How Monitoring Target Updates Helped Me Earn Bounties in Bug Bounty

In bug bounty, timing is often everything. One of the most underrated strategies I’ve discovered is monitoring a target’s new features before they are announced in bug bounty platforms like HackerOne (H1). This simple approach has helped me identify vulnerabilities faster than other researchers and ultimately led to successful bounty submissions.

Why Monitoring Target Updates Matters

Many companies continuously improve their products, adding new features, pages, or integrations. However, not all programs immediately communicate these updates to bug bounty hunters:

• Some programs release features publicly but wait days or even weeks before updating their scope or notifying researchers on H1.

• Some programs never officially notify researchers at all, leaving you at a disadvantage if you rely only on H1 notifications.

This gap between product release and official bug bounty announcement creates a valuable opportunity. New features are usually less battle-tested, making them prime targets for discovering bugs.

How I Got the Idea

I first realized this when I received an email from a private program on H1 announcing new features. I immediately logged in, tested the feature, and quickly found bugs. But when I submitted my report, the security team responded saying another researcher had already reported the same issue days earlier.

That confused me: the program had just emailed me about the new features. How did someone report it before the official notification? The only logical explanation was that the features were released publicly before the program announced them on H1.

That’s when it clicked: instead of waiting for H1 announcements, I should proactively monitor the target’s product updates myself.

Ways to Monitor Target Updates

After some research, I found several reliable ways to keep track of new features. Each company has its own communication style, so it’s important to figure out where your specific target publishes updates. Here are the methods I use most:

1. Release Notes – Many companies maintain detailed release notes that outline every change.

   • Example: Atlassian publishes detailed release notes for Jira and Confluence, which are often ahead of any bug bounty announcement.

2. Product Updates Page – Some companies have a dedicated “What’s New” or “Changelog” section.

   • Example: Slack maintains a product updates page that highlights new functionality.

3. Company Blog – New features are often announced through blog posts.

   • Example: Dropbox frequently introduces features first in their blog posts.

4. YouTube Channel – Companies sometimes use video demos for feature launches.

   • Example: Zoom posts walkthroughs of new updates on its official channel.

5. Beta Features – Some targets make features available in beta before announcing them publicly.

6. RSS Feeds – Subscribing to RSS feeds of blogs or changelogs can help automate monitoring.

7. Other Channels (additional ideas):

   • Press releases for enterprise features.

   • Social media announcements (LinkedIn, Twitter/X).

   • Mobile app changelogs (Google Play / App Store update notes).

Automating the Process

Manually checking each source daily can be time-consuming. Since I already had some programming experience, I created a script that:

• Monitors release notes, product updates pages, blogs, and RSS feeds.

• Sends a notification to a Discord channel whenever a new feature is detected.

This automation meant I could react immediately when something new went live.

Results

The results were clear: I started receiving Discord alerts about new features before the program mentioned them on H1. Testing these early features often led me to discover vulnerabilities before other researchers noticed them.

In fact, several of my successful reports and bounties came directly from this strategy. By being among the first to test a new feature, I dramatically increased my chances of finding impactful bugs.

Final Thoughts

If you’re serious about bug bounty, don’t just wait for H1 notifications. Proactively monitoring product updates gives you an edge over other researchers. Every target is different—some publish updates in release notes, others in blogs, others in videos or changelogs. Once you figure out where your target announces features, you can build a monitoring workflow that keeps you ahead of the game.

For me, automating this process into Discord notifications turned into a consistent source of bounties. It’s simple, effective, and one of the most overlooked strategies in bug hunting.