Username Checker — Find Profiles Across 460+ Platforms

Username Checker is the most comprehensive username lookup tool on Apify. Enter any username and instantly see where it is registered across 460+ social media, developer, gaming, music, video, and creative platforms — with direct profile links, platform categories, and availability status.

Powered by the same platform database as the popular open-source Sherlock project, but delivered as a fully managed, no-install cloud API with batch processing, JSON/CSV/Excel export, and Zapier/Make integrations.

What does Username Checker do?

Username Checker scans 460+ social media and web platforms in seconds to tell you exactly where a username is registered. Enter any username and get a full report showing which platforms have a matching profile, complete with direct links, platform categories, and availability status.

The actor sends lightweight HTTP requests to each platform's profile URL and checks whether the profile exists. No browser automation, no headless Chrome, no Puppeteer — just fast, reliable HTTP checks that run on 256 MB of memory and finish in under a minute.

Use it to audit your own online presence, investigate a brand name before registering it, research someone's digital footprint, or verify that your desired handle is available everywhere you want it.

Who is it for?

🔎 OSINT researchers — Map a person's digital footprint across 460+ platforms in a single API call. Feed results into investigation pipelines or link analysis tools. Works like Sherlock username checker but with no local install required.

🏢 Brand managers — Check if your company or product name is already taken on major platforms before launching. Identify squatters and impersonators.

🎨 Content creators — Secure a consistent username across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, and 456 other platforms before someone else grabs it.

🛡️ Cybersecurity professionals — Detect fake accounts, monitor brand impersonation, and enumerate user presence across services during security assessments.

📊 Marketing agencies — Run username audits for clients. Export results to spreadsheets or feed them into dashboards via the API.

👤 Anyone picking a new username — Before you commit to a handle, find out where it is already taken and where it is still available.

Why use this checker?

	Manual checking	Username Checker
⏱️ Speed	30–60 minutes per username	Under 60 seconds per username
🌐 Coverage	10–15 platforms you remember	460+ platforms, every time
📋 Output	Notes in a spreadsheet	Structured JSON with direct profile links
🔄 Automation	Copy-paste in browser tabs	API, webhooks, scheduled runs
💰 Cost	Your time	$0.005 per username checked
🔗 Integrations	None	Zapier, Make, Google Sheets, Slack, 1000+ apps
📈 Scalability	One at a time	Batch check up to 100 usernames per run
🔧 Setup	Install Python + Sherlock locally	Zero install — runs in the cloud

Platforms checked

Username Checker covers 460+ platforms across 9 categories:

📱 Social (50+ platforms)

Twitter/X, Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Mastodon, Threads, VK, Signal, Telegram, Gravatar, About.me, Linktree, AllMyLinks, Bluesky, Clubhouse, Disqus, Kik, Facebook, Quora, Minds, Mewe, Parler, Gab, Diaspora, Ello, MeWe, and more

💻 Development (80+ platforms)

GitHub, GitLab, BitBucket, HackerOne, Replit, CodePen, npm, PyPI, Docker Hub, HackerRank, LeetCode, Kaggle, Codeforces, DEV Community, Hashnode, Medium, Apple Developer, Asciinema, Codecademy, SourceForge, Stack Overflow, Exercism, Codeberg, Launchpad, and many more

🎨 Creative (60+ platforms)

DeviantArt, Behance, Dribbble, ArtStation, Flickr, Unsplash, VSCO, Wattpad, Archive of Our Own, Imgur, Giphy, Audiojungle, Issuu, 500px, SmugMug, Artfight, Cara, Cohost, and more

🎮 Gaming (50+ platforms)

Steam Community, Xbox Gamertag, Roblox, Minecraft, Lichess, Chess.com, Itch.io, Kongregate, Speedrun, Twitch, Faceit, Tracker.gg, Battlefield, and more

🎵 Music (20+ platforms)

Spotify, SoundCloud, Last.fm, Bandcamp, Genius, Mixcloud, Audiomack, Beatport, and more

📹 Video (15+ platforms)

YouTube, Twitch, Vimeo, DailyMotion, Rumble, Kick, Odysee, PeerTube, and more

💼 Business (30+ platforms)

Freelancer, HubPages, Product Hunt, Gumroad, BuyMeACoffee, Patreon, SlideShare, Redbubble, Fiverr, Ko-fi, and more

📰 News & Blogging (20+ platforms)

Hacker News, Slashdot, WordPress, Blogger, BuzzFeed, Flipboard, Substack, Ghost, and more

🔧 Other (100+ platforms)

Duolingo, Goodreads, Strava, MyAnimeList, Letterboxd, Trello, Instructables, Anilist, Apple Discussions, OpenStreetMap, Wikipedia, Scribd, Keybase, and 90+ more niche platforms

Data you get

Every result row contains the following fields:

Field	Type	Description
username	String	The username that was checked
platform	String	Name of the platform (e.g., "GitHub", "Twitter")
category	String	Platform category: Social, Development, Creative, Gaming, Music, Video, Business, News, or Other
url	String	Direct link to the profile page
found	Boolean	true if the username exists on this platform, false if available

Results include all 460+ platforms for each username, so you can see both where the username is taken and where it is still available.

