casualsecurityinc Bellingcat Geolocation Tools
Tools for determining the precise location where photos, videos, or descriptions were captured. Combine shadow analysis, sun position, and OpenStreetMap queries to narrow down locations.
Choosing Tools
- Use visual-cue and shadow tools to narrow a location; use map and OpenStreetMap search tools to test a candidate location.
- Confirm a location with more than one independent clue or source.
Tools
| Tool | Best for | Cost | Description | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GeoHints | A website that provides information about things like traffic lights, utility poles,… | Free | GeoHints is a website that provides information about things like traffic lights, utility poles, bollards etc. for di... | Details |
| GeoNames | The GeoNames geographical database covers all countries and contains over eleven million… | Free | The GeoNames geographical database covers all countries and contains over eleven million place names that are availab... | |
| Bellingcat OpenStreetMap Search | A user interface to search OpenStreetMap data for features in proximity to each other. | Free | A user interface to search OpenStreetMap data for features in proximity to each other. | Details |
| Photo-Map.RU | Geotagged VK posts. | Free | Geotagged VK posts. | |
| ShadeMap | A global simulation of mountain, building & tree shadows for a given date & time. | Partially Free | ShadeMap is a global simulation of mountain, building & tree shadows for a given date & time. Base data is free, but ... | Details |
| Shadow Finder | To analyse shadows in source imagery, Shadow Finder maps all points on the earth where a… | Free | To analyse shadows in source imagery, Shadow Finder maps all points on the earth where a shadow of given length could... | Details |
| ShadowMap | Global map of 3D buildlings and the shadows they cast at a specific time a day | Free | Global map of 3D buildlings and the shadows they cast at a specific time a day | Details |
| Spot | A natural language interface for querying the OpenStreetMap database to find locations… | Free | A natural language interface for querying the OpenStreetMap database to find locations which meet the search criteria... | Details |
| SunCalc | Suncalc models the relationship between the date, time of day, the geographic location of… | Free | Suncalc models the relationship between the date, time of day, the geographic location of a place, and the position o... | Details |
Investigation Tips
- Start with SunCalc to determine possible dates/times based on shadow length and direction
- Use ShadowMap or ShadeMap to simulate shadows for a specific date/time at a candidate location
- GeoHints provides regional visual cues (traffic lights, utility poles) to narrow down countries
- Spot and OpenStreetMap Search let you query OSM features near coordinates using natural language
- Combine multiple tools to cross-verify: SunCalc for sun position, GeoHints for regional clues, OSM for feature proximity