While governments use OSINT to track wars, thwart threats, counter terrorism, and (above all) strengthen mass surveillance over the population, most people mindlessly scroll through content on their smartphones, a minefield of fake news and mind-numbing material.

Espionage has gone public, the population just doesn’t know it yet.

It’s no longer just about spies and satellites, or expensive, inaccessible technology. Today, the same open-source intelligence tactics that protect nations can also strengthen citizens’ privacy and preserve your anonymity. With OSINT, you can not only better protect your data but also help expose the truth.

Every citizen matters. Every citizen has an impact.

The more the truth spreads, the harder it becomes for governments (whether foreign or domestic) to push their agenda and manipulate the population.

The new battlefield is public

OSINT : the great equalizer

More than 95% of the population still doesn’t know it, but the cards have been slowly reshuffled over the past ten years.

OSINT has completely reshaped the balance of power between governments and citizens.

Open-source intelligence now turns TikTok videos, Telegram messages, or Google Earth images into real geopolitical weapons.

Unlike classified espionage methods buried under secret budgets, OSINT thrives on what’s already visible: social media posts, satellite images, leaked spreadsheets, and corporate documents.

Even European institutions describe this revolution in public data as the democratization of truth-finding, where any smartphone owner can now outperform the intelligence protocols of the Cold War era.

When 17-year-old Russian teenagers can geolocate an artillery battery simply by analyzing sunset angles in Telegram photos, you know the rules have changed.

The CIA’s 2023 budget allocated more money to monitoring Telegram channels than to training field agents, a silent admission that collective OSINT intelligence now often outperforms classified briefings or field operatives (though there are always exceptions).

And here’s the most surprising part: Russian surveillance teams are now studying combat videos uploaded by Ukrainian drone users themselves.

That tank column you just scrolled past? Five intelligence agencies are probably analyzing its paint and model.

Information is everywhere.
Learn how to use it.
Learn OSINT.

That’s why I’ve prepared a starter mini-kit alongside this article, to give you the right guidance and the best free tools to start practicing OSINT right now.

The world has changed because of OSINT.

The Russia–Ukraine conflict has confirmed, more than ever, the value of OSINT.

Traditional Cold War–era intelligence now looks prehistoric compared with OSINT’s return on investment.

Why risk spies or ultra-sophisticated devices when social networks share the coordinates of an enemy base between two chat messages, and all it takes is knowing how to spot information that is already available?

Today it costs ten times less to hire a few OSINT specialists in an office to obtain the same information as a field agent on a five-year mission.

These specialists are, moreover, far faster.

One of the best-known examples is the speed with which certain experts and journalists exposed the Myanmar junta’s atrocities using simple free satellite timelines and videos recorded by people on the ground.

Traditional intelligence can no longer compete with the real world, a world that is now ultra-connected, where everything is published instantly on social networks.

And this is precisely why OSINT is now essential if you want to stay truly informed.

It is a complete reshuffling of the deck, allowing any citizen to train in OSINT and gain effectiveness and tools comparable to those of governments.

But be careful: viral lies spread faster than the truth because they are produced en masse to muddy the waters and slow down curious citizens.

OSINT is a double-edged blade, so you must constantly sharpen your BS detector.

Governments Leading the OSINT Race

NATO Uses Social Media to Wage War

NATO’s current doctrine treats data extracted from Telegram (and sometimes other social networks) as battlefield intelligence, while simultaneously seeking to block its own citizens’ access to channels it disapproves of — with the complicity of allied governments.

Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, faces pressure every single day.

According to some reports, 73% of hybrid conflict alerts now come from public data streams.

NATO’s OSINT cells can now detect early signs of violence through activity on Telegram, even before the clashes begin.

The chilling conclusion?
Wars are now broadcast live, traditional media have become obsolete.

Most of the time, the average citizen learns about an atrocity before the mainstream press, accessing it far more quickly through X (Twitter), Telegram, or other platforms.

Governments have fully understood the power of OSINT.

Western governments now proudly showcase their OSINT programs, presenting them as upgrades to their defense systems and claiming they are used to fight terrorism and organized crime.

Today, it is one of the most effective tools for obtaining any information on any subject.

You’ve understood it by now: every government uses OSINT, and that’s not going to stop anytime soon.

But the reality is far more complex.

Yes, they use it for that, of course. But they also use it to monitor you, and to exploit everything you post online against you.

And here’s what they don’t want you to know: every citizen funds this surveillance apparatus through their taxes and their data.

In the United Kingdom alone, a report published by the European Parliament revealed that in 2023, 12,000 British citizens were arrested for social media posts.

And this is happening in many other countries as well.

You might think, “I don’t post anything controversial, so why should I worry?”

That way of thinking is flawed from the start, because with OSINT, anything you post can one day be used against you, even taken out of context.

Your vacation photos on Instagram? You think there’s nothing to worry about? They can easily be used to determine where you were at a specific time.

Just look at how Rainbolt can locate you with a single photo, and you’ll understand what governments can do in just a few minutes, or a few hours.

OSINT isn’t reserved for governments alone.

In short, think of OSINT like a firearm: it’s neither good nor bad, it’s simply a tool.

In the hands of a decent police officer, it can save lives and prevent a crime.

But in the wrong hands, it can cause serious damage.

As with firearms, it’s better to learn how they work and how to protect yourself than to remain ignorant and face a huge risk one day.

With OSINT today, you must understand that anything on the web can be discovered, recorded, stored, and used against you by anyone, at any time.

It’s not just political or controversial posts: everything you share matters.

The GPS app you use maps your routes, perfect for a kidnapper who knows how to exploit your data.

Your child’s Minecraft server can become a potential hunting ground for sexual predators.

You got it...

In short: the same tools that protect nations can also protect your home, provided you learn how to use them.

Why Your Use of OSINT Matters More Than Theirs

Become a responsible citizen

While governments are busy monitoring everything and nothing at the same time, you, at your local level, can actively work on learning OSINT while erasing traces of your identity online to protect your privacy.

A lot of positive things can be achieved if citizens understand the power of OSINT and use it for the good of their community, or society as a whole.

Switch to Digital Self-Defense Mode

What you need to understand above all is that OSINT is an essential skill for protecting your privacy and your data. It ranges from simple protection against scams flooding your inbox to investigating social issues or corruption cases in your city, your region, or even your country.

For example, scammers hate this trick: copy suspicious URLs and paste them into a domain registration checker.

That’s just one example, but there are thousands of ways to strengthen your positive impact on society, as long as you’re trained.

The key is to understand that OSINT can first help you clean the internet of your unwanted data and regain control of your privacy, before allowing you to become proactive and go on the offensive.

Do yourself a favor: start learning OSINT now and build your first layer of digital defense.

At this point, in an era marked by disinformation and mass surveillance, developing OSINT skills is becoming as vital as knowing how to drive a car or use a smartphone.

Your choice isn’t whether to join the OSINT community or not, it’s whether you’ll see clearly… or be manipulated.

Governments use OSINT for mass surveillance and won’t hesitate to turn it against you whenever they can. It’s time to use these same tools to protect yourself and learn how to dismantle disinformation.

Whether it’s defending yourself from scams or analyzing geopolitical events, OSINT has become a matter of survival.

Learn the basic techniques now, or be prepared to fight tomorrow’s information wars blindfolded.

The data battlefield won’t wait, and neither should you.