats that might not use such technology, potentially skewing data and insights.
Misuse of Information: The detailed data available through the platform could be misused, either by authorities to exert excessive control or by malicious actors to target specific vessels.
Impact on Livelihoods: For fishers in regions where fishing is a primary source of income and sustenance, heightened surveillance and potential regulatory repercussions could negatively affect livelihoods.
Ethical Use of Data: The responsibility of using and interpreting the data ethically lies with the users. The platform must ensure that guidelines are in place to prevent the misuse of data which could lead to unintended consequences.

Guides and articles

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

Official Wiki

https://globalfishingwatch.org/user-guide/.

Tutorials and Articles

‘Tutorials - Use Our Technology’ (no date) Global Fishing Watch. Available at: https://globalfishingwatch.org/tutorials/ (Accessed: 4 May 2024).

Use Cases

An interactive map to monitor the activity of dark fleets in coastal waters (no date). Available at: https://www.nationalfisherman.com/national-international/a-map-to-monitor-dark-fleets-activity-in-coastal-waters (Accessed: 5 May 2024).
Global Fishing Watch Case Study (no date) Google Cloud. Available at: https://cloud.google.com/customers/global-fishing-watch (Accessed: 5 May 2024).‘GlobalFishingWatch/gfwr’ (2024).
Off-radar fishing threatens efforts to preserve stocks, study warns (no date). Available at: https://www.ft.com/content/d77fff4d-a9c6-4224-89fc-b3b08d1d833b (Accessed: 5 May 2024).
Paolo, F.S. et al. (2024) ‘Satellite mapping reveals extensive industrial activity at sea’, Nature, 625(7993), pp. 85–91. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06825-8.
Raynor, J. (2024) We used AI and satellite imagery to map ocean activities that take place out of sight, including fishing, shipping and energy development, The Conversation. Available at: http://theconversation.com/we-used-ai-and-satellite-imagery-to-map-ocean-activities-that-take-place-out-of-sight-including-fishing-shipping-and-energy-development-219367 (Accessed: 5 May 2024).
Waal, L.W., Thomas Bordeaux, Ethan Doyle, Lotte van de (2024) How a Leaking Barge Became an Oil Spill Disaster Off the Tobago Coast, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2024/02/20/how-a-leaking-barge-became-an-oil-spill-disaster-off-the-tobago-coast/ (Accessed: 5 May 2024).

Video Tutorials

A walkthrough of the Global Fishing Watch map (2021). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYnaXMIqaI4 (Accessed: 5 May 2024).

Developer Resources

Community and Support

In-application support available.
https://globalfishingwatch.org/help-faqs/

Tool provider

Global Fishing Watch https://globalfishingwatch.org - United States

Independent, international nonprofit organization founded in 2015 through a collaboration between three partners: Oceana, SkyTruth and Google.

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

Bellingcat Volunteer Team/Unassigned

Google Earth Engine

Google Earth Engine is a platform for environmental monitoring and analysis through satellite imagery and geospatial data.

URL

https://code.earthengine.google.com/

Description

Google Earth Engine is a cloud-based platform for environmental data analysis, object and change detection. It brings together a large collection of satellite imagery and geospatial datasets with planetary-scale analysis capabilities. This tool is designed for researchers and analysts engaged in environmental monitoring, land-use change detection and object and infrastructure detection. It solves the problem of managing and analyzing large datasets that require significant computational resources and creating sophisticated interactive visualisations.

GEE can be used with the following programming languages and tools:

Javascript Code Editor - using Javascript.
Earth Engine Python client library - using Python.
rgee - using R.
QGIS Earth Engine Plugin - using QGIS.

There's a huge range of climate and weather, imagery and geophysical datasets available here:

Earth Engine Data Catalog

Features:

Language: supports multiple languages.

The example below is from Bellingcat's Google Earth Engine Remote Sensing tutorial. The War at Night case study is an example use case using satellite images of Iraq taken at night to track the destruction caused by the fight against the Islamic State. If cities and villages are demolished, they become often less visible from space since they emit less light.

Full description including documentation https://earthengine.google.com/

Example Use Cases:

Deforestation Monitoring: Utilizing the satellite imagery available on Google Earth Engine, researchers can track deforestation over time.
Urban Expansion Analysis: Analysts can use Google Earth Engine to monitor urban sprawl and the transformation of rural areas into urban centers.
Agriculture and Crop Monitoring: Farmers and agricultural researchers can leverage satellite data to monitor crop health and estimate yields.
Water Resources Monitoring: By analyzing historical and current satellite imagery, researchers can assess changes in water bodies.
Climate Change Impact Studies: Scientists use Google Earth Engine to model climate change scenarios and assess their impacts on ecosystems, sea levels, and weather patterns.

Latest features and changes: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/changelog.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Google Earth Engine can be used for free for noncommercial use.

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Individual sign up Earth Engine access (easy):

Google Account - a Google email address and associated account (see: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/guides/access#individual-signup)

A role on a Google Cloud project (more complicated but more secure. See: https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/guides/access#a-role-in-a-cloud-project):

Google Account - a Google email address and associated account.
Google Cloud Project - a credit card and Google Cloud Project role with API access.

Limitations

Data Availability: Not all satellite data might be available or up-to-date. Each individual data set available in the Data Catalog details the availability of the individual dataset.
Processing Power: User code execution is limited by Google's computational resources, which might result in delays during peak usage. It's important to understand that processing on large datasets can hit processing limits see Scaling up in Earth Engine. For more information on GEE computational processing see the Computation Overview.
Learning Curve: The platform has a steep learning curve, especially for users without a programming background.
Export Restrictions: There are limits on the size and rate at which data can be exported from the platform. See Earth Engine Quotas for more information.
API Rate Limits: Usage of the Earth Engine API is subject to daily and per-minute rate limits to prevent abuse. See Earth Engine Quotas for more information.

Ethical Considerations

Privacy Concerns: Remote sensing technologies can capture detailed images from space or high altitude, potentially compromising individual privacy. Researchers must balance the public interest with the rights to privacy.
Accuracy and Misinterpretation: Ensuring the accurate representation of data is critical. Misinterpretation of remote sensing data can lead to misinformation, shaping public opinion based on incorrect premises. Each dataset may have different standards for accuracy see the the Data Catalog for more information.

Guide

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

Official Wiki

Earth Engine Official Documentation: full documentation in GEE.
JavaScript and Python Guides: guides to the Javascript and Python APIs.
Earth Engine Data Catalog: catalog of all the available datasets.

Tutorials and Articles

Remote Sensing for OSINT: Bellingcat's tutorial to GEE written by Ollie Ballinger.
End-to-End Google Earth Engine: full online course

Video Tutorials

Spatial Data Management with Google Earth Engine: 2024).

Community and Support

Developer Forum: A place where users can ask questions about Google Earth Engine and receive answers from the community.
GIS Stack Exchange: Users can find or ask questions tagged with google-earth-engine, which includes topics on Google Earth Engine.

Tool provider

Google https://about.google/ - United States.

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

Bellingcat Volunteer Team

Earth Online

The ESA's Earth Online product offers a portal for accessing satellite imagery and environmental data, supporting a range of applications from climate monitoring to natural disaster assessment.

URL

https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/tools

Description

The European Space Agency's Earth Online is a portal dedicated to providing a wealth of information on ESA's Earth observation activities and datasets. It serves as a comprehensive platform for scientists, researchers, and the general public interested in Earth science and environmental monitoring. Users can access up-to-date satellite imagery, data from Earth observation missions, and a range of tools designed to facilitate the analysis and interpretation of environmental data. Earth Online also features news, educational resources, and detailed mission information, making it a useful resource for anyone looking to understand our planet's dynamics and changes.

Use Cases for European Space Agency's Earth Online

The European Space Agency's Earth Online portal offers a broad array of use cases. Some of the imagery is super high resolution (less than a meter) however although there are hundreds of datasets many of them require registration and institutional affiliation. There are a number of 'sample' datasets that are free but may not be up to date. Individual tools can be used for multiple use cases. Some of these use cases focus on environment monitoring (tracking changes in climate, land use, and natural habitats over time) others could be used for monitoring more human focused activity. Use cases include:

Agricultural Analysis: Assisting in the monitoring of crop health, forecasting yields, and managing agricultural resources. For instance the IRS-P5 (Cartosat-1) Sample Data provides high resolution 2.5 m resolution crop inventory and monitoring agricultural productivity.
Forest Loss: The BIOMASS Product Algorithm Laboratory (BioPAL) tool offers processing scripts and Jupyter Notebooks for monitoring Above Ground Biomass, Forest Height and Forest Disturbance.
Oceanography and Marine Sciences: Supporting the study of ocean currents, sea surface temperatures, and marine ecosystems. Tools like the Cryo2ice tool can monitor ocean ice cover which can impact shipping routes (limited to data between February 2021 up to 2022) and the Ocean and Coastal Topography Thematic Data Product (TDP) dataset which contains improved sea surface height anomaly data. The screenshot below shows the Cryo2ice tool with a search for Arctic sea ice 2022-02-06:

The atmosphere: The Atmosphere Virtual Lab (AVL) tool provides Jupyter Notebooks that can be used to analyze and visualize atmospheric earth observation data and the GHGSat archive contains data that monitors greenhouse gas emissions (currently CH4, but eventually CO2).
Human Activity: The Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform tool requires registration but provides data and visualisation of the Global Urban Footprint and population density. The Geohazards TEP is a glacier and landslide monitoring tool that has data processed over the eastern Alps Ground Motion Service.
Disaster Monitoring: Earth Online provides a number of tools that can be used for disaster monitoring, like the SMOS Tropical Cyclone Wind Radii Fixes (Registration required) and provides Near Real Time tropical cyclones forecasts.
Educational Resources: Earth online also serves as a tool for educators and students in the fields of earth sciences, geography, and environmental studies with tools like the Heritage Missions app for iOS providing 3D visualisations of satellite instrumentation.

These use cases highlight the versatility of the Earth Online portal in supporting a wide range of scientific research, educational, and applied environmental management activities.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Some of the tools provided require Jupyter Notebook and Python programming experience or a high degree of knowledge about remote sensing and satellite imagery.

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser (individual tools will have specific requirements documented inline)
Desktop: many of the tools provided can be run on a desktop or cloud provider (see the individual tool for further details).

Limitations

Data Availability: While ESA's Earth Online offers extensive datasets, certain historical data or high-resolution imagery is not be readily available due to the limitations of past missions, data retention policies or registration requirements. For instance the The Urban Thematic Exploitation Platform only has data available for 2015. See individual dataset for more details. There are a number of 'sample' datasets that are free but may not be up to date.
Learning Curve: New users may find the array of tools and associated interfaces challenging to navigate without prior experience in satellite data analysis or familiarity with similar platforms.
Access Restrictions: Some datasets require specific permissions or qualifications for access, limiting use for certain research or educational purposes. This also applies to tools like: the Food Security Thematic Exploitation Platform (TEP), the Hydrology TEP, and the Forestry TEP all of which require registration and organisational affiliation. See How to Access Data for more information.
Processing Power: Advanced data analysis and processing tasks demand significant computational resources, which may not be feasible for all users. Different tools will have different processing requirements. See the individual tool's documentation.
Update Frequency: The update intervals for some datasets may not meet the needs of users requiring real-time or near-real-time information. Different datasets will have different update frequency. See the individual dataset's documentation.
Tool Functionality: Not all the of tools are maintained and working. For instance the Heritage Missions app for iOS doesn't allow users to search for current satellite data.

