With the rise in social media usage, digital privacy has become a major concern. Platforms like Facebook store a large amount of user data—sometimes publicly visible, sometimes not. Tools like “FBI” (Facebook Information Gathering) have emerged, claiming to collect detailed user information.
This blog is meant to educate ethical hackers, cybersecurity learners, and privacy-conscious users about what such tools do, the risks involved, and how to stay safe.
⚠️ Disclaimer: This blog is strictly for educational purposes. Unauthorized use of tools to extract or misuse private user data without explicit consent is illegal and violates privacy laws (IT Act, GDPR, etc.).
🧠 What Is the “FBI” Tool?
“FBI” is a Python-based information-gathering tool available on GitHub. It claims to retrieve public and some semi-private information from Facebook user profiles using publicly available data and tokens.
📦 How It Works (For Ethical Researchers):
bashCopyEditapt update && apt upgrade
apt install git python2
git clone https://github.com/xHak9x/fbi.git
cd fbi
pip2 install -r requirements.txt
python2 fbi.py
Once installed, users can:
- Use
token
to log in (ideally via a test account only) - Use
get_info
with a Facebook user ID to see public data
💡 Note: The tool relies on Facebook’s Graph API, and many of its claims are exaggerated or outdated due to Facebook’s API changes and tightened privacy.
📵 The Myth vs. Reality
Some tools claim they can bypass “Only Me” privacy settings. That’s not true in most cases. Facebook now has strict rate limits, access restrictions, and API protections. Most of these tools work only if:
- The user has public content
- The tool is using a token from an authenticated account
- Facebook hasn’t blacklisted the script (which it often does)
🔐 How to Protect Your Facebook Data
- Set profile privacy to “Friends” or “Only Me”
- Turn on 2-Factor Authentication
- Review App Permissions regularly
- Avoid public sharing of:
- Birthdate
- Contact details
- Relationship status
- Monitor login activity from your Facebook Settings
✅ Use Ethical Alternatives
If you’re genuinely interested in cybersecurity, here’s what to explore instead:
- Facebook’s Bug Bounty Program (get paid legally to find real bugs)
- Use OSINT (Open-Source Intelligence) for legal investigation practice
- Learn API testing with legitimate tokens and scopes
- Join platforms like TryHackMe and Hack The Box
🙏 Final Thoughts
Tools like “FBI” may tempt beginners, but real hackers don’t rely on shortcuts—they understand systems, break them ethically, and help fix them. Always ensure your actions are within legal boundaries, respect user privacy, and never act without permission.
🧠 Be curious. Be ethical. Be professional.
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