API-Based Collection
Definition
Acquisition via the platform's official API: X v2 API, Meta Graph API, LinkedIn API. Requires a developer account, often paid tiers, and platform-side terms of service that constrain forensic use.
- Method
- Acquisition through a platform's official API
- Examples
- X v2 API, Meta Graph API, LinkedIn API
- Access requirement
- Developer account, often a paid tier
- Constraint
- Bound by platform terms of service that limit forensic use
Common questions
Why do platform terms of service matter for API-based evidence collection?+
Most platforms restrict how retrieved data can be stored, redistributed, or used for purposes such as litigation, so an investigator relying solely on API access can face contractual limits on preserving or presenting that evidence even after lawfully collecting it.
How does API-based collection compare to direct or indirect collection methods for completeness?+
An API typically returns only what the platform's endpoint exposes, which can be a filtered subset of what a direct screen capture or account export would show, so investigators often combine methods rather than relying on API access alone for a full record.
Related terms
- Direct Collection (With Login)
- Acquisition using the subject's account credentials or a session cookie lifted from a seized device. Requires legal authorisation under BNSS Section 91...
- Direct Collection (Without Login)
- Acquisition of a target's public profile content using no credentials. The page is served to anyone. Limited to whatever the privacy settings...
- Hunchly
- Browser-based case-management tool for OSINT. Captures every page visited as a hashed snapshot, builds the case dossier and produces a court-ready report....
- Indirect Collection
- Deriving evidence from interconnected accounts (mutual friends, tagged content, common groups) rather than the target's own profile. Powerful when the target's account...
- OSINT
- Open-Source Intelligence. Investigation using publicly available sources: social media, satellite imagery, news archives, public databases. In deepfake casework, OSINT corroborates or contradicts...