| 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."
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| 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