Guide

The platform acts as a guide to the tools it hosts, the main way of discovering tools is through the search interface: https://earth.esa.int/eogateway/search?category=Tools+and+toolboxes&tools_type=analysis&sortby=RELEVANCE from here filters for the different tool types (Analysis, Processing and Visualisation) can be applied.

The example below shows the default analysis tools search interface:

Tool provider

European Space Agency https://www.esa.int/

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

Bellingcat Volunteer Team/Unassigned

Google Earth Pro

Google Earth is a geospatial tool that provides detailed, global satellite imagery, maps, 3D terrain models, and the ability to explore geographic data interactively.

URL

https://www.google.com/earth/about/versions/

Description

Google Earth is a comprehensive geographic and spatial information tool suite. It allows users to explore a 3D representation of the earth, leveraging detailed imagery, geographic data, and various layers to display geographical phenomena, landmarks, and more. It offers open source researchers satellite imagery in relatively high resolution from various regions around the world, including historical imagery.

Versions Available:

Google Earth Web: A browser-based version that allows quick access without the need for software installation. Ideal for collaboration, casual exploration and educational purposes.
Google Earth Mobile: Offers the core functionalities of Google Earth optimized for mobile devices, enabling users to explore geographic data on-the-go.
Google Earth Pro Desktop: The most powerful version offering advanced features (historical imagery, sunlight angle, other planets, video tour recording) for professional users. It is recommended for open source researchers to use this version.

The example below shows a search for Amsterdam filtering layers to display only photo layers on Google Earth Pro Desktop:

Example Use Cases

Geolocation: Open source researchers use the satellite imagery provided by Google Earth Pro to geolocate photos and videos.
Investigative Reporting: Research and investigate environmental changes, urban development, and other phenomena that are best observed from an aerial or geographic perspective.
Historical Analysis: Compare historical satellite images to present-day images to document changes in the environment, urbanization, and other significant transformations.
Educational Content: Produce educational material that explains geographical, political, and social issues in a visually engaging format.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser and a Google account with an email address.
Mobile: iOS and Android and a Google account with an email address.
Desktop: Windows, macOS or Linux.

Limitations

While Google Earth is a powerful tool for geographical information systems, it does have some limitations that researchers should consider:

Availability of up to date satellite imagery: While Google Earth Pro offers satellite imagery for free, it is not always very recent and it depends on the location how often it is updated. Open source researchers who need both up to date and high resolution imagery will need to use another satellite imagery provider.
Data Accuracy and Currency: Data in Google Earth may not always be up to date, leading to potential discrepancies with current conditions. Users should verify important information through other sources. For more information see How accurate is Google Earth’s measurements?
Resolution and Detail: Image resolution varies across different regions, with some areas having detailed imagery and others being less clear. See Spatial resolution of Google Earth Imagery.
3D Modeling: While Google Earth provides 3D models of some cities, not all geographical areas have detailed 3D representations. See List of 3D Locations in Google Earth.
Data Privacy: There are concerns regarding the exposure of sensitive locations, potentially compromising privacy and security so some areas are blurred out on Google Eart Pro. See Wikipedia's List of satellite map images with missing or unclear data.
Performance: High-quality imagery and 3D models can be resource-intensive, possibly affecting performance on less powerful computers or devices. Too many My Places locations can for instance cause laggy performance. For more information see Why is Google Earth so CPU intensive?
Network Dependency: Google Earth requires an internet connection for access to maps and imagery, limiting use in offline settings.

Ethical Considerations

In the context of using remote sensing in online open source investigations, several ethical considerations should be considered:

Privacy Concerns: Remote sensing technologies can capture detailed images from space or high altitude, potentially compromising individual privacy. Researchers must balance the public interest with the rights to privacy.
Accuracy and Misinterpretation: Ensuring the accurate representation of data is critical. Misinterpretation of remote sensing data can lead to misinformation. For more information on how Google tries to ensure accuracy see here and here.

Guide

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

Official Wiki

Google Earth Pro Desktop user guide: installing, navigating, marking places, using KMLs, etc.
Google Earth Pro Desktop help: official Google Earth Pro help.
Google Earth Web and Mobile: official Google Earth help.

Tutorials and Articles

Britt, K., McGee, J. and Campbell, J. (2024) An Introduction to Google Earth Pro, archive.is. Available at: https://archive.is/Kmxg2 (Accessed: 4 April 2024).
Hanham, M. (2015) How Tall is That Gantry?, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2015/03/15/how-tall-is-that-gantry/ (Accessed: 4 April 2024).
Katz, G. (2023) Measuring Up: How to Calculate the Size of Objects in Open Source Material, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/2023/09/07/measuring-up-how-to-calculate-the-size-of-objects-in-open-source-material/ (Accessed: 4 April 2024).
Strick, B. (2019) How To Use Google Earth’s Three Dimensional View: Feat. Syria, Yemen, Sudan, bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2019/03/05/how-to-use-google-earths-three-dimensional-view-feat-syria-yemen-sudan/ (Accessed: 4 April 2024).

Video Tutorials

Google Earth Basics Tutorial (2016). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klK27l3unng (Accessed: 4 April 2024).
Google Earth Pro - A Complete Beginner’s Guide (2021). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lGl1VZjtg4 (Accessed: 4 April 2024).

Community and Support

Google Earth Help

Tool provider

Google https://about.google/ - United States of America

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

Bellingcat Volunteer Team/Unassigned

EDGAR

Database of corporate filings for the US

URL

https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search/

Description

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system) is a database of corporate filings maintained by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings contain a wealth of quantitative and qualitative information on every legal entity that issues non-exempt securities in the United States.

EDGAR is the primary system for companies and others to submit documents under the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, and the Investment Company Act of 1940.

The EDGAR database provides access to corporate information, allowing research of public companies' financial information and operations. It also includes information provided by mutual funds (including money market funds), exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and variable annuities.

Best uses are to track annual reports, top level management of companies, subsidiaries, shareholders, mergers & acquisitions.

Search by keyword, company name, ticker symbol, location or the name of an individual.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

None

Limitations

Users cannot download at once all the documents returned by a text search of the database.
The data only covers publicly traded companies. For every other company not traded on a stock exchange, research has to be done separately in the business divisions of the Secretaries of State.
Owing to shifting data tags, it’s extremely cumbersome to create financial profiles for single companies or to perform comparisons between their respective financial metrics.
RSS feeds are available, but each company is its own RSS Feed, there is no functionality to group several in one place. There are group RSS feeds for the most recent filings, and are updated every 10 minutes during business hours, but the format, output and content of these may change without prior notice.

See more about these limitations in: George Dyer: New Tools Dig Deeper Into Hard-to-Aggregate US Corporate Data, Bellingcat.

According to their own website:

Not all documents filed with the Commission by public companies will be available on EDGAR. Companies were phased in to EDGAR filing over a three-year period, ending May 6, 1996. As of that date, all public domestic companies were required to make their filings on EDGAR, except for filings made in paper because of a hardship exemption. Third-party filings with respect to these companies, such as tender offers and Schedules 13D, are also filed on EDGAR.
However, some documents are not yet permitted to be filed electronically, and consequently will not be available on EDGAR. Other documents may be filed on EDGAR voluntarily, and consequently may or may not be available on EDGAR. For example:
Form 144 (notice of proposed sale of securities) may be filed on EDGAR at the option of the filer.
Forms 3, 4, and 5 (security ownership and transaction reports filed by corporate insiders) filed before June 30, 2003 may be filed on EDGAR at the option of the filer, but those filed on or after that date must be filed on EDGAR.
Filings by foreign companies and foreign governments before November 4, 2002 either could be made on EDGAR at the option of the filer, or were not permitted to be filed electronically, but from that date on, these filings must be made on EDGAR.

Ethical Considerations

Guide

Public company search - type the company’s name or ticker symbol in the search bar here. Retrieves filings for a specific company and to find company information — registered name, address, telephone number, state of incorporation, number, code, and fiscal year end.
A more detailed search can be performed here - allows search by keywords, company name, , CIK number, and individual's name. This search allows to filter filings by date, type and also has a dropdown menu for location (principal executive offices in - the primary location associated with a filing - could be in the US or other countries).
The largest amount of information is usually in the annual, quarterly and current reports. Some companies also have beneficial ownership filings.
The filings show up like this and can be opened in a .htm or .xml format.

The .xml format is somewhat better, because it contains hyperlinks that lead to every associated document in a specific filing including each submitted SEC form and exhibit. To get to a specific filing in an .xml format, click on any of the hyperlinked results (in blue) in the Form & File column.

Example: Search for Boeing in the search bar, select Boeing Co. Below are the results that show up when you hit the search button. From the Form & File column, click on the 8-K (Current report) or any other filing.

Select Open Document to reach the .htm file or Open filing to reach the .xml file (each option opens a new tab in the browser).

The .xml file will contain different hyperlinks for document and data files. In this example the 8-K file (document ba-20240731.htm iXBRL) links to the full form 8-K filing (known as a “current report” and it is the report that companies must file with the SEC to announce major events that shareholders should know about).

If you want to parse EDGAR data, The Comprehensive R Archive Network have published this PDF guide - Tool for the U.S. SEC EDGAR Retrieval and Parsing of Corporate Filings.

Alphanome have published a parser for SEC data. The guide is a walk-through for the steps needed to install and use the library for parsing SEC EDGAR HTML documents into semantic elements and trees.

A compilation of SEC guides on how to use EDGAR, accessible here.

SEC also have some basic information on how to access their EDGAR RESTful APIs here.

Tool provider

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), US

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

LPetrova

EU Sanctions Map

Database of sanctions imposed by the European Union

URL

https://www.sanctionsmap.eu/

Description

The European Union uses sanctions as a tool under the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The EU implements all sanctions adopted by the United Nations Security Council and these are automatically transposed into EU law. The EU also applies additional measures to complement and reinforce UN sanctions, and adopts its own sanctions as the Union sees fit. This tool covers both EU and UN Sanctions on individuals, entities and countries.

Search the EU Sanctions Map

The tool offers multiple search options and filters, including by theme.

Thematic restriction topics include terrorism, human rights, cyber-attacks and chemical weapons. At the top of the page there is a drop down menu for those. To see the full information, scroll down to the alphabetized list and click on the specific topic or click on the small text that says "Info" at the bottom of the pop-up window to get to the details.

Country-level sanctions and restrictions - the tool has an alphabetized list of countries against which some sort of sanctions or restrictions have been imposed. Each entry on the front page provides basic information on the restrictive measures, little icons depicting the sanctions and three separate sub-pages with detailed information.

Clicking on the List paperclip icon will take you to the lists of persons, entities and items sanctioned in a specific country. These lists are broken down by type of restriction/sanction providing the names of persons and entities. Each listed entity is hyperlinked and when clicked opens a pop-up window with even more information.

