bellingcat-geolocation

name	bellingcat-geolocation
description	Determine where a photo, video, or description was taken. Analyze shadows, sun position, terrain, and infrastructure to pinpoint locations. Use when the user needs to geolocate an image, find a place, or verify coordinates, even if they don't mention "geolocation" or "OSINT."
compatibility	Requires internet access to fetch tool detail pages from bellingcat.gitbook.io

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