Blackbird — OSINT Username Search Across 600+ Sites

Introduction

Blackbird is an open-source OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) tool that searches for a given username across over 600 websites and social networks. It is designed for security researchers and investigators who need to map a digital footprint by discovering where a username is registered.

What Blackbird Does

• Searches for a username across 600+ websites and social media platforms simultaneously
• Validates account existence using HTTP status codes, response content, and page analysis
• Supports searching by email address in addition to username
• Exports results in CSV, JSON, or PDF formats for reporting
• Provides a web-based GUI alongside the command-line interface

Architecture Overview

Blackbird maintains a JSON database of site definitions, each specifying a URL pattern, expected HTTP response codes, and content markers for positive and negative matches. The search engine sends concurrent HTTP requests using async I/O, then classifies each response as found, not found, or error based on the site definition rules. Results are aggregated and formatted for the chosen output mode.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Install via pip or run the Docker image for zero-setup usage
• Use the --username flag to search for a single username across all sites
• Add --tor to route requests through the Tor network for anonymity
• Filter results by category with the --filter flag to narrow searches
• Launch the web UI with the --web flag for a browser-based interface

Key Features

• Database of 600+ sites with actively maintained detection rules
• Concurrent async requests for fast parallel searches
• Tor proxy support for anonymous reconnaissance
• Multiple export formats including JSON, CSV, and PDF reports
• Web GUI for visual browsing of results without command-line use

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Sherlock — similar username search tool; fewer sites and no built-in web UI or PDF export
• Maigret — fork of Sherlock with more sites and tag-based filtering; Python-only CLI
• WhatsMyName — community-maintained username enumeration list; requires a separate client
• Maltego — commercial OSINT platform with visual graph analysis; paid and heavier

FAQ

Q: Is using Blackbird legal? A: Blackbird queries publicly accessible web pages. Legality depends on your jurisdiction and how you use the results. Always comply with applicable laws.

Q: Can I add custom sites to the database? A: Yes, add a new JSON entry with the URL pattern and detection rules to the sites database file.

Q: How accurate are the results? A: Most detections are reliable, but false positives can occur if a site changes its response format. Report issues via GitHub.

Q: Does it support bulk username searches? A: Yes, pass a text file of usernames with the --list flag to search multiple names in one run.

Sources

• https://github.com/p1ngul1n0/blackbird
• https://blackbird-osint.herokuapp.com/