Using the search bar - here you can type any name of an entity/individual/country to see if there are any sanctions against them. The search works with Cyrillic and Latin script, but does not work with Arabic or Chinese for example. Such names are all transliterated in Latin script, so be mindful of variations of the names (e.g. Mohamed/ Mohammad/ Muhammad or Akund/Akhund).
The more useful dropdown menu at the top of the page - this is a quick way to filter the information. Filters include which governing body adopted the sanctions, the themes, the countries and the most useful option - filter by type of sanction.

Clicking on a country on the map - this will open a pop-up window with the type of sanctions imposed on this country. The additional information is accessible by clicking the small text that says "Info" at the bottom of the pop-up.

What information can you find in the EU Sanctions Map?

Full name - including name variations
Date of Birth - not always available
Place of birth - not always available
Citizenship
A job title - usually those are government officials, high level executives in companies or heads of some paramilitary organization
Function - what this person's activities were - a member of a council, a decision maker, etc.
The date this person was sanctioned
Link to the official legal act with which the sanction was imposed
FSD ID - Assigned ID number in the Financial Sanctions Database of the EU

Name - including in Cyrillic
Country of origin
The date this entity was sanctioned
Link to the official legal act with which the sanction was imposed
FSD ID - Assigned ID number in the Financial Sanctions Database of the EU

Sanctions adopted by either EU or UN or both
Description on why sanctions were imposed
The date this country was sanctioned, the expiration date of the sanctions and date of last legal update
A full list of sanctions and their types imposed on the people and entities from that country
List of overall sactions (e.g. asset freeze, prohibition to satisfy claims, arms embargo)
Legal acts with links to the official documents
Official documents on EU guidelines and best practices on restrictive measures

Legal acts with links to the official European Council and other EU administration documents, including the type, title and number of each document.
Legal acts with links to the official European Council and other EU administration documents, including the type, title and number of each document. These documents provide the full details on each sanction and are a good resource if you need to cite official sources and the legal basis.
These documents are hosted on the EUR-Lex website in PDF and HTML formats and are translated (usually, but not always) in all the official languages of the European Union.

Other provided resources

At the top of the page there is a list of additional resources, pertaining to or somehow relevant to the sanctions. These resources link out to different EU-wide websites. Each of the resources serves a specific purpose and can be used separately or as part of your research.

EU Sanctions Whistleblower Tool - can be used to report violations of sanctions. It allows to anonymously submit a report and also provides additional resources on what can be reported.
Competent Authorities - a list of the authorities in each EU Member State that deal with the sanctions. Each country links out to the specific website for that country.
TARIC Database - an EU-wide customs tariff database that allows searching by goods code, origin and destination.
Consolidated List of Travel Bans - a downloadable file with a list of persons subject, under EU sanctions, to travel restrictions. The file is regularly updated and offers a subscription to an email alert when a new version is added.
Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions - a list of persons, groups and entities subject to EU financial sanctions.
EU Sanctions Tracker - A website geared more towards statitcists and data overtime. It has interactive overall charts, but also charts for each sanctioned country, entity or individual. It also provides the same information as the EU Sanctions Map but in a more interactive form. It also allows for data to be downloaded in a CSV format to be used later in custom-made charts.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Internet connection

Limitations

Our research shows that this resource only provides information on sanctioned entities. It does not provide information on politically exposed persons (PEPs).

EU Sanctions Map does not have an API integration feature, so downloading data in bulk might be more difficult.

This tool only contains the names of persons and entities sanctioned by the EU and the UN, and does not provide sanctions imposed by other countries.

Ethical Considerations

Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is sometimes visible in the entries for individuals. Although the information comes from an official source, PII should be used and shared with caution.

Guides and articles

EU Sanctions Map's guidelines for users (pdf)

Thomson Reuters Practical Law - Did you know? EU Sanctions Map for up to date information on restrictive measures

Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs - The EU Sanctions Map - simple, comprehensive and user-friendly

Tool provider

The European Commission (EC)

Similar tools

There are various tools for researching sanctions on the web. Bellingcat's Online Investigation Toolkit also has descriptions and guides on SanctionsExplorer, OpenSanctions and OCCRP Aleph. Although they serve the same purpose, there are some major differences among them:

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

LPetrova

Google Maps

Google Maps provides mapping information, satellite imagery and Google Street View imagery including historical Street View images.

URL

https://www.google.com/maps

Description

Google Maps is a web-based service offering comprehensive information about geographical regions globally. It provides road maps, aerial and satellite views, and street views which makes it a useful resource for open source researchers. It includes features like real-time traffic updates, business information, 3D views, and location sharing. Accessible through web, mobile, and API integrations, Google Maps supports many geolocation needs.

Features:

3D view
Add or edit map: add or edit items like missing places or businesses.
Compass North: realign the map to compass north.
Current Location: option to centre the map at the user's location.
Directions: get directions from your current location or between two locations by Best Travel modes, Driving, Transit, Walking, Cycling, Flights.
Layers: multiple map layers available including Transit, Traffic, Biking, Terrain, Street View, Wildfires, Air Quality, Satellite.
Location Sharing: users can choose to share their location through the mobile app with friends and visualise it in the web app.
Measure distance: measure the distance between points in kilometers.
Print: print the current map or save it to PDF.
Recents: a historical list of recent searches.
Save: save custom maps and locations as Lists, Labeled, and Visited.
Search: search by address, general location, or latitude and longitude.
Send to phone (from the web client): share the current view to your phone.
Sharing and embedding: share selected locations as a link, embed or to social media with URL shortening available.
Show Imagery: show photos uploaded by users of specific locations. This imagery also displays the capture date in very small text bottom right.
Sidebar: Iconic parts of a city's Hotels, Neighborhoods, Restaurants, Hotels, Things to do, Museums, Transit, Pharmacies, ATMs.
Street View: see current and historical Street View imagery. This imagery displays the capture date in very small text bottom right and using see more dates in the popup will show all street view captures across time in a timeline below the map.
Timeline (Mobile only): a record of your locations and searches.
Travel Time
Weather: see the current weather at the selected location.
Zoom tool: zoom in and out on the map.

Google Maps is available in the following formats:

Web
Mobile
Google Maps Platform: Developer API

The example below shows a search for Amsterdam:

Use Cases

Location Verification: Researchers can use Google Maps to verify the location of a news event, checking the geographical accuracy of claims made in various reports. Be aware that not all imagery is current, see: Google Earth imagery updates.
Event Visualization: By utilizing the satellite and street view features, researchers can offer readers a visual context of an event location, making stories more immersive.
Investigative Research: Google Maps can be an invaluable tool for investigative journalism, allowing reporters to explore and gather information on otherwise inaccessible locations or properties.
Environmental and Urban Changes: The historical imagery available on Google Maps enables researchers to document changes in the environment or urban expansion over time, supporting stories on climate change or urban development.
Historical Street View Imagery and Historical images: can be useful to geolocate events.

Using Bellingcat Filename Finder for Google Maps

A new tool, Bellingcat Filename Finder, enables users to view the filenames of images that have been uploaded by users to Google Maps, providing contextual information. Filenames are not automatically displayed when viewing an image on Google Maps. However, after installing the tool as a Google Chrome extension, filenames appear on images when using Google Maps. See more about this tool in Bellingcat's guide “What’s in a Name? Discovering Clues Hidden in Google Maps Image Filenames.”

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Web: any modern web browser
Mobile: iOS and Android
Developer Platform: Google account with email address and a credit card.

Limitations

Data Availability: While Google Maps offers comprehensive coverage, the availability of Streetview imagery, particularly in less populated or updated areas, may vary. For more information on how and when Street View imagery is collected see here.
API Usage Limits: For developers using the Google Maps API, there are usage limits. Exceeding these limits without purchasing additional credits can lead to service interruptions. Google offers many APIs for mapping, geocoding and other GIS services. Each service comes with its own limits depending on the service. Usage limits and detailed billing information of the Maps Javascript API are something to investigate before using the service but for many low workload users it will not be an issue.
Privacy Concerns: There are privacy issues related to location tracking and data collection. Users should be aware of the data being shared with Google. Although Google provides information on how to protect one's privacy it is important to be aware of privacy concerns.
Imagery Currency: Satellite images may not be very new in some areas of the world, see Google Earth imagery updates.
Limited Offline Functionality: While there is an option for offline maps, not all features, like real-time traffic updates, are available in this mode.

Ethical Considerations

When journalists use Google Maps, they should consider the following ethical aspects:

Privacy and Anonymity: Be cautious when reporting on sensitive areas or topics. Ensure individuals' locations or movements are not disclosed without consent, especially in contexts where revealing locations could endanger lives or privacy.
Data Accuracy and Misrepresentation: Verify the accuracy of the information provided by Google Maps. Misrepresenting a location, either intentionally or accidentally due to outdated or incorrect map data, can lead to misinformation and harm reputations. Be careful of business information in particular and aware of the time lag behind the gathering of Street View imagery. For more information on how Google tries to ensure accuracy see here and here.
Impartiality and Bias: Understand the limitations of Google Maps in representing disputed territories or areas of conflict. Be aware of how the depiction of these areas might convey a particular political stance or bias. Examples of this can be seen in border bias and local 'safety' bias.
Dependence and Verification: While Google Maps is a powerful tool for gathering information about locations, researchers should cross-verify this information with other sources to avoid dependence on a singular digital map service.
Ethical Use of API: If utilizing the Google Maps API for data visualization or storytelling, ensure that the usage complies with Google's terms of service and respects user privacy and data usage policies. Unauthorized use or manipulation of data could lead to ethical concerns and legal issues.

Guide

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

Official Wiki

Getting Started With Goggle Maps

Tutorials and Articles

‘Create Custom Maps in Google Maps’ (no date) Berkeley Advanced Media Institute. Available at: https://multimedia.journalism.berkeley.edu/tutorials/create-custom-maps-in-google-maps/ (Accessed: 5 April 2024).
How to keep using Google Maps even when your phone is offline (2023) Google. Available at: https://blog.google/products/maps/google-maps-offline/ (Accessed: 4 April 2024).
Toler, A. (2020) How (Not) To Report On Russian Disinformation, Bellingcat. Available at: https://www.bellingcat.com/resources/how-tos/2020/04/15/how-not-to-report-on-russian-disinformation/ (Accessed: 4 April 2024).
Youri (2018) ‘How to tell the geolocation of places based on old sources using OSINT — a case study’, Quiztime, 2 November. Available at: https://medium.com/quiztime/how-to-tell-the-geolocation-of-places-based-on-old-sources-using-osint-a-case-study-e44e0faed388 (Accessed: 26 June 2024).

Video Tutorials

10 Minute Tip: Google Maps for OSINT (2020). Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_kJJXoLo8I (Accessed: 4 April 2024).

Developer Resources

Google Maps API: Developers looking to integrate Google Maps into their websites or applications should refer to the Google Maps Platform for comprehensive documentation and coding examples.

Community and Support

Google Maps Help Center: Explore the official for guides on basic functionalities, from searching locations to understanding map views.

