Community
r/OSINT
Volunteer moderators on Reddit
A quarter of a million members, strict anti-doxxing rules, and a searchable archive of answered beginner questions. Signal-to-noise is a problem the moderators themselves describe. Good for discovery; treat answers as leads.
The subreddit grew by a quarter in the past year to around 252,000 members. Rules forbid sharing information about people without consent or framing requests around a target, limit breaking-news posts, and since 2025 gate tool announcements to fully free, open-source projects with public repositories and no self-promotion. The moderators wrote in 2024 that growth brought spam, low-effort posts, and gatekeeping.
Worth it if
- You have a beginner question that has probably been asked before
- You want to see which tools people discuss, with the mods filtering out breach sites
- You like a searchable archive more than a live chat
Skip it if
- You want depth or mentorship
- You are tempted to ask how to find a specific person; that gets removed
- You want to announce a tool that is not open source
What is inside
- 01
Questions and answers
Beginner-heavy, with recurring threads on where to start.
- 02
Tools
The most common flair, now restricted to free, open-source, non-promotional posts.
- 03
Occasional AMAs
Moderator-approved sessions with practitioners.
What you will be able to do
- Find a previously answered version of most beginner questions
- Spot new open-source tools as they are announced
- Learn the community's ethical lines by reading what gets removed
How current it is
Active and growing, with rule updates in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The moderators warn of an impersonator account sending fake takedown notices.
- Updated
- About 252,000 members, October 2026
- Maintained
- Actively maintained
How to get the most from it
- 01
Search before you post
It is a rule, and the archive usually has your answer.
- 02
Frame questions around method, not a person
The 2023 clarification: research methodology is fine; targeting a person is not.
Strengths
- Searchable archive
- Firm anti-doxxing line
- Scale
Limitations
- Noise
- Beginner-heavy
- No structure
Pair it with
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can I ask how to find someone?
No. Requests framed around a specific person are removed. Questions about method are fine.
Can I post my tool?
Only if it is fully free and open source with a public repository, not AI-generated, uses no breached data, and you are not promoting yourself.
Learned the method? Practise it on real data
The resources above teach the craft. When you want to run real lookups across breach, people, domain, and crypto sources without opening a dozen vendor accounts, that is what SearchIn is for.
- Free account, no card
- Credits never expire
- Refund unused balance in 7 days