AI Tool Can Profile YouTube Users in Seconds, Raising Legal Alarms
An obscure OSINT service called Lolarchiver now offers instant profiling of YouTube commenters, drawing serious concerns over data privacy, digital ethics, and global legal compliance.
YouTube Comments Used to Trace Users’ Identities
A little-known open-source intelligence (OSINT) tool is making headlines for its unsettling ability to track and profile YouTube users using nothing more than their comment history.
The service, known as “YouTube Tools” and developed by the pseudonymous coder Lolarchiver, allows users to run automated checks on any commenter. It reportedly infers data such as geographic location, political leanings, and more—all generated within seconds.
A report by 404 Media revealed that the tool successfully pegged a user’s location as Italy based on their use of Italian and references to local TV shows.
AI Is Changing the OSINT Game—But Not for the Better
While OSINT traditionally involves manually sifting through public data, this AI-driven approach drastically reduces the time and effort needed to build a digital profile. A task that once took hours of tedious research now takes a single click.
“YouTube Tools” is just one of several offerings from Lolarchiver. Others include tools for:
Twitch
Kick
League of Legends
nHentai
Email and phone reverse lookup
Searches across leaked databases and X (formerly Twitter)
Legal experts warn that many of these services likely violate the terms of service of the platforms they target—and may breach data protection laws in regions like the EU and United States.
Possible Violations of YouTube and Global Privacy Laws
YouTube prohibits unauthorized data scraping, except in accordance with its robots.txt file—a rule the service likely disregards.
Legal risks don’t end there. Searching leaked databases for third-party information without lawful justification could breach the European Union’s GDPR and U.S. state privacy laws.
Depending on the jurisdiction, if user credentials are involved, criminal charges could arise. Lolarchiver’s administrator is believed to be operating from Europe, where data processing rules are among the strictest globally.
Legacy Data Breaches Feed the System
The increasing reach of tools like Lolarchiver stems from a troubling digital reality: data from past breaches never truly dies.
Personal information, collected from crypto platform KYC forms or newsletter subscriptions, often ends up in massive leaks. These databases are later resold or reused by OSINT tools.
A well-known example in the crypto world is the Ledger hardware wallet breach, which exposed data from over 270,000 customers. The article’s author, impacted by the breach, says they still receive daily scam emails years later.
More recently, Coinbase suffered a breach that compromised:
Account balances
ID images
Phone numbers
Addresses
Partial bank information
The Real-World Cost of Digital Exposure
The risk isn’t just digital. As cryptocurrency gains value, users tied to large holdings have become targets of violent theft—a threat known as the “$5 wrench attack.”
Illustration of a $5 wrench attack. Source: XKCD
A growing list of physical robberies connected to crypto holdings includes 29 reported cases in 2025 alone, not counting those that went unreported.
These attacks raise deeper questions about the safety of KYC protocols and the unintended consequences of digital surveillance.
A Future of Surveillance Without Consent?
With tools like “YouTube Tools,” the line between public data and personal exposure continues to blur. In just seconds, a user’s comment history can be mined for political views, habits, and even geographic footprints, often without their knowledge or consent.
As OSINT becomes more accessible and AI automates invasive analysis, the public faces a growing threat: anyone can become a target—and they may never see it coming.
Rhapsody of Realities is a life guide that brings you a fresh perspective from God’s Word every day. It features the day’s topic, a theme scripture, the day’s message, the daily confession and the Bible reading plan segment. It is God's Love Letter to You!