Tool provider

Google https://about.google/ - United States

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

Anisa Shabir

GPSJam

GPSJam.org is a daily map that visualizes the GPS/GNSS disruptions on aircraft worldwide. It collects and presents 24-hour data showing areas experiencing interference.

URL

https://gpsjam.org/

Description

GPSJam.org is a website that provides information on GPS interference on aircraft worldwide. It uses data from ADS-B Exchange, a crowd-sourced flight tracking website, to generate daily maps displaying areas of likely GPS interference based on aircraft reports of navigation system accuracy.

NOTE:

GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) is an umbrella term that refers to any satellite navigation system that provides global coverage. It's a broader category that includes all satellite-based positioning systems. Examples: GPS (Global Positioning System) (United States), GLONASS (Russia), Galileo (European Union), BeiDou (China).

How does it work?

Some background information on flight tracking

Most aircraft are usually equipped with an instrument called an ADS-B Out, which stands for “Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast.” It is a plane's way of sharing its location, speed, and altitude with air traffic control and other planes in the sky. Think of it as a plane's built-in GPS that constantly broadcasts its position. This helps prevent collisions and makes air travel safer. It is also a critical navigation tool that guides planes towards landing. With GPS interference, aircraft have fewer ways of accurately navigating toward their destination (however, they usually have other methods, too).

Flight professionals and enthusiasts use equipment to receive this information and "feed" that information to flight-tracking websites like ADS-B Exchange. These flight-tracking websites then visualize this information on an interactive map.

What does GPSJam do with these data?

In simple terms, when aircraft use ADS-B Out, not only are they sending their position, but they are also sending the level of accuracy of their position. According to the tool provider, “when there is interference with their GPS, the uncertainty goes up.” When there is little to no interference, the uncertainty goes down. In other words, accuracy goes up when there is no interference, and accuracy goes down when there is interference. In essence, ADS-B Exchange receives data on the level of accuracy of an aircraft's position. The tool provider then aggregates this data over 24 hours and groups it into hexagons. The level of accuracy is then grouped into different colors.

The data seems to be manually updated daily around midnight UTC.

Filter by date

To use the tool, click on the URL and then navigate to the menu in the upper left corner.

Choose your date of interest on the calendar icon. The tool automatically shows the results worldwide.

TIP: Create a timeline of interference patterns using GPSJam

Select a date of significance (e.g., 24 Feb 2022, when the Russian army entered Ukraine). Review the data from a few days before and a few days after this date to gain a broader understanding of the interference patterns surrounding the event.

NOTE: Historical data only goes back to 14 February 2022. There is no data before this date.

Filter by location

In addition to filtering by date, users can zoom in on a particular location of interest. Users can enter an address or a general location/city, such as “Moscow.” Users can also use coordinates for specificity.

Traffic Threshold

Users can toggle the slider under the "traffic threshold" option to filter interference data.

How to analyze the hexagons

The map shows areas where aircraft reported good, bad, or uncertain navigation accuracy based on 24 hours of data. The map features hexagonal divisions, each color-coded.

GREEN: Good navigation accuracy for over 98% of aircraft.

YELLOW: Between 2-10% of aircraft reported low accuracy.

RED: More than 10% of aircraft reported low accuracy (likely interference).

NO COLOR: Means “no data.” No aircraft was flying in the zone with ADS-B or no receivers feeding data to the ADS-B Exchange website.

NOTE: RED/YELLOW does not always indicate jamming. According to the tool provider, “Low accuracy could be caused by factors other than jamming (e.g., military testing, protecting high-profile individuals)”.

Causes of GPS/GNSS Interference

To put more context when looking at GPSJam data, looking at possible reasons for GPS/GNSS interference may be helpful.

Interference happens like this: Imagine you're in a room trying to listen to your friend (the satellite) whispering from far away. If someone (the jammer) suddenly shouts very loudly in the room, you won’t be able to hear your friend anymore. That's essentially how interference happens—it drowns out the important signal with a stronger one.

There are a few factors that cause interference.

Unintentional:

Atmospheric conditions
Solar activity
A problem with an aircraft’s equipment (but when there are “multiple aircraft in close proximity during the same time frame, it suggests the presence of a radio signal interfering with normal GNSS operation.”
Electromagnetic interference from sources like radios, cellphones, or sometimes powerlines can lead to inaccuracies.

Intentional:

Satellites in space constantly send weak radio signals down to Earth, which GPS (or other GNSS) devices use to determine their location. However, there are stronger signals that may come from somewhere else. A GPS jammer, for example, is a small device on the ground that sends out radio signals at the same frequency as satellites. But the jammer's signals are much stronger than the ones coming from space. Confusion happens when this is the case. Because the jammer's signals are stronger, they overpower the satellite signals. This confuses the GPS device, and it can't correctly calculate the location. When GPS jamming happens, the device can’t read the satellite signals, so it either shows the wrong location or no location at all.

Some of the causes of low accuracy are:

Deliberate testing of military jamming systems outside conflict zones (I.e., in the Southwestern United States). Sometimes, military exercises intentionally jam GPS signals when trying to simulate electronic warfare scenarios.
Law enforcement agencies may activate GPS jamming to protect sensitive areas like critical infrastructure (power grids, emergency services) or government buildings.
Intentional jamming to cause navigation inaccuracy. Large-scale interference is often seen around conflict zones. High-intensity interference that affects a larger geographic area typically requires advanced electronic systems, often associated with military applications.

Use case

When used with other data, news reports, and open-source research methods, the site can be useful for identifying patterns of GPS jamming and spoofing, often linked to military activities. Open-source researchers can supplement their investigations with this tool when monitoring incidents in conflict zones. With UAVs or unmanned aerial vehicles (“drones”) now more prominent in conflict zones, experts say that jamming communication systems is one of the effective ways of countering them.

In conflict areas where GPS-guided drones or munitions are used, radio jammers are installed to help stop these from reaching their targets, i.e. in Ukraine.

GPSJam was used in this research to give an overview of global GPS jamming between 2020 and 2023:

Dong L. Wu, Ph.D, “Innovation: Recent GPS jamming in regions of geopolitical conflict”, https://www.gpsworld.com/innovation-recent-gps-jamming-in-regions-of-geopolitical-conflict/

GPSJam was also used to look at instances of GPS interference allegedly against Hezbollah in Lebanon, in April 2024 affecting civil aviation.

Helou, Agnes, “GPS jamming spreads in Lebanon, civil aviation caught in the electronic crossfire”, https://breakingdefense.com/2024/04/gps-jamming-spreads-in-lebanon-civil-aviation-caught-in-the-electronic-crossfire-experts/.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Desktop or mobile device

Internet connection

Limitations

Manual update: According to the tool provider's tweet on Jul 2022, data is updated manually by the tool provider daily around midnight UTC. Sometimes there are delays before he is able to update the data.
Daily update of data susceptible to technical failures: Data loss or incomplete data are possible due to power outage, network issue, hardware failure, or data collection issues. Data are incomplete on:

2022

2024

2025

14 Feb

28 Jan

8 Jan

8 Jun

30 Jan

9 Jan

9 Jun

14 Jul

13 Oct

14 Oct

27 Dec

(See also lack of ADS-B data on 8 Nov 2024, based on the tool provider's post here)

Limited historical data: Historical data only goes up to 14 February 2022. There is no data before this date.
GPS interference on aircraft may not be the same as on the ground interference: GPSJam only looks at aircraft data. Because airplanes fly high in the sky, they can "see" further than devices on the ground when it comes to radio signals. This means they are more likely to detect GPS interference. Ground-level impact might be less severe. While GPSJam data indicates potential issues with GPS signals in certain areas, the situation on the ground might not be as bad as the map suggests.

As a potential consequence, the tool may sometimes not work for drones. Because GPSJam and ADS-B Exchange measurements are taken at a specific altitude, data for UAVs at a different altitude may not necessarily be captured. According to this, “In green or yellow zones, there is very little chance that GPS signals will be degraded for drones.” The only exception is if drones are near the sources of interference. GPSJam should be cross-checked with other sources and social media channels where instances of drone jamming are regularly published.

Calculating the percentage of “bad” aircraft has the potential to bias map data: Think of each hex on the map as a small zone in the sky. To determine the color of each hex (green, yellow, or red), the system checks how many planes passed through that zone and whether their GPS is working correctly.

“Good planes” are planes with functioning GPS.

“Bad planes” are planes experiencing GPS issues.

To figure out the color of the hex, the tool calculates a percentage based on the ratio of good planes to bad planes within that zone. If a lot of planes have GPS problems, the percentage of bad planes will be higher, turning the hex yellow or red. If most planes are fine, the hex stays green.

However, here’s the catch: in areas with very few planes, a single bad GPS reading could make it seem like there’s a serious issue, even if it’s just a one-off problem. To correct for this, they subtract one "bad plane" from the total count to reduce false alarms in zones with fewer planes.

The downside of this process is that in areas with very few planes, this adjustment may cause the system to miss real problems because there is not enough data to confidently indicate that something is wrong.

In short, they balance showing accurate issues without overreacting to random bad signals, but this approach can hide real issues in places with less air traffic.

Ethical Considerations

Accuracy and Misinterpretation: Users are encouraged to look at the limitations of the tool when using it. In particular, to check dates under the FAQs section to see if they are looking at GPS interference data that is incomplete or missing. Users are encouraged to be transparent about these limitations.

Guide

Tool provider

John Wiseman, US (according to the X profile)

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

Afton

ExifTool

ExifTool is a command-line application for reading, writing, and editing meta information in files.

URL

(current version: 13.31 – 19 June 2025)

Description

ExifTool is a platform-independent library and command-line application designed for reading, writing, and editing meta information in a wide range of file formats. It supports well-known metadata standards like EXIF and GPS, as well as lesser-known formats such as IPTC, XMP, and JFIF. For example, IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) metadata is commonly used in news and photojournalism workflows, XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is an Adobe-designed standard that enables structured, extensible metadata within files, and JFIF (JPEG File Interchange Format) is a standardized method for including metadata in JPEG images. With the ability to process images, audio, and video files, ExifTool is a versatile solution for photographers, archivists, and digital forensics professionals. It can extract detailed information, batch process entire collections, rename files based on embedded metadata, and even use hidden GPS coordinates to locate where images were made.

Using ExifTool for Open Source Research: Code Examples and Applications

ExifTool can be a helpful utility for open-source researchers. It allows for the extraction and analysis of metadata from various file types, which can reveal hidden information about digital media.

Remember that all metadata can be manipulated and should never be taken at face value. Always verify metadata through independent sources or methods before drawing conclusions.

Extracting Metadata to Identify File Origin

This command displays all metadata from image.jpg. This can help identify the camera model, software used, and other details that may point to the file's origin or authenticity.

Extracting GPS Coordinates from Images

This command extracts GPS latitude and longitude data from suspect_image.jpg. After obtaining the GPS coordinates, you can input them into mapping services like Google Earth to visualize the location.

Analyzing Timestamps to Build Timelines

This command retrieves all date and time metadata tags from the image, such as CreateDate, ModifyDate, and DateTimeOriginal. This information can help establish a timeline of events.

Comparing Metadata Across Multiple Files

This command generates a tab-delimited report (metadata_report.txt) for all .jpg files in the directory, listing filenames, creation dates, and camera models.

