What does a social media investigator do?

A social media investigator conducts lawful, purpose-limited research of public or client-authorized online material, compares identifiers, preserves relevant content with source context, and reports confirmed facts, possible matches, and limitations.

Can a private investigator hack or bypass a private account?

No. Alibi does not hack accounts, obtain passwords, bypass privacy settings, use stolen credentials, impersonate another person, intercept communications, or send deceptive access requests. Research is limited to public, authorized, and otherwise lawfully accessible material.

Can deleted social media content always be recovered?

No. Some material may remain in public archives, prior lawful captures, discovery, or client-controlled records, but deleted or private content is not guaranteed to be available. Alibi does not promise recovery or unauthorized access.

How is online content preserved?

Depending on the scope, relevant material may be captured with the source, URL when available, collection date, surrounding context, identifiers, screenshots or files, and notes explaining how it relates to the agreed question.

What should I provide for a social media investigation?

Provide the specific question, correct names, known usernames and profile links, photographs or identifiers, relevant dates, platforms, related organizations or locations, the intended use, deadline, and any preservation instructions from counsel.

Lawful Social Media Investigations and Online Research

Public online material can help clarify identity, relationships, timelines, business activity, location claims, or other facts—but only when it is collected lawfully and preserved with source context. Alibi Investigations conducts purpose-limited social media and open-source research for appropriate personal, legal, and business matters.

Alibi is attorney-owned and operates under Florida private investigation agency license A-3200187. Investigators do not hack accounts, bypass privacy controls, obtain passwords, impersonate another person, or promise access to deleted or private content. Call 941-208-6544 or request a confidential social-media research review.

What Social Media Research May Examine

The scope depends on the lawful objective and the identities or claims that need verification. Research may include publicly accessible profiles, posts, images, videos, usernames, business pages, professional profiles, public comments, open web pages, and other lawfully available sources.

Investigators may compare names, dates, locations, affiliations, images, posting patterns, and other identifiers to distinguish relevant material from false or unrelated matches . A screenshot alone can omit context or change over time, so reporting should record the source, URL when available, collection date, surrounding content, and material limitations.

Private and deleted content

Alibi does not defeat account security, use stolen credentials, send deceptive access requests, or claim that every deleted item can be recovered. Client-authorized access is reviewed case by case, and the client should not obtain material through impersonation, interception, or unauthorized entry.

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Process, Preservation, and Deliverables

Define the question: identify the person, organization, claim, timeline, known usernames, relevant platforms, intended use, and deadline.
Confirm lawful scope: review authorization, privacy, safety, jurisdiction, platform access, and whether counsel has preservation instructions.
Collect with context: capture relevant public or authorized material with dates, source details, and enough surrounding information to explain what was observed.
Report objectively: distinguish confirmed identifiers, possible matches, client-supplied information, inferences, and unresolved gaps.

Deliverables may include a source log, preserved screenshots or files, an investigative chronology, identity-comparison notes, and a factual written report. Testimony, affidavits, forensic acquisition, or expert opinions are separate services and are not implied by ordinary social media research.

Important limits

Online material can be false, altered, incomplete, satirical, outdated, or posted by someone else. A geotag, username, photograph, or profile statement should not be treated as conclusive without context and corroboration. Counsel and the court determine relevance, authentication, admissibility, and legal effect.

Related services: background checks, infidelity investigations, and child custody investigations.