u/vitmak

I’m looking for advice on how to analyze an Instagram account that has been repeatedly sending unwanted and harassing messages to someone I know.
I’m interested only in available information and OSINT techniques. I’m not looking for private information, hacking, leaked databases, facial recognition, or anything that would expose someone’s personal details.
I’d mainly like to understand what kinds of publicly visible indicators can be used to determine whether an account has connections to other publicly visible accounts — for example:
username reuse across public platforms
publicly visible profile information
reused or publicly posted images
publicly visible posting patterns
other open-source digital traces
The goal is to better document the harassment and understand whether there are obvious links between publicly available accounts. I will not publish or share anyone’s private information, and I’m not looking to contact or confront the account owner.
If anyone can recommend legitimate OSINT methods or tools for this type of public-source analysis, I’d appreciate it.

Sorry this is long, but the details matter for the advice I’m hoping to get.
A while back, a guy started following/DMing my friend, love-bombing her pretty hard early on — offering to send flowers for her birthday, the whole thing. At some point he crossed a line in a DM and she blocked him. Fine, normal breakup of a situationship that never even started.
Except then he started messaging her again from anonymous accounts. She didn’t like that at all, so she posted a screenshot of the anonymous DM (no name, no identifying info, totally anonymized) just venting about it. That apparently really got to him — he started leaving comments under that post trying to discredit her/make her look bad, then deleted them not long after like nothing happened.
Around the same time, from a different anonymous account, he left a nasty comment about her appearance on a completely unrelated post — something she’d shared that had nothing to do with him at all. Since then it’s been an ongoing pattern: new burner account, toxic comment, sometimes deleted after a while, repeat. More recently he did it again — a body-shaming comment about her face shape, and the phrasing/style was almost identical to the very first “anonymous” comment from way earlier. Same weird specific insult, different account.
We haven’t done anything illegal — just quietly tracking patterns: timing (comments always land right after she posts), tone, specific phrases he repeats. At one point I reached out privately to a couple of other girls he follows (he apparently has a type and a habit of moving on fast after rejection) just to ask if he’d tried anything similar with them. None of them said yes — but one forwarded my message straight to him.
He messaged me directly not long after with that exact screenshot, playing dumb, demanding “proof,” and threatening that what I was doing “looks like defamation” and that he’d “let the appropriate authorities handle it.” In the same conversation he half-admitted to messaging her anonymously once (“I wrote to her once anonymously, that’s it”) while denying everything else. I warned him the pattern could legally qualify as harassment/stalking on her end, not just “denial” on his.
Shortly after that exchange, he sent her ONE message from yet another anonymous account: something like “This is my only message. I know about what’s been said about me, I’ve saved screenshots of previous posts and conversations. If false claims continue to be spread about me, I will protect my rights through legal means. I don’t plan to continue this conversation.” Then radio silence.
What I actually want to know:
• Has anyone successfully proven a “rotating burner account” harasser was the same person? What specific method worked — writing style analysis, IP subpoena, honeypot stories, something else?
• Anyone had luck with the “tell different people slightly different fake details and see which version comes back” trick? Did it actually work in practice?
• If platform reports keep going nowhere because he deletes accounts before anything sticks — is there a point where police/legal routes actually take this seriously, or does “I have no proof of who’s behind the anonymous accounts” kill it before it starts?
• For those who went the confrontation route (like I accidentally did) — did warning the person ever backfire, or did it actually make them stop?
Not looking for “just block him” — new accounts keep appearing, that ship has sailed. Genuinely want to hear what worked (or spectacularly didn’t) for people who lived through something similar long-term. Thanks for reading this novel.

Upd: First of all, thank you so much for your feedback 🙏
Setting the account to private is a good option, but she wants to keep it public. So, if an anonymous account follows her, she would just block it by default, it’s not ideal but better than nothing.
I was also wondering whether Instagram, Threads, or Snapchat have any restrictions that would prevent these types of accounts from leaving comments or sending her messages.

Long story short: a guy matched with my friend online earlier this year, things got weird, she blocked him. Since then he’s been creating a steady stream of brand-new, zero-follower “anonymous” accounts to leave nasty, personal comments on her posts — timed suspiciously close to whenever she posts something new. He deletes the accounts after a while and starts fresh ones.
We’re not doing anything illegal, just quietly logging patterns: timing of comments (always right after she posts), writing style/tone, word choices — trying to build a case that it’s the same person every time. When I reached out privately to a couple of other people he follows (long story, he apparently has a “type”), he found out and started threatening defamation/legal action against me, while denying everything about the harassment.
Platform reports have gone nowhere — the throwaway accounts just get deleted before anything sticks, and new ones pop up.
What I want to know:
• Has anyone actually succeeded in getting a platform or law enforcement to connect burner/anonymous accounts back to a real person? What worked?
• Any creative “honeypot” or pattern-tracking tricks that worked for you (I’ve seen ideas like giving different contacts slightly different fake info and seeing which version comes back through the harasser — curious if that’s ever worked in practice)?
• If you went the legal route, what evidence actually held up, and what was a waste of time?
Not looking for “just block and ignore” — we’ve done that, new accounts keep appearing. Looking for what actually worked for people who’ve been through this long-term. Thanks in advance.