Identifying Software Used for Editing

This command extracts the Software tag, indicating any software used to edit or process the image. Detecting editing software can suggest whether an image has been manipulated.

Detecting Metadata Anomalies

This command displays all metadata tags, including duplicates, with group names (-G1), and in short format (-s). Anomalies or inconsistencies in metadata can indicate tampering or provide investigative leads.

Extracting Thumbnail Images

Extracting the embedded thumbnail can reveal the original image before any edits were made, which is useful if the main image has been altered but the thumbnail hasn't.

Retrieving Metadata from Documents

For documents, this command extracts metadata from suspect_document.pdf, potentially revealing the author's name, creation date, software used, and more.

Extracting Metadata from Video Files

This command retrieves specific metadata from suspect_video.mp4, such as the title, creation date, and duration, aiding in video analysis during investigations.

Filtering Files with Specific Metadata Attributes

This command processes all .jpg files and lists filenames where the Make tag equals "Apple". This is useful for identifying images taken with specific devices.

Searching for Files Created in a Specific Timeframe

This command lists all images taken within the year 2024, helping to narrow down files relevant to a specific period.

Automating Metadata Extraction for Web Downloads

When downloading media from the web, you can automate metadata extraction:

This command downloads an image and immediately extracts its metadata, streamlining the process during an investigation.

Note: Many social media platforms strip metadata from images. However, some may retain certain metadata.

This command attempts to extract any remaining metadata from an image downloaded from social media. While limited, any recovered data could be valuable.

Extracting Metadata from Audio Files

This command retrieves metadata from suspect_audio.mp3, which can reveal artist information, album names, and track numbers, helpful in tracking the distribution of audio files.

Generating KML Files for Geospatial Analysis

This command creates a KML file (photos.kml) from images in the images/ directory that can be loaded into Google Earth or other GIS software to visualize photo locations.

Note: You'll need to create a kml.fmt formatting file as per ExifTool documentation.

Verifying File Authenticity with Checksums

This command calculates the MD5 checksum of suspect_file.jpg, which can be used to verify file integrity or compare against known hashes.

Note: An MD5 checksum is a unique, fixed-size “fingerprint” generated by applying the MD5 hashing algorithm to a file’s contents. Even a tiny change, like altering one pixel in an image or one character in a text document, results in a completely different MD5 value. By comparing the MD5 checksum of a file to a trusted, known-good checksum, you can quickly determine if the file has been altered, corrupted, or tampered with.

Keep in mind that MD5 is just one type of hash, and while it’s useful for basic integrity checks, it’s considered less secure against certain attacks. For higher assurance, especially in forensic contexts, consider using more robust hashing algorithms like SHA-256 or SHA-512.

Identifying Embedded Files or Steganography

The -ee option extracts embedded data streams. This command attempts to extract any embedded files or data within suspect_file.jpg, which may be hidden intentionally.

Extracting Metadata from Emails

While ExifTool primarily handles files, you can save emails as .eml files and extract headers:

This command extracts metadata from email.eml, including headers that reveal sender IP addresses, email clients, and routing information.

Checking for Metadata Inconsistencies

This command checks for any warnings or errors in the metadata structure of suspect_image.jpg. Inconsistencies may indicate manipulation or corruption.

Additional Tips for Open Source Researchers

Combine Tools: Use ExifTool in conjunction with other tools like strings, binwalk, or foremost for comprehensive analysis.
Script Automation: Create scripts to automate metadata extraction from large datasets.
Stay Ethical: Always ensure your activities comply with legal and ethical guidelines, respecting privacy and data protection laws.
Since v 13.20 you can visualise tag data with the -plot option (SVG output). Example: exiftool -plot GPSAltitude DIR

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Requires Perl 5.004 or later for the Perl version.

The Windows executable version does not require Perl.

The MacOS package installs the ExifTool command-line application and libraries.

Limitations

Incomplete Metadata Removal: ExifTool may not fully remove all metadata from certain file types. While it can strip many common fields, some proprietary metadata structures or embedded data might persist. This can leave sensitive information, such as GPS coordinates, camera serial numbers, or user comments, exposed after a “cleaning” attempt. Users who require guaranteed anonymity or privacy must verify that no residual metadata remains.
Limited Support for Some File Formats: While ExifTool is highly versatile, it doesn’t support every existing or emerging file format. Specialized, proprietary, or niche formats may not be fully recognized. As a result, some metadata fields may not be extracted or modified correctly, limiting the tool’s usefulness for cutting-edge devices or obscure media types.
Command-Line Complexity: ExifTool primarily operates through the command line, which can be intimidating for users who lack technical experience. Understanding syntax, parameters, and output formatting takes practice, and beginners may struggle to remember commands or apply them efficiently.
No Native Graphical User Interface (GUI): Without a built-in graphical interface, users must rely on the command line or third-party GUIs. These external interfaces might not support all of ExifTool’s features, potentially limiting functionality and increasing the learning curve for non-technical users.
Risk of Data Loss or Corruption: Incorrectly typed commands or misuse of advanced options can damage files or destroy important metadata. For example, a bulk operation that writes incorrect tags to a set of images could render them unusable. Regular backups and careful testing of commands on sample files can mitigate these risks.
Potential Conflicts with Antivirus Software: Some antivirus tools may flag ExifTool’s operations as suspicious, particularly when it reads or modifies large numbers of files. These false positives can block operations, slow workflows, or require users to adjust security settings.
Cannot Detect Metadata Tampering: While ExifTool can read and write metadata, it cannot confirm whether metadata is authentic. Malicious actors can modify tags to provide misleading information. Users who need to establish authenticity must rely on additional tools or verification methods.
Performance Limitations with Large Files or Datasets: Analyzing huge video files or thousands of photos can be slow and resource-intensive. Large-scale operations may degrade system performance or take significant time to complete, making ExifTool less efficient for handling massive media archives.
Steep Learning Curve for Advanced Features: Basic extraction is straightforward, but leveraging ExifTool’s full capabilities requires a deep understanding of metadata standards and careful reading of documentation.
Not a Comprehensive Forensic Tool: ExifTool is not designed to produce secure, tamper-proof logs or follow strict forensic procedures. Suppose you require chain-of-custody compliance, write-blocking capabilities, or court-admissible evidence handling; you need dedicated digital forensic solutions.
Limited Detection of Hidden or Embedded Data: ExifTool specializes in known metadata fields. It may not detect hidden or steganographically embedded content concealed in unexpected places. Investigators seeking such hidden data must supplement ExifTool with other specialized detection tools.
No Built-in Reporting or Visualization Tools: ExifTool outputs raw text data by default. Users who need graphical summaries, charts, or maps must export the data and rely on third-party software for visualization. This extra step can be inconvenient and time-consuming.
Legal and Ethical Considerations: Modifying or extracting metadata without proper consent can breach privacy laws or terms of use. Handling sensitive information, especially personal data, may be illegal or unethical. Researchers must remain aware of and compliant with relevant regulations.
Metadata Standard Variations: Metadata standards aren’t always implemented consistently. Different cameras, software, and devices may handle metadata fields differently—using unique tags, labels, or formats. This can cause confusion or misinterpretation, as assumptions about one device’s metadata may not hold true for another. As a result, metadata analysis requires careful consideration of each source’s conventions.
Multilingual and Encoding Issues: ExifTool may struggle with files that contain non-UTF-8 text or special characters. Encodings like Shift-JIS (Japanese Text) or ISO-8859-1 (also known as Latin-1, an older, legacy standard designed to cover Western European languages, including common characters like letters with accents such as é or ß) could cause garbled output. This is particularly problematic when analyzing international content or files with older character sets.
No Undo Functionality: Changes made by ExifTool are permanent. If users overwrite crucial metadata or apply the wrong tags to a large set of files, there’s no built-in rollback feature. Careful planning, backups, and test runs are essential to prevent irreversible mistakes.
Limited Support for Encrypted or Password-Protected Files: ExifTool cannot access metadata locked behind encryption or password protection. Users must first unlock or decrypt the file to analyze its metadata, which may be difficult or impossible without proper credentials.
No Real-Time Monitoring: ExifTool does not watch files or directories for metadata changes over time. Users must run commands manually whenever they need updated information, making it unsuitable as a continuous monitoring tool.
Limited Support for Network Locations: Accessing files stored on complex network paths can be problematic. Network latency, permissions, and mounting issues may prevent ExifTool from functioning smoothly, particularly in enterprise environments or remote research scenarios.

Ethical Considerations Specific to Open Source Research

Data Protection Laws: Be aware of regulations like GDPR, CCPA, and others that govern the handling of personal information.
Responsible Disclosure: If you discover sensitive information, handle it responsibly and consider notifying affected parties if appropriate.

Conclusion

ExifTool can be a useful addition to an open source researcher's toolkit, enabling the extraction and analysis of metadata that can uncover critical information. By applying the commands and techniques outlined above, you can enhance your investigative capabilities while adhering to ethical standards.

For further learning and community support:

Official Website:

Guide

Kris Occhipinti. (2010, December 12). Working with jpg Metadata Comments—Exiftool—BASH - Linux Command Line [Video recording].

spartaco80. (2015). exiftool1line—Useful one-line ExifTool commands.

Harvey, P. (2024). ExifTool FAQ.

Harvey, P. (2021). Common ExifTool Mistakes.

Tool provider

Phil Harvey (will respond to inquiries in the )

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

FlightAware

FlightAware is a global flight-tracking platform that provides real-time data on aircraft movements. It offers live tracking, historical data, and predictive analytics via its website and apps.

URL

Description

FlightAware is a global aviation tracking service that collects real-time flight information, including flight paths, statuses, and historical data. It works by gathering data from various sources, such . Key features include live flight tracking, airport information, aircraft information, and alerts for delays or cancellations.

TIP: Finding plane information requires a multi-source approach. Check more than one flight-tracking website when doing research “since one might have more information than the others”, as Giancarlo Fiorella wrote in his . Another tip by is to start your investigation with a Google search to see what you can find about a plane of interest.

NOTE: FlightAware is useful for tracking the following types of flights (see a list of flight types in the filtering options box on the right hand side above the ): , , , , and . However, take note that it honors requests to remove any aircraft if the owner asks for it as pointed out in this .

When used for open-source investigations, flight-tracking websites like FlightAware can assist in:

, such as
of high-profile individuals (see examples , and )
FlightAware can also be used for geolocation and verification (an example will be provided below)

Key Features

SEARCH TAB

Depending on what information a researcher already has, he/she can go to the main search tab. One can enter (See detailed description below).

LIVE MAP

In the tool’s , below the search bar, users can see a live tracking map which claims to show real-time traffic worldwide. Refer to the table below to see how users can get information on the live map:

Search by aircraft: Hover or click on any aircraft

Hovering over an aircraft will give a quick overview of:

aircraft call sign
its altitude
its route using airport codes (i.e. MNL - AUH - meaning from Manila International Airport (MNL) to Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) )
estimated landing time
speed

Clicking on an aircraft : This will take you to a dedicated page for that flight with all the necessary flight information and aircraft information (as described below).

