Result accuracy
How to interpret OSINT username-search results
Answer first: read every status as an observation about one public site check, not a conclusion about a person. Public profile means the page matched an existence rule; Not Found matched an absence rule; Blocked and Unknown are unresolved; Source Conflict means executed rules disagreed. None of these statuses alone proves identity, ownership, intent, or handle availability.
Use this field guide while reviewing results. The safest decision is often to preserve uncertainty and inspect the original public source.
Maigret 3.0 is available now. App workflow examples on this site preview 3.1, which is in development. The research method and its limitations apply independently of those upcoming features.
The observation model
A username result is a site response interpreted by a rule
Username-search tools commonly construct a public profile URL, request it, and compare the response with site-specific signals. Those signals can include status codes, redirects, page text, or other public response patterns. The result therefore depends on three moving parts: the site’s current behavior, the network path, and the rule used to interpret the response.
This explains why a neat binary label can be misleading. A server can return a successful response for a “user not found” template. A real profile can sit behind a rate limit. A site can redirect every unknown handle to a search page. Rules can lag behind a redesign. Accurate review keeps these conditions visible instead of forcing every request into found or missing.
“At this date and time, this public endpoint produced a response that this rule classified as this status.” That is narrower—and more defensible—than “this person has this account.”
Decision table
What each status supports
| Status | Supported observation | It does not prove | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public profile | The public response matched the configured “profile exists” signal. | Identity, current control, authenticity, intent, or relationship to another profile. | Open the original URL and assess relevant public context. |
| Not Found | The response matched the configured absence signal. | Handle availability, permanent deletion, or absence from every route and region. | Usually close the lead; use the platform’s official flow for availability. |
| Blocked | The site or an intermediary prevented a normal classification, such as through WAF or rate limiting. | Either presence or absence. | Do not bypass the control. Retry later or review the ordinary public page. |
| Unknown | The request completed without enough trustworthy evidence, or failed through timeout, network, or parser uncertainty. | Either presence or absence. | Preserve as unresolved; inspect manually only if proportionate. |
| Source Conflict | Two executed compatible rule sources reached different classifications. | That the preferred rule is automatically correct. | Fail closed: keep it out of Public profile and verify the source page. |
Public profile
Treat a Public profile page as a lead with an original source
First open the original public URL. Check that the page still represents a profile rather than a generic landing page, search result, error template, or redirect. Then ask whether the information needed for your authorized objective is actually present. A result can be supported by the site response yet irrelevant. Older tools or versions may call this state “Confirmed”; that label still does not verify a person’s identity.
If attribution matters, corroborate with independent public context appropriate to the task: an owned website linking to the profile, a consistent self-description, or another source whose provenance you can explain. Do not rely on a shared avatar, display name, or username alone. Common images and handles are copied, reused, and reassigned.
Report with bounded language: “The public page at this URL used this handle and displayed these relevant public details when reviewed.” Avoid “We found the subject’s account” unless authorized evidence outside the username match actually supports that conclusion.
Not Found
Absence is specific to the checked route and time
Not Found is a useful negative result when a current rule recognizes the site’s public absence pattern. It helps remove noise from an investigation. It should not be inflated into a broader claim. The account could use another handle, a regional domain, an internal identifier, a non-indexed route, or privacy settings that the public check cannot see.
It also does not mean the username can be registered. Platforms may reserve names, quarantine recently deleted handles, prevent certain strings, or expose availability only during sign-up. If registration is the goal, switch to the platform’s official workflow rather than repeatedly probing the public URL.
Blocked and Unknown
Unresolved is an honest result, not a defect to hide
Blocked indicates a recognizable access barrier such as a web application firewall challenge or rate limit. Unknown covers cases where the available response cannot support a reliable presence or absence decision. Depending on implementation, that may include timeout, transport failure, unexpected redirect, parser mismatch, or a page that lacks both expected signals.
- Keep the current status. Do not relabel it to improve a completion percentage.
- Check coverage health. If many sites fail similarly, the network or a broad service condition may be responsible.
- Retry conservatively. Wait, use ordinary product controls, and respect the site’s limits. Do not automate around CAPTCHAs or access controls.
- Review manually only when justified. Visit the normal public page in a standard browser and record that manual observation separately.
- Close as unresolved when needed. A report can be complete even when some sources remain unknown.
Source Conflict
Conflicting rules should reduce confidence
When Maigret-compatible and Sherlock-compatible rules both execute for the same public target but disagree, the disagreement is itself relevant. The rules may expect different response codes, URL formats, absence strings, or redirects. A site migration can make one rule stale while another remains useful.
The safe behavior is to keep the result outside the Public profile group until the original page is reviewed. Record the conflict and the ruleset versions if you are debugging coverage. Do not silently select the positive result, average the labels, or count two rules as two independent sources: they may be interpreting the same single response.
Evidence language
Record enough to reproduce the decision, not the whole profile
- Original public URL and the handle that was checked.
- Observed status, date, and whether review was automated or manual.
- Rule source or ruleset version when it affects interpretation.
- The narrow public fact relevant to the authorized objective.
- Uncertainty, alternative explanations, and the next action or stop reason.
Do not save authentication material, cookies, unrelated posts, private messages, or a full-page archive by default. For a complete scope-and-retention workflow, see How to run an authorized username investigation.
Guide FAQ
Questions to settle before you act
Is Public profile the same as a verified account?
No. Public profile describes the public page response against a site rule. It is not a platform verification badge, proof of who controls the account, or proof that similarly named profiles belong to one person.
Why not convert Blocked or Unknown into Not Found?
Because the check did not observe reliable absence. A rate limit, WAF challenge, timeout, network failure, or changed page can prevent classification. Calling that Not Found would turn missing evidence into a false negative.
What should I do with a Source Conflict?
Keep it separate from Public profile. Open the ordinary public URL, note which compatible rules disagreed, and verify manually if the result matters. If the page is still ambiguous, report it as unresolved rather than choosing the more convenient source.
Can a result tell me whether a username is available to register?
No. Not Found is not an availability check, and Public profile does not establish who is entitled to the name. Use the platform’s official registration flow and naming policy for availability.