Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools are invaluable for gathering publicly accessible information from various sources, including social media, websites, and databases. These tools are essential for cybersecurity professionals, researchers, and anyone interested in collecting and analysing data from open sources. In this blog post, we will explore the top 20 free OSINT tools for 2025, providing a brief overview and a link to each one.
1. Spiderfoot
Spiderfoot is an automated OSINT tool that collects data from over 100 public data sources. It is highly configurable and can be used for various purposes, including threat intelligence, security assessments, and investigations. https://www.spiderfoot.net/
2. Maltego
Maltego is a powerful tool for link analysis and data mining. It helps users to visualise relationships between data points and can be used for network analysis, social media investigations, and more. https://www.paterva.com/web7/
3. Shodan
Shodan is a search engine for internet-connected devices. It allows users to find information about devices such as servers, routers, and webcams, making it a valuable tool for cybersecurity professionals. https://www.shodan.io/
4. TheHarvester
TheHarvester is a tool for gathering email addresses, subdomains, IPs, and URLs using multiple public data sources. It is commonly used for reconnaissance in penetration testing. https://github.com/laramies/theHarvester
5. Recon-ng
Recon-ng is a full-featured web reconnaissance framework written in Python. It provides a powerful environment for gathering open-source information. https://github.com/lanmaster53/recon-ng
6. Metagoofil
Metagoofil is a tool designed to extract metadata from public documents. It can be used to gather information such as usernames, software versions, and server names. https://github.com/laramies/metagoofil
7. OSINT Framework
OSINT Framework is a collection of OSINT tools and resources. It provides links to various tools and websites that can be used for gathering open-source intelligence. https://osintframework.com/
8. FOCA
FOCA (Fingerprinting Organizations with Collected Archives) is a tool for discovering information in metadata and hidden information in documents. It can be used to find data such as usernames, software versions, and server names. https://github.com/ElevenPaths/FOCA
9. Censys
Censys is a search engine that allows users to find information about internet-connected devices. It provides detailed information about the devices, including their software and configuration. https://censys.io/
10. Google Dorks
Google Dorks is a technique that uses advanced search operators to find information that is not easily accessible through regular search queries. It can be used to find sensitive information, such as passwords and configuration files. https://www.exploit-db.com/google-hacking-database
11. Intelligence X
Intelligence X is a search engine and data archive that allows users to search for information on the deep web, dark web, and other sources. It provides access to a vast amount of data, including leaked documents and hacked databases. Intelligence X
12. Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is an internet archive that allows users to view historical versions of websites. It can be used to find information that has been removed or changed on a website. https://archive.org/web/
13. TinEye
TinEye is a reverse image search engine that allows users to find other instances of an image on the internet. It can be used to track the origin and usage of an image. https://www.tineye.com/
14. Social-Engineer Toolkit (SET)
SET is an open-source penetration testing framework designed for social engineering. It can be used to simulate social engineering attacks and gather information from targets. https://github.com/trustedsec/social-engineer-toolkit
15. Datasploit
Datasploit is an OSINT framework that helps in performing various recon techniques on companies, people, phone numbers, and more. It integrates with multiple data sources to gather comprehensive information. https://github.com/DataSploit/datasploit
16. Amass
Amass is a tool for network mapping and attack surface discovery. It can be used to find subdomains, IP addresses, and other network-related information. https://github.com/OWASP/Amass
17. Sherlock
Sherlock is a tool for finding usernames across multiple social media platforms. It can be used to track down social media profiles and gather information about individuals. https://github.com/sherlock-project/sherlock
18. Twint
Twint is an advanced Twitter scraping tool written in Python. It allows users to scrape tweets, followers, and other information from Twitter without using the Twitter API. https://github.com/twintproject/twint
19. CheckUserNames
CheckUserNames is a tool for checking the availability of usernames across multiple social media platforms. It can be used to find social media profiles and gather information about individuals. https://checkusernames.com/
20. Creepy
Creepy is a geolocation OSINT tool that gathers geolocation-related information from social networking platforms and image hosting services. It can be used to track the location of individuals based on their social media activity. https://www.geocreepy.com/
Conclusion
These 20 free OSINT tools provide a wide range of capabilities for gathering and analysing open-source information. Whether you are a cyber security professional, a researcher, or simply someone interested in collecting data from public sources, these tools can help you achieve your goals. By leveraging these tools, you can gain valuable insights and make informed decisions based on publicly available information.
Feel free to explore each tool and see how it can benefit your specific needs. Happy hunting!