Twitter/X OSINT

Banner last update time#

The banner URL includes a Unix timestamp indicating when the banner was last updated.

For example: https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_banners/1564326938851921921/1750897704/600x200

In this case, 1750897704 is the timestamp. You can convert it using unixtimestamp.com or any other Unix time converter.

Basic Search Operators#

Twitter’s advanced search functionality provides powerful filtering capabilities for OSINT investigations:

• Keywords: word1 word2 (tweets containing both words)
• Exact phrases: "exact phrase" (tweets with this exact sequence)
• Exclusion: -word (excludes tweets containing this word)
• Either/or: word1 OR word2 (tweets containing either term)
• Hashtags: #hashtag (tweets with specific hashtag)
• Accounts: from:username (tweets sent by specific account)
• Mentions: to:username (tweets in reply to an account)
• Mentions in any context: @username (tweets mentioning an account)

Advanced Filters#

Engagement Filters#

• Minimum retweets: min_retweets:number
• Minimum likes: min_faves:number
• Minimum replies: min_replies:number
• Filter for links: filter:links
• Filter for media: filter:media
• Filter for images: filter:images
• Filter for videos: filter:videos

Temporal and Geographic Filters#

• Date range: since:YYYY-MM-DD until:YYYY-MM-DD
• Geolocation: geocode:latitude,longitude,radius (e.g., geocode:40.7128,-74.0060,5km)
• Near location: near:"Location Name"
• Within radius: near:"City" within:15km
• Language: lang:code (e.g., lang:en for English)

Tweet Characteristics#

• Positive attitude: 🙂 OR :) OR filter:positive
• Negative attitude: 🙁 OR :( OR filter:negative
• Questions: ? or filter:questions
• Retweets only: filter:retweets
• Native retweets only: filter:nativeretweets
• Verified users: filter:verified
• Safe content: filter:safe

Practical Search Combinations#

• Content from a user within a date range: from:username since:2023-01-01 until:2023-12-31

• Geolocated tweets about a topic: near:"London, UK" within:25km "protest" since:2023-06-01

• High-engagement tweets about a topic: "artificial intelligence" min_retweets:100 lang:en -filter:retweets

• Media shared by a specific user: from:username filter:media -filter:retweets

• Conversations between specific users: from:username1 to:username2 OR from:username2 to:username1

• Link sharing on a topic by verified users: "climate change" filter:links filter:verified since:2023-01-01

Disclaimer#

Remember that all Twitter searches should comply with Twitter’s Terms of Service and appropriate legal frameworks for your jurisdiction.