How much does it cost to check usernames?

Username Checker uses pay-per-event pricing on Apify:

Event	Price
🏁 Actor start	$0.005 (one-time per run)
✅ Username checked	$0.005 per username

Cost examples

Scenario	Usernames	Cost
Quick check for one handle	1	$0.01
Compare 5 username ideas	5	$0.03
Audit 10 accounts	10	$0.055
Brand monitoring batch of 25	25	$0.13
Large-scale OSINT sweep of 50	50	$0.255
Maximum batch of 100 usernames	100	$0.505

Each username is checked across all 460+ platforms. The $0.005 per-username fee covers all platform checks for that username — there is no additional per-platform charge.

💡 New Apify users get $5 in free credits — enough to check ~990 usernames.

How to use

1. 🔗 Go to Username Checker on Apify Store
2. ✏️ Enter one or more usernames in the Usernames field (no @ symbol needed)
3. ⚙️ Optionally set Max Usernames to limit how many are checked
4. ▶️ Click Start to run the actor
5. 📊 View results in the Dataset tab — use the "Found Profiles" view to see only confirmed matches
6. ⬇️ Export results as JSON, CSV, Excel, or XML
7. 🔗 Click any profile URL in the results to visit the profile directly

Input parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
usernames	String array	Yes	—	List of usernames to check. Plain usernames only — no @ symbol, no URLs.
maxUsernames	Integer	No	10	Maximum number of usernames to process from the list. Range: 1–100.

Example input

{
    "usernames": ["johndoe", "janedoe", "elonmusk"],
    "maxUsernames": 10
}

Output example

[
    {
        "username": "johndoe",
        "platform": "GitHub",
        "category": "Development",
        "url": "https://www.github.com/johndoe",
        "found": true
    },
    {
        "username": "johndoe",
        "platform": "Twitter",
        "category": "Social",
        "url": "https://x.com/johndoe",
        "found": true
    },
    {
        "username": "johndoe",
        "platform": "Instagram",
        "category": "Social",
        "url": "https://instagram.com/johndoe",
        "found": false
    },
    {
        "username": "johndoe",
        "platform": "Reddit",
        "category": "Social",
        "url": "https://www.reddit.com/user/johndoe",
        "found": true
    },
    {
        "username": "johndoe",
        "platform": "Steam Community (User)",
        "category": "Gaming",
        "url": "https://steamcommunity.com/id/johndoe/",
        "found": false
    }
]

Each run produces up to 100 * number_of_usernames result rows (one row per platform per username).

Tips for best results

🔤 Use plain usernames — Enter johndoe, not @johndoe or https://twitter.com/johndoe. The actor builds the correct URL for each platform automatically.

📝 Check variations — If your preferred username is taken, try variations in the same run: johndoe, john_doe, johndoe_, thejohndoe.

📦 Batch similar checks — Checking 10 usernames in one run is cheaper than 10 separate single-username runs (you save $0.09 on start fees).

⚡ Keep batches reasonable — The actor processes usernames sequentially. A batch of 100 usernames takes longer than a batch of 10. Use maxUsernames to cap large lists.

🔍 Filter results — Use the "Found Profiles" dataset view in Apify Console to see only platforms where the username exists, or the "All Results" view for the complete picture.

Integrations

Connect Username Checker to your existing tools and workflows:

🔗 Zapier — Trigger username checks when a new row is added to Google Sheets, then write results back automatically.

🔗 Make (Integromat) — Build multi-step workflows that check usernames, filter results, and send alerts to Slack or email.

🔗 Google Sheets — Export results directly to a spreadsheet for easy sharing and analysis.

🔗 Slack / Discord — Get notified when a username is found on specific platforms.

🔗 Webhooks — Receive results via HTTP webhook as soon as the run finishes.

🔗 REST API — Call the actor programmatically from any language or platform.

Learn more about integrations in the Apify integrations documentation.

API access

Call Username Checker programmatically using the Apify API. Here are examples in popular languages:

Node.js

import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

const client = new ApifyClient({ token: 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' });

const run = await client.actor('automation-lab/username-checker').call({
    usernames: ['johndoe', 'janedoe'],
    maxUsernames: 10,
});

const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();

// Filter to found profiles only
const found = items.filter((item) => item.found);
console.log(`Found ${found.length} profiles across ${new Set(found.map((i) => i.platform)).size} platforms`);

Python

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient('YOUR_API_TOKEN')

run = client.actor('automation-lab/username-checker').call(run_input={
    'usernames': ['johndoe', 'janedoe'],
    'maxUsernames': 10,
})

items = list(client.dataset(run['defaultDatasetId']).iterate_items())

found = [item for item in items if item['found']]
print(f"Found {len(found)} profiles")

cURL

# Start the actor and wait for it to finish
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/automation-lab~username-checker/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "usernames": ["johndoe"],
    "maxUsernames": 10
  }'

Get your API token from Apify Console Settings.

