Cool Dude Explains - 10 Secret Websites They Don't Want You To Find

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Use ten free, publicly accessible websites that reveal information many people assume is hidden, such as live emergency radio, exposed internet devices, data broker records, and corporate ownership data. The video frames each as "secret," but all of them rely on public information or legal, opt-in services. Its list also includes a correction: Fakespot, a review-checking tool, shut down in July 2025.

Key Points

• The 10 promised websites, in countdown order:
  1. Broadcastify – live streams of police, fire, and EMS radio scanners
  2. WebSDR – browser-controlled software-defined radios worldwide, including shortwave and satellite signals
  3. Censys – an internet scanner that indexes exposed devices, servers, and open ports
  4. Have I Been Sold – checks which data brokers hold your personal information and links to opt-out pages
  5. Privacy.com – generates virtual credit cards linked to your bank account
  6. Temporary SMS services (e.g., Receive SMS Online) – free disposable phone numbers for receiving verification texts
  7. CamelCamelCamel – tracks Amazon price history and sends drop alerts
  8. Review detective tools (ReviewMeta and Keepa) – help assess whether Amazon reviews are genuine
  9. DocumentCloud – a repository of source documents used by journalists
  10. OpenCorporates – the largest open database of companies, with directors, shareholders, and filings
• Several entries are free to use, though the video notes Privacy.com charges a 3% fee on foreign transactions and DocumentCloud is developing a paid model for sustainability, but the video says there will always be a free tier, especially for verified journalism organizations.
• The video stresses that these tools use public data and legal access, not hacking.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: For Have I Been Sold, enter your name and email, review the list of brokers, and use the provided links to opt out of each one. For Privacy.com, create a card for a single merchant, set a spending limit, or set it to expire after one use for free trials. For CamelCamelCamel, paste a product link, review the price graph, and set a price alert. For ReviewMeta or Keepa, check a product's reviews before buying. For Broadcastify, tune in to a local police or fire feed. For Censys, search for specific device types such as webcams or routers, and use the results to learn rather than exploit. For OpenCorporates, search for a company to see its directors, shareholders, and filings. For temporary SMS services, use a number for throwaway signups only, since some numbers are blocked by major platforms.
• Privacy.com is free for up to 12 domestic-transaction cards a month, with a 3% fee on foreign transactions.
• Fakespot was shut down in July 2025 after Mozilla acquired and discontinued it; the video presents this as an update to its entry.
• OpenCorporates covers over 200 million companies from more than 140 jurisdictions.
• The video's own cautions: temporary SMS numbers can be unreliable, and use of Censys should be responsible.
• Keepa is primarily a price tracker that also displays review history, which can reveal sudden bursts of five-star reviews.

Bottom Line

Most of these tools expose information that already exists in public records, broadcasts, or databases; their value lies in knowing they exist and using them deliberately.