Crowd Counter

Tool Description : Estimates crowd sizes from images.

Crowd Counter

Quick Overview

URL

https://digitaldigging.org/crowdchecker/

What it does

Helps estimate the number of people in a crowd using image analysis.

How to use it

Upload image, mark area, and get crowd estimate.

Cost

Free.

Account required

No.

None logged during our 10 April visit to the website.

Ownership

Built and owned by Hank Van Ess, an investigator, tool builder, and trainer, based in the United States.

Use in Reporting

Estimate crowd sizes for protests, events, or gatherings.

What does Crowd Counter do?

Crowd Counter is a lightweight OSINT tool that helps estimate how many people are in a crowd based on an image. It works by letting you define an area and apply density estimates, giving a rough but useful figure for analysis.

The lowdown: It’s a fast and easy way to get a visual, evidence-based estimate for reports, but results are only rough approximations and accuracy is highly dependent on assumptions and image quality.

How to Use:

1. Estimate how large the area is where people are standing/sitting.

2. Upload an image or paste an image URL into the tool.

3. Mark or outline the area where the crowd is located.

4. Apply density assumptions and generate an estimated count.

Cost

Free
Partially Free
Paid

Data Processing

Account Required:

Cookies:

None logged during our 10 April visit to the website.

Use in Reporting

Crowd counter is useful to:

Estimate crowd sizes for protests or public gatherings.
Support visual analysis in OSINT investigations.
Provide evidence-based approximations in journalism.
Compare crowd sizes across events.

OSINT and cybersecurity expert, Saad Sarraj, recommends the tool to confirm reported attendance at events, to check protests, seminars, or public gatherings, and to get accurate numbers without guessing. He states he used the tool on images from a public seminar that gave a clear estimate, saving hours of manual counting.

Capabilities

Limitations

Simple visual crowd estimation.

Estimates only. Accuracy depends on image quality & assumptions.

Works directly in browser with no login required.

Not fully automated and requires manual input.

Useful for quick OSINT assessments.

Struggles with dense, overlapping, or obscured crowds.

No export or advanced analytics features.

Summary

Crowd Counter is ideal for quick OSINT work and reporting, best used in the analysis and validation stage of an OSINT workflow. However, results should always be treated as approximate and supported with context.

Ownership

Built and owned by Hank Van Ess, investigator, tool builder, and trainer, based in the United States.

Ethical Considerations

Avoid overclaiming accuracy. Results are estimates so make sure to always communicate uncertainty.
Use multiple sources by cross-checking with other images, videos, or reports.
Respect privacy by ensuring individuals in images are not unnecessarily exposed.
Clearly explain methodology in reporting.