Clicking on an airport (represented by dots and a three-letter airport code): This will take the user to the airport page where users can find to and from the airport:

GREEN - outgoing commercial flights
BLUE - incoming commercial flights
WHITE - flights passing through the airspace with different airport destinations and different airports of departure

In addition, users can flip through the different tabs for weather information, maps and diagrams.

Filter Live Map Flights: On the live map, users can also filter all worldwide flights according to Altitude, Speed, Flight Type, and Aircraft Type by clicking on the icon to the right, underneath the layers map. \

VIEWING RESULTS

FlightAware will display a list of matching flight/s. The information available is grouped into two main sections: Flight information and Aircraft Information. In addition, a live map with the flight in question is available at the lower left of the webpage.

Flight Details

Aircraft Details

PHOTOS

FlightAware also has a photo gallery available based on aircraft type. There are two ways to search for photos.

Community Page

First, click on the URL, hover over the “Community” link on the top right, and then click on the Photos section. Browse through the gallery or filter by aircraft, airport, airline, and date. More importantly, if you have a tail number or registration number available, you can input this on the Search bar at the bottom right to see if there is a match.

Aircraft Details Page

When clicking on a particular flight, the full detailed page will load (See image under “Viewing Results” section above) and navigate to the bottom right of the page.

KML OF FLIGHT LOG FOR CERTAIN GEOLOCATION TASKS

Lastly, for flights that have already landed or are completed, FlightAware allows users to download a KML file of the flight log. This will contain all the coordinates of its flight path, the altitude, and other information that helps users visualize. To do this, click on the flight page of a flight in question, click on “View track log”. Then navigate to the upper left corner of the page and click “+ Google Earth” icon, as shown below.

NOTE: Remember that historical information is limited for the free account, so flight log information may not always be available.

This can be helpful for specific geolocation tasks, especially for images with contrails or airplanes in the background. If there is flight information in a geolocation task, KML files overlaid on Google Earth Pro can help plot the course location and narrow down the search area based on the flight path.

Here is an example of a using a flight log KML file overlaid over Google Earth Pro, in addition to using the.

Use case

First, flight-tracking websites like FlightAware not only assist with geolocation but also help create flight databases for countries with issues that require continuous monitoring. For instance, Bellingcat has created an open-source flight database for and .

Second, investigators who monitor aircraft, focus on two key tasks:

Determining which planes are owned or regularly utilized by individuals of interest.
Following their flight histories or pinpointing their current whereabouts.

However, as pointed out in OCCRP's , figuring out who really owns a plane is often the more challenging part because people often hide ownership through shell companies and other methods to keep it secret. But because flight tracking is mostly publicly available, the second option can be a useful method for receiving clues to fill the information.

See this website: . It is a project that monitors the flight paths of authoritarian regimes' aircraft and alerts people on Twitter when these planes land in major European cities.

Identifiers and Where to Find Them on FlightAware

When doing flight tracking for investigations, it is essential to know what data to look for and which information can potentially provide leads in an investigation. However, note that not all information may be immediately available on one flight tracking website. Expand each identifier below to see what it is, why it is important and where to find it in the tool.

CALL SIGN: What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

What is it? They are unique identifiers of an aircraft. They help differentiate each aircraft in the sky from one another. According to this Bellingcat, private aircraft often use their registration number as their call sign. In contrast, commercial flights usually have call signs based on their specific routes.

According to this GIJN, “The call sign is more or less whatever the pilot decided to enter for that flight.” Commercial flights, on the other hand, will be the flight number or close to it, like DAL307 for Delta Airlines flight 307 from Honolulu to Minneapolis.

Call signs also often vary with each flight, and occasionally, they may change even while in the air. For instance, an aircraft might have different call signs throughout the day if it completes several trips, .

Why is it important?: Call signs are helpful when monitoring routes and flight paths and identifying potential deviations or anomalies. It can tell you what the flight path of an aircraft is, its intended destination, and where it passed by.

Where can you find the call sign on FlightAware?

The call sign is usually located primarily in two places. If looking at the flight map (left image), hover over the airplane you are interested in, and the flight and aircraft information appears. The call sign is highlighted with a yellow box. If looking at the flight data page (right image), the call sign is immediately to the right of the airliner’s logo (highlighted in the red square).

REGISTRATION NUMBER/ TAIL NUMBER/ / N-NUMBER: What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

What is it? This number appears near This is sometimes called a It is a unique number that tells you which country the aircraft . This specifies that an aircraft's registration is similar to a car's license plate, assigned when registered in a specific country. This registration reflects the jurisdiction of the aircraft according to this .

Why is it important? If available, registration information can be helpful for finding clues about the ownership of the aircraft. However, there are a few caveats:

1: (Ultimate Beneficial Owner - the person who profits or benefits from a corporate entity). It is rarely an individual but a company, trust, or charter/leasing company. In these cases, use additional sources to make the link.

2: Aircraft registration can change,

Where can you find the registration number on FlightAware?

The registration number can be found on the flight summary page, if available. And in the aircraft details section, as shown below. Clicking on the “Registration” link will take you to a separate page with more detailed registration information, registration history, and transfer of ownership.

NOTE #1: Based on our tests, this registration information seems only available for most commercial airlines, some MEDEVAC flights, some general aviation flights, and some cargo flights.

NOTE #2: According to the , “FlightAware is currently only able to display limited information for aircraft that is not identified with a United States “N-Number” (e.g., N123AB)”

HEX CODE/ MODE-S CODE/ ICAO CODE: What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

What is it? A hex code is a unique ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) six-digit hexadecimal number assigned to an aircraft's transponder. This code serves as a digital identifier or a unique “digital fingerprint”, allowing air traffic control and flight tracking systems to distinguish one aircraft from another. When the plane is registered, it gets a unique electronic code. This hex code is associated with the plane’s ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast), which broadcasts unencrypted data about the plane’s position, altitude, and speed. If the N-number is the physical identifier like a car license plate, the hex code is its digital counterpart.

According to , ICAO assigns each country a . So in theory, if the flight tracking website sees a hex code in this range, it will identify the aircraft as coming from that country, and, as in FlightAware, .

Why it may be important?

Connection to Country of Registration: Hex codes can sometimes be necessary to find leads about which country a plane is registered in. n. Therefore, it may sometimes be possible to determine ownership if that information is available.

Vulnerability to Manipulation: According to, “most flight tracking websites link the transponder codes to registration numbers to make sense of tracking data,” especially since aircraft do not usually broadcast registration numbers over their ADS-B transponder. A junk hex code can then broadcast unreliable and misleading data to flight tracking sites.

Some Military Logistics Aircraft With No Tail Numbers: In some cases, military aircraft such as the The hex code can come in handy when analyzing movements from this type of aircraft.

Where can you find the hex code on FlightAware?

On FlightAware, the hex code is referred to as “Mode S Code”

What’s required: Users can find the hex code on FlightAware if they have registration information or the tail number. Search for an aircraft of interest and click on the Registration link as shown above. On the registration page, find the “Mode S Code” at the bottom of the left column.

NOTE: This website responds to for specific aircraft for privacy reasons. But if available, registration info, hex code, and tail number can be obtained with a paid tier subscription. (Users may need to look at other flight tracking websites such as Radarbox to get some of this information)

SERIAL NUMBER/ MANUFACTURER SERIAL NUMBER (MSN): What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Definition: A serial number is a unique code given to an aircraft by the manufacturer to identify it from other planes. It's like a fingerprint for that specific aircraft designated at the time of manufacture or Serial numbers never change, unlike call signs and registration numbers. It is mandated by law (See , Section 14.13) to collectively ensure that aircraft can be monitored, maintained, and operated safely throughout their service life.

When to use serial numbers for open-source investigations: states that “If you’re trying to track a plane over multiple years and ownership changes, you’ll need to know the manufacturer’s serial number.” Because an aircraft’s serial numbers don’t change, you can follow its journey. This makes it helpful in tracking a plane over time between .

Where can you find the MSN/Serial Number on FlightAware?

This tool uses the term "Serial Number" instead of MSN. The serial number can be found on the registration page of the aircraft. Navigate to the page as shown above (See section for registration/tail number). Find the right column under “Aircraft Summary.” The serial number is found on the fourth line.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Information on pricing can be found .

The different paid tiers are:

Features*

Enterprise WX

Enterprise

Premium +

Basic

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Create an user account using an email account or via an already existing Google account or Apple account.
Paid subscription, if interested in historical flights and more flights with tail number and registration information (at the moment, not all aircraft have these identifiers available with a free account).

Limitations

Filtering and Categorization

Limited Filtering: FlightAware does not allow to filter flights based on specific categories on the live map, making it difficult to focus on particular aircraft or routes.
Insufficient Categories: The available flight categories are limited, especially regarding military aircraft, which can hinder investigations into military aviation activities. Although, in theory, one can find a military aircraft on the live map and through the search bar, or by knowing ahead of time which call signs may be related to military or government aircraft. However, if this is a consideration for researchers, websites like may be able to help users by filtering for various categories including .

Visual Representation

Visual crowding: The density of flight icons on the live map can sometimes hinder the ability to easily identify and track specific aircraft. The live map may experience visual crowding due to the number of flight icons, potentially making it difficult to focus on individual aircraft.
Unrepresentative Icons: The icons used on the live map may not precisely reflect the actual aircraft types, leading to potential delays in accessing or retrieving data you are interested in. In contrast to websites like flightradar24, different icons show different aircraft types at first glance. Navigating through this amount of information may be an issue for some researchers.
Photo Matching - If photos are used for verification, matching can be a slightly longer process on FlightAware. Aircraft photos refer to similar aircraft types (Boeing 777 or Airbus A380, etc) instead of the exact airplane in the air that the user is currently tracking. To find the right aircraft in the gallery, users need to know the tail number from a different source and put it in the search bar. It may save researchers time by going to flightradar24 or ADS-B Exchange and other sites to do a photo match since the photo on its flight page corresponds to the actual aircraft of interest instead of a type.

Data Limitations

Limited Historical Data: As mentioned above, the “Basic” FlightAware subscription provides access to a limited amount of historical flight data, which can be insufficient for in-depth analysis or investigations requiring long time frames.
No Playback Option: The live map does not offer a playback option, preventing users from reviewing past flight activity. Playback options can be helpful when researchers only have vague leads about a flight (for example, I know there was a flight 7 days ago in Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont airport”. It is often helpful to monitor that airport and do playback for flights within a specific time frame.)
Data Blocks: Due to screen real estate limitations and the vast amount of flight data, not all information can be displayed on the live map, leading to data blocks or omissions. The search bar is the way to find flight information on FlightAware.

Privacy and Data Restrictions

Take-Down Requests: As mentioned above, FlightAware may comply with take-down requests from aircraft owners seeking to protect their privacy, resulting in the removal of flight data. Hence, not all registration information is available. Flightradar24 and ADS-B Exchange and will contain more registration information than FlightAware.
Limited Registration Data: As mentioned above, under Identifiers and Registration numbers, FlightAware primarily displays US registration numbers for aircraft, limiting its ability to track international flights or planes with non-US registrations.

Ethical Considerations

Privacy vs. Transparency:

The ethical dilemma here revolves around the conflict between public transparency and individual privacy. Make careful determinations about how to publish research that involves tracking patterns of individuals. This , for example, highlights the tension between the right to information and the potential consequences of exposing individuals to danger.