Device: Samsung Galaxy A02s (SM-A025F/DS) Filesystem: EXT4 (internal storage, standard Android) OS: Android 10, upgradable to Android 11 (max supported on this model) SMART data: N/A — this is phone internal storage, not a drive with SMART reporting
Problem description: Had the Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet app (~v3.10.0–v3.12.0.4) installed on this phone. I lost/forgot both the wallet’s password (app-level PIN/passphrase) and the seed phrase — I never wrote it down or backed it up anywhere so big mistake. No factory reset has been done. I’m trying to determine if the wallet’s encrypted data file, seed phrase, or password could still be recovered from unallocated/leftover storage space, either directly or by downgrading and reinstalling the old app version.
I bought a second, identical A02s unit specifically to test recovery methods on without touching the original device.
Questions:
Can data recovery tools (DroidKit, iMyFone D-Back, etc.) pull leftover files/cache from an uninstalled app on EXT4 Android storage?

Are there non-mainstream tools built for this specific scenario (recovering uninstalled wallet app data)?

Would downgrading to Android 10 and reinstalling the old Mycelium APK help “catch” residual data before it’s overwritten further?

How quickly does Android normally overwrite space freed by an uninstalled app?

Does Android 11’s file-based encryption (FBE) make this kind of recovery effectively impossible?

Any real experience with crypto wallet recovery on Android appreciated. Thanks!

The situation:

I have an old Android phone (supported version is Android 10–11) that used to have Mycelium installed (somewhere between v3.10.0 and v3.15.0.4). I’ve lost/forgotten the wallet password, and the app itself has since been uninstalled.

What I’m trying to figure out:

**1.**	How realistic is it to recover wallet access or leftover data using recovery tools (DroidKit, iMyFone D-Back, etc.)?  
**2.**	Could tools like these actually pull anything useful — leftover files, cache, a seed phrase, or even the password itself?  
**3.**	Are there any specialized (maybe not mainstream/public) tools built for this kind of recovery?  
**4.**	Would it make sense to downgrade Android to an older version (e.g. Android 10), reinstall an old Mycelium APK, and try to “catch” some leftover data before updating back?  
**5.**	How likely is it that Android has already overwritten this data through normal use?  
**6.**	Is it true that Android 11 uses full file-based encryption (FBE), and does that basically kill any chance of recovering app remnants after uninstall?  
**7.**	What’s the real practical difference between Android 10 and 11 when it comes to app data persistence/recovery after deletion?

Extra context:
I actually bought an identical phone (Samsung Galaxy A02s) specifically to experiment on without risking my main device.

Would really appreciate any technical insight, real experiences, or war stories — especially from anyone who has actually recovered (or tried to recover) access to an old crypto wallet like this. Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone,
I’m struggling with a camera choice and would really appreciate some real-world advice 🙏
I’m currently deciding between:
Fujifilm X-E5
Fujifilm X-T5
Fujifilm X-T50
Fujifilm X-T30 III
I’m planning to pair it with the Viltrox AF 27mm f/1.2 Pro. How this lens would work at any of this and 26 and 40 megapixel camera
My priorities are:
“expensive-looking” image (that cinematic / premium Fuji look)
maximum detail
very good autofocus (reliable in real situations)
ability to work as a photographer (paid work in the future)
ease of use (I don’t want to fight the camera)
Also important for me:
viewfinder quality
flash usability (built-in or external workflow)
At the same time, I don’t want to overspend if the difference isn’t really worth it.
From what I understand:
X-T5 seems like the most “pro” option (40MP, best detail?)
X-E5 looks stylish but I’m not sure if it’s practical
My main questions:
Is the X-T5 actually worth the extra money over X-T50 / X-T30 III in real-world use? XT5 has no flash and it’s 2022 release year, maybe to wait for XT6? It might release in September this year with updated all the things
How big is the difference in autofocus between these models?
Does 40MP really make a noticeable difference, or is it overkill?
Which one would YOU pick if you wanted the best value for money?
Any downsides when pairing these bodies with the Viltrox 27mm f/1.2?
I’d really appreciate opinions from people who actually used these cameras 🙌
Thanks!

Hey everyone,
I’m currently using an iPhone 17 Pro and thinking about getting a Fujifilm X-M5 mainly for travel and photography with film simulations/filters.
I’m wondering — would this actually be a meaningful upgrade in terms of image quality and overall experience? Or is the iPhone already “good enough” for most cases these days?
I really like the idea of Fujifilm colors and the shooting experience, but I’m not sure if it’s worth carrying a separate camera when the iPhone is always with me.
For those who’ve used both:
Do you notice a big difference in photo quality?
Is it worth it for travel?
Or do you find yourself just using your phone anyway?
Would love to hear your thoughts 🙏