Plain-language rules for using SpiderFoot.tools, interpreting OSINT results, and working responsibly with public-source data.
Last updated: September 5, 2026
01 / INTRODUCTION
SpiderFoot.tools is an independent, browser-based service for selected open-source intelligence workflows. These Terms cover the public pages, scanners, optional account connection, and search-history features provided through this website.
You may use the service only within a lawful, authorized scope. These Terms do not give you permission to investigate a person, account, organization, or system when that permission is otherwise required.
02 / SERVICE_SCOPE
Checks a username against bundled public-site definitions and supported API categories, then presents possible profile and account signals for review.
Checks a validated email address across 18 supported account-context categories. Responses can include registered, not registered, unknown, or error states.
Shows available Cloudflare-aware connection headers when no IP is entered. A submitted IPv4 or IPv6 address is validated and queried server-side through Cloudflare Radar for available network, ASN, organization, IP-version, and location context.
Indexed public-web references may appear where that feature is enabled and permitted for the visitor’s country. Username and email tasks can be retained as browser- or account-linked search history.
The current site does not provide phone lookup, domain reconnaissance, breach-database access, background checks, mailbox access, or credential verification.
More technical detail is available on About SpiderFoot.tools and the FAQ.
03 / INTERPRETATION_RULE
Open original sources, check dates and context, compare independent evidence, and record uncertainty before relying on a material finding. The separate Methodology explains this verification approach.
04 / AUTHORIZED_USE
Appropriate uses can include self-auditing, defensive security, approved investigations, brand monitoring, fraud awareness, journalism, academic research, and reviewing an organization’s own public exposure. Whether a particular activity is permitted depends on the facts, the authorization you hold, applicable law, and the rules of the sources you access.
Use only the inputs and sources necessary for your research question, limit collection of personal data, and stop when the authorized task is complete.
05 / PROHIBITED_USE
Do not use SpiderFoot.tools to:
The service helps retrieve and organize public-source signals. It does not authorize access to any private account, device, mailbox, network, or restricted system.
06 / EXTERNAL_DEPENDENCIES
Depending on the selected workflow, SpiderFoot.tools may rely on bundled public-site definitions, public websites, service-provider APIs, indexed web-search results supplied through Serper, Cloudflare request headers, Cloudflare Radar, Google OAuth, and feature-controlled external AI providers.
A submitted username, email address, IP address, or derived search query may be sent to the relevant service backend or external provider to perform the requested check. Those providers operate under their own terms and policies.
External sources can be unavailable, rate-limited, blocked by geography, protected by CAPTCHA, restricted by account state, or changed without notice. Pages can be deleted, response formats can change, and cached or indexed information can become stale.
A failed or missing result does not necessarily mean that the underlying account, record, or service does not exist.
07 / AI_ASSISTANCE
AI Search Results and AI Summary are disabled in the current public-interface configuration. If an AI feature is made available, it may organize findings, suggest additional public-web leads, or summarize scan context.
AI output is generated content, not verified evidence. It may omit relevant context, combine unrelated facts, cite a weak source, or state something incorrectly. Return to the original public source and verify every important claim.
Do not treat AI output as identity verification or as legal, investigative, security, employment, financial, medical, or other professional advice. Do not use it by itself for a high-impact decision. Research articles follow the separate Editorial Policy.
08 / USER_INPUTS
You must have an appropriate basis and any required permission to submit a username, email address, IP address, or support correspondence and to research the resulting sources. SpiderFoot.tools cannot determine whether you hold that authority.
Do not submit passwords, authentication codes, API keys, private mailbox contents, payment details, health information, government identifiers, or other sensitive data that the requested workflow does not need. Do not use the service to publish or expose another person’s private information.
You are responsible for how you preserve, share, or act on any output you obtain.
09 / ACCOUNTS_AND_HISTORY
The site assigns a first-party browser identifier. When a username or email task starts, a user record and search-history record may be created for that identifier even if you have not connected Google. Available result states and task output can then be saved to that history.
You may optionally connect Google OAuth. The site uses the returned account identifier and basic profile information to associate the website account; it does not receive the password used with Google. Keep access to your device, browser profile, and connected Google account secure.
Current history pages let you review username and email tasks. The IP workflow is not included in that history interface. There is no self-service history-delete control in the current site. Logging out clears the site’s identifier cookie from that browser; it does not by itself delete stored account or history records. Data requests can be made through the contact route described in the Privacy Policy.
10 / AVAILABILITY
A scanner may time out, return an unknown or error state, show fewer results, or become temporarily unavailable because of maintenance, network conditions, source blocking, API changes, rate limits, geographic restrictions, or abuse-prevention controls.
Input validation and signed-request checks can reject malformed or unauthorized requests. Public-web context can also be unavailable in countries restricted by the current configuration.
Workflows, source coverage, categories, interfaces, and third-party integrations may change as the service and its external dependencies change. A temporary failure does not establish that the underlying source is permanently unavailable.
11 / ACCURACY_AND_RESPONSIBILITY
SpiderFoot.tools does not guarantee that every public account will be found, every returned match is correct, every source is current, every IP field is precise, every provider will remain available, or every scan is complete.
You remain responsible for checking the original evidence, choosing a proportionate conclusion, complying with the rules that apply to your work, and deciding whether qualified professional advice is needed.
The service is provided as a research aid. SpiderFoot.tools is not responsible for a decision made solely from an unverified result, for third-party content, or for disruption caused by an external source. This does not remove any right or responsibility that cannot be excluded under the law that applies in the circumstances.
12 / CONTENT_AND_LICENSES
Rights in the site-specific interface, original copy, graphics, original research, benchmark materials, and original software components remain with their respective SpiderFoot.tools rights holder to the extent those elements are original. Unless a separate notice says otherwise, normal access to the website does not grant permission to republish that original material as your own.
The bundled username definition file contains its own attribution list and Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 notice. That material remains subject to that notice. The bundled ThinkPHP framework carries its Apache 2.0 notice, and other open-source libraries remain under their respective licenses.
Public profiles, search results, provider responses, screenshots of external services, third-party datasets, external articles, logos, names, and trademarks belong to their respective rights holders. Displaying or linking to them does not transfer ownership to SpiderFoot.tools and does not imply endorsement.
13 / PROJECT_RELATIONSHIP
SpiderFoot.tools is an independent third-party OSINT web service. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the SpiderFoot open-source project or its maintainers.
The original SpiderFoot project’s name, code, documentation, and other assets remain subject to the rights and licenses stated by that project. Its official public repository identifies its code as MIT-licensed. Nothing in these Terms changes or replaces that license.
14 / PRIVACY_CONTACT_UPDATES
The Privacy Policy explains search inputs, identifiers, account data, history, analytics, cookies, external providers, retention, and available requests. It forms the privacy notice for the service; those details are not repeated here.
For reporting guidance, see Contact. Send an inaccurate technical description, false positive, broken source, copyright concern, account-data request, security issue, or question about these Terms to [email protected]. Do not include unnecessary personal data, credentials, or secrets.
These Terms may be updated when the service, its external providers, or its operating rules change. The date at the top of this page records the latest published revision. If you do not agree with an updated version, stop using the service.