Context matters:

Consider the purpose behind using flight tracking data when publishing.

Respect Copyright:

Flight tracking websites often have terms of service regarding data usage. Ensure you're using the information ethically and within the website's guidelines (FlightAware ).

Comparison with Other Flight Tracking Tools

Based on our tests, below is a comparison of some of the features of different flight tracking tools.

Feature

FlightAware

Flightradar24

Guides and articles

Bellingcat Guide:

Fiorella, Giancarlo, (2019, October 15). A beginner's guide to flight tracking. Bellingcat.

GIJN Guide:

Global Investigative Journalism Network. (n.d.). Planespotting: An updated guide to tracking aircraft around the world.

Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2023, (2023, October 7). Video on Plane and Ship Tracking,

OCCRP Guide:

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. "FAQ: What Is Plane Tracking?" Russian Asset Tracker. Accessed August 30, 2024..

Al Jazeera Guide:

OSINT: Tracking Ships, Planes and Weapons

Full list of country identifiers here:

Some lists of public registries: , , and ,

Photos: ,

Twitter hashtags: , , , , and .

Tool provider

Collins Aerospace, USA

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

Flightradar24

Flightradar24 is a real-time flight tracking service that provides detailed information about aircraft positions, flight numbers, origins, destinations, historical data, and aircraft information.

URL

Description

Flightradar24 is a real-time global flight tracking service. It provides detailed information about aircraft position, flight number, and oftentimes flight origin and destination. It also includes details on the type of aircraft. It provides both real-time flight tracking and historical flight information.

Flightradar24 data can be used for open-source investigations, including but not limited to:

support real-time news analysis, such as in the case of ;
monitor the movement of as potential illicit assets;
probe/scrutinize transit/travel patterns of (see examples , and );
Flightradar24 can also be used for geolocation and verification (an example will be provided below).

TIP: Finding plane information requires a multi-source approach. Check more than one flight-tracking website when doing research “since one might have more information than the others,” according to to flight tracking. recommends starting your investigation with an initial data gathering or a Google search to see everything you can find about a plane of interest (see paragraph 6 under “").

Flightradar24‘s flight information comes from several data sources. One category of data called “positional data” triangulates the aircraft's position in the sky. This includes sources In addition to positional data, Flightradar24 also uses flight status and flight schedule data from . The platform uses data through the for drones, gliders, and small aircraft.

On the filter section of the website, the tool can filter for approximately 12 aircraft categories. They are: Passenger, Cargo, Military and government, Business jets, General aviation, Helicopter, lighter-than-air, Gliders, Drones, Ground vehicles, "Other", and Non-categorized.

But First, Identifiers and Where to Find Them

When doing flight tracking for investigations, it is essential to know what data to look for and which information can potentially provide leads. In flight-tracking, researchers usually pay attention to “Identifiers.”

Flight-tracking websites have a plethora of information available. However, depending on the research question, researchers generally pay attention to call signs, registration, serial numbers, and hex codes.

TIP: Note that not all identifiers may be immediately available on one flight tracking website. Cross-check with other platforms.

CALL SIGN

CALL SIGN: What is it and why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

Why is it important? Call signs can be helpful when monitoring routes and flight paths and identifying potential deviations or anomalies. It can tell you what the flight path of an aircraft is, its origin, its intended destination, and where it passes by. It is also helpful for flagging private aircraft that use their registration as call signs.

Where can I find the call sign on Flightradar24?

For live flights:

Depending on your settings, call signs can be seen when you hover your cursor over a plane of interest in the live map. The combination of numbers and letters that appear is usually the call sign. Users can find additional details when clicking on the aircraft.

For completed/historical flights:

Determine the aircraft by either flight number, flight route, or other identifiers, if known.
Go to the search bar and enter the search term. This will lead users to a list of past and future-scheduled flights.
Select the date and time of interest, and click on the icon “PLAY” on the far right. This will take you to the details and stats associated with that particular flight.
Scroll down until you see the following image below.

REGISTRATION NUMBER / TAIL NUMBER

REGISTRATION NUMBER/TAIL NUMBER/N-NUMBER: What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

What is it? This number appears on the aircraft's exterior, mostly near This is sometimes called a It is a unique number that tells you which country the aircraft. This specifies that an aircraft's registration is similar to a car's license plate, assigned when registered in a specific country. This registration reflects the jurisdiction of the aircraft according to this.

Why is it important? If available, registration information can help find clues about ownership of the aircraft or, at the very least, which country it is registered. However, there are a few caveats:

2: Aircraft registration can change,

Where can I find the registration number on Flightradar24?

For live flights

Just like call signs, registration information is available by clicking on an aircraft of interest on the live map. This will provide a detailed window to the left, showing additional information. The registration number can be found just below the aircraft type.

For historical flights

Follow the same steps shown above for searching call signs for historical flights. Begin with entering the flight in question on the search bar. The registration is located on the far right, just below the aircraft type and the aircraft photo.

HEX CODE/ ICAO CODE

HEX CODE/24-BIT CODE ADDRESS/MODE-S NUMBER: What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

What is it? This code serves as a digital identifier or a unique “digital fingerprint”, allowing air traffic control, anti-collision systems, and flight tracking systems to distinguish one aircraft from another. When the plane is registered, it gets a unique electronic code. This hex code is associated with the plane’s ADS-B (Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast), which broadcasts unencrypted data about the plane’s position, altitude, and speed. If the N-number is the physical identifier, like a car license plate, the hex code is its digital non-physical identifier.

According to document, ICAO assigns each country a block range of hex codes. So in theory, if the flight tracking website sees a hex code in this range, it will identify the aircraft as coming from that country, and, as in the case of FlightAware, display.

Why is it important?

Some Military Logistics Aircraft With No Tail Numbers: In some cases, military aircraft such as the The hex code can come in handy when analyzing movements from this type of aircraft.

Where can I find the hex code on Flightradar24?

On Flightradar24, the hex code is referred to as either “ICAO 24-Bit Address” or “”Mode-S”. And you can find it in several places depending on where you are accessing the aircraft information on the website.

For live flights

Users can search the live map for the aircraft of interest. Hover and click over that aircraft, and an information box will appear on the left. Scroll further down to and find “ICAO 24-Bit Address”.

For historical flights

If available, use the registration number to search for the flight of interest in the search bar. This will lead users to a list of past and future-scheduled flights.
Click the choice under “aircraft”. This will take you to a separate page containing the flight history of the aircraft of interest.
Look for the word “Mode-S” to get the hex code (Refer to the image below)

SERIAL NUMBER/ MSN

SERIAL NUMBER/ MANUFACTURER SERIAL NUMBER (MSN): What is it? Why is it important? (CLICK TO EXPAND)

What is it? A serial number is a unique code given to an aircraft by the manufacturer to identify it from other planes. It's like a fingerprint for that specific aircraft designated at the time of manufacture or Serial numbers never change, unlike call signs and registration numbers. It is mandated by law (see, section 14.13) to collectively ensure that aircraft can be monitored, maintained, and operated safely throughout their service life.

Why is it important? states that “If you’re trying to track a plane over multiple years and ownership changes, you’ll need to know the manufacturer’s serial number.” Because an aircraft’s serial numbers don’t change, you can follow its journey. This makes it helpful in tracking a plane over time between.

Where can I find the MSN/Serial Number on Flightradar24?

For live flights

Just like call signs, registration information is available by clicking on an aircraft of interest on the live map. This will provide a detailed window to the left, showing additional information. Scroll further; the serial number is below the registration information (see IMAGE 2 above).

For historical flights

Follow the same steps as shown above for searching for call signs for historical flights. Begin with entering the flight in question in the search bar. The serial number is located on the gray box, far right, just below the registration information (see IMAGE 3 above).

Key Features

Live Map and Immediately Accessible Flight Filters

Flightradar24’s landing page prominently features its Live Map, providing users with immediate access to the real-time aircraft status in the air. The flight filter settings are accessible from the main page, allowing users to customize their view and quickly find relevant information.

The Live Map on Flightradar24 is also customizable, allowing users to add widgets for quick access to important information. These widgets can display data such as weather conditions, statistics (e.g., the number of data sources feeding flight information), and the most tracked live flights. Additionally, users can create personalized widgets to bookmark and monitor specific aircraft, flights, airports, or locations of interest. Open source investigators can use those features to track relevant flight data, monitor specific patterns, and quickly access real-time information critical for their analysis.

Map Layers and Aeronautical Charts

Users can customize the map layers on Flightradar24's Live Map, allowing for the overlay of various data sets.

Advanced Search

The search bar is immediately accessible on the tool's landing page. Flightradar24’s search function has features designed to help users quickly find information on a platform that contains a lot of information. Note that search results usually show both live flights and flights that are completed or recently scheduled. Here is an overview of the search feature, which includes input and output (this list is not exhaustive).

NOTE: Based on our own tests, the search bar takes most of the input explained below, except for Serial Number.

INPUT:

The search is designed to run several keyword variations. Users can enter the ICAO Airport Code and the IATA Airport Code. Users can enter two airport codes separated by a dash.

Example: “AMS - LHR” to refer to the flight route from Amsterdam Schipol to Heathrow Airport.

OUTPUT:

This search will show all the live flights as well as recent and scheduled flights.

INPUT:

If the airport code is unknown, simply type the location or the airport name.

Example: “London”

OUTPUT:

Putting a location or airport name will provide a list of possible airport locations.

This is a straightforward search in which the users can type the airplane.

INPUT: Type the name of the airline.

Example: Iberia

OUTPUT: This will provide a list of airlines that match your query. However, users need to click the arrow down to expand the search. This will provide several options including all the live flights by the airline of interest.

Click on this option to search for airports by country

INPUT: Choose the country of interest from the list automatically provided by the search feature.

Example: Afghanistan

OUTPUT: This will show a list of 11 airports in Afghanistan.

Example: Kabul International Airport, Kandahar Airport, Herat International Airport etc.

TIP: Click on the “down” arrow on each search result to expand more menu options. The expanded search has the option to show users the airport on the live map and a list of flights arriving, departing and on the ground, and many more.

This feature is for showing flights near the user’s location. The user must enable its location and give the tool permission to access its location.

For a more detailed guide to its search features, refer to:

Custom Filters

In addition to filtering by aircraft category, users can create their own custom filters tailored to their research purpose.

OPEN each tab to get more detailed information on how to create custom filters.

Flightradar24 has enhanced its aircraft filtering capabilities. You can now precisely filter flights by their exact ICAO code.

For example: Searching for "A320" will only display Airbus A320 models.

To view a family of aircraft, use a wildcard symbol.

For example: "B737*" will show all Boeing 737 variants. Additionally, you can filter for multiple aircraft types by separating them with commas.

This refined filtering system allows for more accurate and tailored flight tracking.

Users can input the airport code or airport name.

In addition, users can now search for flights to or from entire countries on Flightradar24. Just type in the country name, like "Venezuela" or "Colombia," to see all flights to or from that country. Users can further filter by inbound, outbound flights, or both.

