Called Searcher, a search engine allows you to consult the personal data of millions of French people in just a few seconds. Simply enter a name into the system to get a long list of sensitive information. Free while it builds the buzz, the service is 100% illegal under French law and the GDPR. The case has also been taken to court.
At the beginning of June 2026, a search engine called “Searcher” appeared on the Internet. The engine only indexes personal data belonging to French people. Revealed to the general public by the “True or False” unit of Franceinfowhich was alerted by students at a college in Essonne, the platform allows you to search for compromised identity cards.
In practice, all you have to do is type a name to bring up a complete identity file, including first name, last name, date and place of birth, postal address, email address, telephone number, passport number, IBAN, Social Security number, vehicle registration plate, certain medical appointments and even the number of children in a family. In this ocean of information, we also find data on public figures and civil servants who work in government. In short, it is a gold mine for malicious individuals.
Also read: The data of 550,000 French people was stolen from a government site, the black series continues
135 sources and 1.2 billion pieces of personal data
The search engine is based on the numerous data leaks that have occurred in France in recent years. Dozens of companies and state services have in fact been hacked by different groups of hackers. Over the course of these cyberattacks, the data of tens of thousands of people ended up on the dark web. On the project’s Discord server, administrators say they rely on 135 sources different data, described as “administrative platforms, service operators and other structures accessible to the public”. In total, these are 1.2 billion pieces of personal information which circulate on this platform.
The site was accessible through a subscription. To try to make themselves known, the creators of the search engine have open access to the platform for free for a short period. Victim of its success, the platform was forced to close its “public site sooner than expected”. The project “grew too big and some jealous people who were interested in things that did not concern them did everything to try to close the site and cause us problems”explain the administrators on Discord.
The creators therefore entirely cut off on Discordthrough a paid offer made up of four different subscriptions, namely €19.99 per week, €39.99 per month, €99.99 for 3 months, and €249.99 for life. The administrators, including a young 18-year-old developer operating under the pseudonym “Zalko”, seek to monetize the data they aggregate.
A 100% illegal platform
Obviously, the search engine is 100% illegal. By aggregating compromised data for commercial purposes, the Searcher team is guilty of data concealment. Under French law, the concealment of data (from leaks or theft) constitutes a criminal offense, punishable by 5 to 10 years in prison, and a fine of several hundred thousand euros.
The creators of Searcher try to clear themselves by arguing that they are only referencing information “already exposed on the internet”like a traditional search engine. They recall in their general conditions that “the user is solely responsible for the use he makes of it”. Despite their protests, their activities fall within the scope of concealment of personal data. French law describes concealment as the act of “to conceal, hold or transmit a thing, or to act as an intermediary” knowing that this property comes from a crime or misdemeanor. This is obviously the case for Searcher administrators. Even if the main author of the theft or escape is not identified or prosecuted, the receiver can be convicted independently, underlines French law.
Unsurprisingly, the search engine therefore attracted the attention of the French authorities. The National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) recalls that services of this ilk are not not legalcar “they work by compiling data from data breaches”. It doesn’t matter whether the data is technically “public” somewhere. Their aggregation and making available in the form of an engine also constitutes a flagrant violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), in force since 2018 in Europe.
Searcher, a case that is far from isolated
French justice has also been contacted on several occasions regarding platforms similar to Searcher, referred to under the name “lookups”. In the middle of June 2026, the Minister for Digital Affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, reported one of these sites to the courts on June 12, while the Renaissance deputy Eric Bothorel denounced three others, recalling that “receiving stolen data is a crime”.
Yesterday I took legal action against 3 sites which compile data leaks and make them public.
In other similar cases, several people have already been referred. It must be said forcefully again: concealment of stolen data is a crime.
thank you @Projet_Arcadie #Lookup pic.twitter.com/TUMox25tLD— Éric Bothorel #FluctuatNecMergitur (@ebothorel) June 13, 2026
In the sights of justice, Searcher has just been restricted by Discordfor violation of its regulations. At the moment it is no longer possible to join the Discord server. It has more than 430 members at the time of writing this article.
What to do if your data is referenced in Searcher?
Despite the illegality of his functions, Searcher says he is ready to delete data from its repository. Victims can contact the Searcher team via Discord to request the deletion of their data. The deletion will then be carried out within 29 days. Obviously, this process can’t do anything if your information has already been viewed beforehand by Searcher users. Once personal data is exposed on the internet, it is virtually impossible to completely erase it.
At the time of writing, Searcher’s site is still online, as is its server on Discord. However, it is not possible to join the server.
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