> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://tools.osintnewsletter.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://tools.osintnewsletter.com/osint-tools/sowsearch.md).

# Sowsearch

| **Sowsearch**    | **Quick Overview**                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| URL              | <https://www.sowsearch.info/>                                                                                                                                                                             |
| What it does     | Builds targeted Facebook searches to help uncover public posts, profiles, groups, events, comments, and discussions.                                                                                      |
| How to use it    | Enter keywords or filters, generate a Facebook search, and pivot through public results.                                                                                                                  |
| Cost             | Free.                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| Account required | Yes - a Facebook account is usually required to view many search results and public posts.                                                                                                                |
| Cookies          | Minimal                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| Ownership        | Made by [sowdust](https://x.com/s0wdust) with the initial work of understanding how the new search function works done by [D Nemec](https://x.com/djnemec) and [Henk Van Ess. ](https://x.com/henkvaness) |
| Use in Reporting | Useful for social media investigations, timeline building, event monitoring, and public activity analysis.                                                                                                |

### What does Sowsearch do?

Sowsearch simplifies Facebook’s cluttered native search by generating structured Facebook search queries automatically. Instead of manually testing search terms and filters, users can quickly create targeted searches that point directly toward potentially relevant public content.&#x20;

**The lowdown:** It simplifies the process of finding public Facebook content that would otherwise be difficult to locate through Facebook’s standard search interface.&#x20;

### How to Use:

**1. Start with a keyword, topic, or organisation/user. Adjust the filters to set a date range.**

<img src="/files/KNl9zxDvUJu6wiTWXT2W" alt="" height="480" width="602">

**2. Once you have broad results, which open in Facebook, you can refine those results by focusing on specific dates, locations, Facebook groups, post types etc.**

<img src="/files/j1d6tQIkvV7VPgORnhBZ" alt="" height="312" width="602">

**3. After finding useful posts or pages, use Facebook itself to continue pivoting through comments and replies, shared posts, tagged accounts etc.** &#x20;

### Cost

* [x] Free
* [ ] Partially Free
* [ ] Paid

## Data Processing

### Account Required:

* [x] Yes
* [ ] No

A Facebook account is usually required to view many search results and public posts.

### Cookies:&#x20;

Minimal / none logged during our session on the site 07.05.26.

### Use in Reporting

Sowsearch can support:

* Social media intelligence reports.
* Public sentiment analysis.
* Protest or event investigations.
* Narrative tracking.
* Timeline reconstruction.
* Community mapping.
* Open-source attribution investigations.

As a real world example, analysts use tools like Sowsearch in event and protest monitoring to quickly surface Facebook posts mentioning a location or event (for example a demonstration in a city). They can then pivot to the original posts to build timelines of activity, identify key organisers, or track information spread across groups and pages.&#x20;

**Note:** Because social media content can change rapidly, investigators should preserve evidence appropriately using screenshots, archiving tools, or exports where lawful and permitted.

| **Capabilities**                           | **Limitations**                                          |
| ------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| Enhanced Facebook searching.               | Restricted to publicly accessible content.               |
| Discovery of public posts and discussions. | Facebook privacy settings heavily affect visibility.     |
| Group and event identification.            | Search results can change frequently.                    |
| Faster timeline reconstruction.            | Deleted content cannot reliably be recovered.            |
| Keyword and date-based searching.          | Requires a Facebook account for many results.            |
| Social network and community discovery.    | Dependent on Facebook’s own indexing and search systems. |

### Summary

Sowsearch primarily sits within the collection, discovery, and analysis stages of the OSINT workflow, helping users gather publicly available Facebook content, discover relevant people, groups, events, and discussions, and analyse social interactions, timelines, and narratives connected to an investigation.

### Ownership

Sowsearch was made by [sowdust](https://x.com/s0wdust) with the initial work of understanding how the new search function works done by [D Nemec](https://x.com/djnemec) and [Henk Van Ess.](https://x.com/henkvaness)

### Ethical Considerations

* Respect privacy and legal boundaries and only access publicly available information.
* Avoid harassment or targeting individuals.
* Verify information before attribution or publication/
* Consider the safety impact of reporting on individuals or communities.

### Related Tools:

* [Who posted what?](/osint-tools/who-posted-what-facebook-tool.md)
* Social Searcher

#### Sources

<https://www.sowsearch.info/>&#x20;

<https://x.com/s0wdust>