This powerful feature can isolate flights between two airports or between two countries. Or between three countries and four airports. Users can see the flow of traffic in one direction and can easily flip the direction if needed.

Examples:

From: United Kingdom To: United States
From: United Kingdom To: JFK, EWR

Examples:

From: United States To: United Kingdom
From: JFK, EWR To: United Kingdom

Jetphotos Database

Another helpful feature in this tool is its photo database through When viewing an aircraft's details on Flightradar24, users often see photos sourced from Jetphotos. Jetphotos links back to Flightradar24 for detailed tracking data about photographed aircraft.

This integration provides a visual representation of the tracked aircraft, enhancing the user experience. More importantly, the photos shown are those of the actual plane being tracked live in the sky and not a similar aircraft type, like on . This is especially helpful if researchers are interested in making a visual match to the information they have.

Example: If a user is tracking an aircraft with registration/tail number OO-TMS, users can find that exact photo on Jetphotos' database by using the registration number/tail number as the search term.

Jetphotos and Flightradar24 are distinct platforms with complementary purposes, but they share a close relationship due to their focus on aviation and.

Playback

Flightradar24's playback feature is like a time machine for aviation. Flightradar24's playback feature allows users to rewind time and analyze historical flight data. This tool can be invaluable for investigative purposes, as it enables researchers to:

(a) Investigate Past Events: Examine air traffic patterns during specific incidents or events. (b) Verify/Cross-Check Claims: Cross-reference historical flight data with other information to confirm or refute claims. (c) Seeing Trends: Study trends by analyzing past flight patterns.

The playback feature is available on the live map (landing page) and users can see the replay of many flights simultaneously. It is also available for individual flights.

Historical data available for playback are as follows: ; includes playback feature for historical analysis.

TIP: Add a filter or your own custom filter and use the playback feature for a more granular search. For example: Use the business jet category filter and hit the playback button to see a replay of all business jets travelling in a specific area during a specific time frame.

For individual flights, the playback feature is accessible by first searching the flight of interest. And then scrolling through the past scheduled flights. Select the time and date of interest and click on “Play” (the farthest icon to the right).

KML and CSV File of Flight Log

For flights that have already landed, Flightradar24 allows users to download a KML file of the flight log. This will contain all the coordinates of its flight path, the altitude, and other information that helps users visualize flight information. Based on our test, this raw data can then be imported on , , or ArcGIS Earth.

In addition, users can also download a .CSV containing raw flight data for analysis.

To do this, enter the known flight info on the search bar and click on the flight number/call sign/route.
Scroll down and click on “Flight Info”.
You will be taken to a different page containing the flight log. Scroll down to the list of recently scheduled flights, choose the date and time of interest.
Navigate to the right where you have the option to download the data in KML or CSV format or do a playback.

Using a KML file of a flight log overlaid over Google Earth Pro can sometimes help with geolocation tasks. See this by Nixintel for a demonstration of this use case.

Use cases

Flight tracking websites like Flightradar24 can be valuable resources for investigative journalism and open-source research:

1. Database Creation:

This data can be used to create open-source flight databases for countries requiring continuous monitoring.
Example: Bellingcat's databases for and .

2. Monitoring Authoritarian Regimes:

Tools like specialize in monitoring the flight paths of authoritarian regimes' aircraft.
They can alert the public when these planes land in specific locations (e.g., Twitter/X alerts for major European cities).

3. Investigating Aircraft Ownership and Movement:

Investigators like those at :
- Identification: Determine which planes are owned or regularly used by individuals of interest.
- Tracking: Follow flight histories or pinpoint the current whereabouts of these aircraft.

Challenges and Workarounds:

Ownership Obfuscation: Figuring out real ownership can be .
Flight tracking as a tool to generate leads: According to , while ownership is sometimes hidden, flight tracking data is largely publicly available, and monitoring aircraft movements can sometimes provide valuable clues to fill in the gaps of an investigation.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

The tiered paid accounts are: Basic Free, Silver, Gold, Business, the price and feature differences are found here:

The version tested for this toolkit description is the Gold Subscription.

Level of difficulty

While the tool is straightforward to use, the difficulty rating is based on the additional time it may take for beginner users to familiarize themselves with aviation related terms and concepts. The platform also contains a plethora of data, and finding which information is important may require additional time.

Requirements

Modern web browser
Registered account (e-mail address)

Limitations

Flightradar24 Mobile App and Precise Location Data Leak

Investigations by revealed thatthat transmit their users' to data brokers. These precise coordinates may provide sensitive personal information on a user's home or work address

Be aware of the risks of disclosing your location data using the app. Use precaution if possible.

Coverage: Not Everywhere, Every Time

Flightradar24 is a great tool for tracking flights, but it's important to know it doesn't see everything, everywhere. Here's what can affect coverage:

Aircraft Equipment: Not all planes have compatible transponders, the devices that talk to Flightradar24. So, .
Altitude and Terrain: Planes flying high or in areas with lots of mountains .
Location: Flightradar24 , especially around major airports in Africa (Chad, Congo, Egypt, etc) or countries like China, Iran, Iraq, and Libya.

Map Gaps

Flightradar24's coverage is. Geopolitical tensions, like the Ukraine conflict, can lead to airspace closures, affecting flight routes. Geographical factors, such as high altitudes in Tibet, also restrict flight paths. Not all aircraft have the necessary equipment for tracking, and some regions have limited coverage. Additionally, airlines prioritize safety and efficiency, sometimes opting for longer routes to avoid risky areas.

Blocking / “take down requests”

Flightradar24 from operators or owners. According to : “Information about a small number of flights may be limited or blocked based on requests from owners or operators via third-party services…”. This also means that high-profile aircraft in the military and government categories will not be visible.

Based on our own tests, some of the instances where blocking might potentially happen are as follows. There are instances where:

Aircraft Identity is hidden: The specific aircraft model and registration number might be obscured, showing only the general aircraft type (e.g., Boeing 737).
Flight Path is partially hidden: The origin and registration number might be visible, but the destination or specific route may be blocked.
Sometimes, the platform puts N/A instead of providing information.
Some Limitations on Filter Combinations:

While combining filters may sometimes be helpful, there are some combinations that provide results that are confusing. It is important to note that combining these two filters has some limitations. Based on our tests, combining the filter “military and governments” plus a custom airport filter for “Venezuela” and “Colombia” gave mixed results. Instead of filtering for only military/government aircraft in those countries, the results included passenger flights, private/small aircraft, and possibly others.

To isolate a specific category of aircraft within a location of interest, it is recommended to zoom in instead on the area of interest, then apply a specific aircraft filter. We were able to tailor the search results by zooming in on Venezuela and Colombia and applying the “military and government” filter subsequently. The results seem to show only one category of aircraft within a specific geographic region.

6. Accuracy of estimates

Flightradar24 can estimate the position of aircraft that are out of coverage for a limited time. This is done by using various parameters, but the accuracy can decrease for flights that fly over longer distances (the position can be shown ). The estimated positions are visually represented by a black trail on the map.

7. Incorrect flight route

Flightradar24 uses flight schedules to determine the route an aircraft is taking. However, this can sometimes lead to inaccuracies. For example, if a, the displayed path might not match the actual flight path. Additionally, errors in flight schedules or incorrect or old call signs can also cause route information to be incorrect. Other causes are: - which is when there is an error in one of the scheduling databases Flightradar24 depends on. In addition, significant flight delays can cause it to be matched with the wrong schedule.

Ethical Considerations

Privacy vs. Transparency:

The ethical dilemma here revolves around the conflict between public transparency and individual privacy. Make careful determinations about how to publish research that involves tracking patterns of individuals. This, for example, highlights the tension between the right to information and the potential consequences of exposing individuals to danger.

Context matters:

Consider the purpose behind using flight tracking data when publishing. Not all uses of aviation tracking serve the same ethical goals or carry the same implications. For instance, when flight tracking data is used to cover major events such as accidents or disasters, it provides factual context for the public's understanding of the event. Flight tracking data used in research regarding air traffic patterns, for example, or in monitoring environmental impact of the aviation industry, represents different ethical considerations than tracking specific individuals' movements. The ethical decision making around flight data publication and how to publish this data should take into consideration the intended audience, potential harm, if any, and whether or not there are alternative data sources available for your investigation.

Respect Copyright:

Flight tracking websites often have terms of service regarding data usage. Ensure you're using the information ethically and keep the website's guidelines in mind. Flightradar24's terms of service can be found .

Comparison with Other Flight Tracking Tools

While both Flightradar24 and FlightAware offer similar core functionality, open source investigators may prefer to use Flightradar24 for a more extended flight history, a playback function, the ability to track more specialized aircraft, and comprehensive international flight data. However, FlightAware may have some advantages for US-focused flight tracking.

Based on our tests, below is a comparison of some of the features of different flight tracking tools.

Feature

FlightAware

Flightradar24

Guide

Bellingcat Guide:

Fiorella, Giancarlo, (2019, October 15). , Bellingcat.

RC and Fiorella, Giancarlo (2021, March 11). , Bellingcat.

GIJN Guide:

Global Investigative Journalism Network. (n.d.). .

Global Investigative Journalism Conference 2023, (2023, October 7). Video on .

OCCRP Guide:

Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (2022, May 21). Russian Asset Tracker.

IATA (International Air Transport Association) which can help researchers decipher airline codes on particular call signs.

Nixintel (2019, October 30). .

Benjamin Strick. (Youtube video).

Benjamin Strick. Who Made The Man in The Desert? or

Al Jazeera Guide:.

Full list of country identifiers:

Some lists of public registries:,, and,,

Photos:,

Twitter hashtags:,,,, and.

This tool is often used with: , , social media accounts of known flight enthusiasts and professionals. This tool is also used in conjunction with ADS-B Exchange, , Planes.live, JetPhotos, Airframes.

Tool provider

Flightradar24 AB, Sweden

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

Production

Home

Welcome to Bellingcat’s Online Open Source Investigation Toolkit!

Browse tools by category:

About

Most Used

New Tools

Categories

Maps & Satellites

Maps

Satellite Imagery

Geolocation

Image/Video

Metadata

Resources

More

Maps & Satellites

Most Used

New Tools

Home

Welcome to Bellingcat’s Online Open Source Investigation Toolkit!

Browse tools by category:

About

Maps

Satellite Imagery

Geolocation

Image/Video

Metadata

Social Media

Reverse Image Search

Facebook

People

Instagram

Street View

Tiktok

Misc

All Tools

Websites

Facial Recognition

Conflict

Transport

Education

Youtube

Multiple Platforms

Environment & Wildlife

Guides & Handbooks

Archiving

Companies & Finance

Stay Safe

Newsletters & Toolkits

Data Organization & Analysis

Other Platforms

About Maps and Satellites

Introduction Maps and satellite imagery

Ethical Considerations

Cultural Bias

Privacy

Limitations

Data Accuracy

Data Currency

Political Bias and Missing Data

Other resources

Wikis

Tutorials and Articles

ACLED

URL

Description

Features

Data

Analysis - Tools

ACLED Explorer

ACLED Trendfinder

Conflict Exposure Calculator

Cost

Level of difficulty

Requirements

Limitations

Ethical Considerations

Guides and articles

Official Wiki