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OSINT
Check whether emails and usernames are available, taken, or invalid.
overview
socialscan takes an email or username and reports, per supported platform, whether the value is available, taken, or invalid. It queries each platform's registration and login logic, so taken means an account exists and available means the handle is free to register.
Pass a single query as a positional input, or feed a file with -i. Restrict platforms with -p, keep only free handles with -a, show profile URLs with --show-urls, sort with --view-by, and spread load with --proxy-list. Cache tokens with -c for platforms that need several HTTP calls.
Trickest provides socialscan as a managed OSINT node that writes FILE and FOLDER. Reach for it to confirm where an email is registered, vet candidate usernames, or check brand-handle availability in one pass.
source github.com/iojw/socialscan
use cases
Query an email address across supported platforms to see which services already hold an account for it, a fast OSINT pivot from an address to online presence.
Pass a file of candidate handles with -i and add -a to keep only the ones still free, useful for an investigation or for picking a new brand handle.
Use -p to limit the run to the platforms an investigation cares about, which cuts request volume and run time.
Supply --proxy-list so a big query file spreads across addresses and avoids per-IP rate limits, and cache tokens with -c to send fewer requests per platform.
reference
| Name | Type | Flag | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| input | STRING | · | Single username or email address to query (positional; supply several to check at once). |
| input-file | FILE | -i | File containing a list of queries to execute, one per line. |
| platform | STRING | -p | List of platforms to query (default: all platforms). |
| only-available-and-not-used | BOOLEAN | -a | Print only values that are available and not in use. |
| show-urls | BOOLEAN | --show-urls | Display profile URLs for usernames on supported platforms. |
| sort-results | STRING | --view-by | Sort results by platform or by query (default: query). |
| proxy-list | FILE | --proxy-list | File of HTTP proxy servers to route queries through. |
Showing key inputs. socialscan exposes 8 inputs in total.
| Name | Type | Flag | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| input | STRING | · | Single username or email address to query. |
| platform | STRING | -p | List of platforms to query (default: all platforms). |
| show-urls | BOOLEAN | --show-urls | Display profile URLs for usernames on supported platforms; profiles may be absent for reserved, deleted, or banned accounts. |
| input-file | FILE | -i | File containing a list of queries to execute, one per line. |
| proxy-list | FILE | --proxy-list | File of HTTP proxy servers to route queries through. |
| cache-tokens | STRING | -c | Cache tokens for platforms that need several requests (Snapchat, GitHub, Instagram, Last.fm, Tumblr), cutting total request count. |
| sort-results | STRING | --view-by | Sort results by platform or by query (default: query). |
| only-available-and-not-used | BOOLEAN | -a | Print only values that are available and not in use. |
example
# check a username and an email across all platforms, showing profile URLssocialscan jdoe jdoe@example.com --show-urlsjdoe--------------------------------------------------Instagram availableGitHub takenTwitter takenLastfm availableTumblr takenReddit availablePinterest invalidguidance
Use socialscan to check whether an email or username is available, taken, or invalid across platforms via registration-logic queries. For mapping where a handle already exists across hundreds of sites, prefer sherlock or maigret.
Enumerates where a username exists across many sites. socialscan adds availability and validity for emails and usernames.
Crawls a site for hijackable broken social links rather than checking a handle you supply.
Device and service intelligence. A different OSINT axis from identity checks.
faq
related
Passive DNS records from DNSDumpster.
Generate lookalike domains and flag registered typosquats.
Look up the real IP of a host from its favicon via Shodan.
Email OSINT from public sources, with optional breach checks.
Passive DNSDumpster host lookup by domain.
List public repositories for each GitHub username you already have.
An email or handle feeds socialscan, which checks availability across platforms and writes the verdicts as a queryable output.
Facts on this page come from the live Trickest tool library.