MCP integration

Use Username Checker as a tool inside AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Claude Code

Add this to your Claude Code MCP configuration:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["-y", "@anthropic-ai/mcp-apify", "--actors", "automation-lab/username-checker"],
            "env": {
                "APIFY_TOKEN": "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
            }
        }
    }
}

Claude Desktop

Add this to your Claude Desktop configuration file (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com",
            "headers": {
                "Authorization": "Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN"
            }
        }
    }
}

Once connected, Claude can check usernames for you directly in conversation. Just ask something like: "Check if the username techguru is available across social media."

Is it legal?

✅ Yes. Username Checker only accesses publicly available profile pages — the same pages any person can visit in a web browser. It does not bypass any login walls, CAPTCHAs, or access controls. It does not scrape private data, personal information, or protected content.

The actor checks whether a profile URL returns a valid page or a "not found" response. This is functionally identical to typing a URL into your browser's address bar.

Key points:

📌 No authentication is used or bypassed on any platform.

📌 No private or protected data is accessed.

📌 No rate-limiting mechanisms are circumvented.

📌 Results contain only the username, platform name, profile URL, and existence status — no personal data is extracted from profiles.

Always ensure your use case complies with applicable laws in your jurisdiction and the terms of service of individual platforms.

Legality

This tool analyzes publicly accessible web content. Automated analysis of public web resources is standard practice in SEO and web development. Always respect robots.txt directives and rate limits when analyzing third-party websites. For personal data processing, ensure compliance with applicable privacy regulations.

FAQ

How long does a run take? A single username typically completes in 30–60 seconds. Checking 10 usernames takes roughly 5–10 minutes. The actor runs checks concurrently to keep execution times short.

Why does the actor show 460+ platforms but I see fewer results? You should see 460+ results per username — one for each platform. If a platform is temporarily down, it may be marked as found: false. Check the "All Results" view to see the complete list.

Can I check if a username is available (not taken)? Yes. Look for results where found is false — those are platforms where the username is available. Use the dataset filter or export to CSV and sort by the found column.

Does it work with usernames that contain special characters? The actor passes usernames as-is to each platform's URL template. Most platforms support letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens. Spaces and special characters like @, #, or ! may produce unreliable results because most platforms do not allow them in usernames.

Can I schedule recurring checks? Yes. Use Apify Schedules to run the actor on any interval — hourly, daily, weekly. Combine with webhooks to get notified of changes.

What happens if a platform is temporarily down? If a platform returns an error (timeout, 5xx response), the actor may report found: false for that platform. Re-run the check later if you suspect a false negative.

How do I export results? In Apify Console, go to the run's Dataset tab and click the export button. Supported formats: JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), XML, and RSS. You can also fetch results programmatically via the API.

Is there a limit on how many usernames I can check? Each run supports up to 100 usernames (controlled by the maxUsernames parameter). For larger volumes, run the actor multiple times or use the Apify API to start multiple concurrent runs.

Why is a username showing as "found" when the profile does not exist? Some platforms return a 200 OK status for non-existent profiles (redirecting to a search page or showing a generic page). The actor handles this with response-body checks where possible, but edge cases may produce false positives. If you notice a consistent false positive, please report it.

Can I check only specific platforms? The current version checks all 460+ platforms for every username. Platform filtering may be added in a future version. You can filter the output after the run using the dataset API's fields and filter parameters.

Username Checker vs Sherlock

Sherlock is a popular open-source command-line tool for hunting down social media accounts by username. Username Checker is built on the same platform database but runs in the cloud with no installation required.

	Sherlock (open-source)	Username Checker (this actor)
🔧 Setup	Python install, pip, CLI	Zero install — just click Run
☁️ Runs on	Your local machine	Apify cloud
📤 Export	Terminal output / CSV	JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, API
🔗 Automation	Shell scripts	Apify API, Zapier, Make, webhooks
📦 Batch input	One username at a time	Up to 100 usernames per run
🔔 Alerts	None	Webhooks, scheduled runs
🌐 Platform count	~400	460+

Use Username Checker when you want Sherlock's power without the local setup overhead, or when you need API access, batch processing, or integrations.

Related tools

🔗 Username Checker — This actor

🔗 Sherlock (open-source) — The Python CLI this actor is inspired by

Explore more actors from automation-lab on the Apify Store.