There are situations that make us say “It’s a small world”, like when you meet someone at an unexpected place. However, if you are looking for a long lost friend or for that one person you met at the airport, you might agree when I say that the world isn’t that small after all. Thankfully, as we all know, the web is a place where you can get most of your answers.
Before we go ahead, take a quick look at all the people search engines we have covered in this article. You can click on the link below to move to the relevant website easily. After that, go through our explainer and find out why you should use people search engines to your advantage.
Truthfinder
US Search
BeenVerified
Pipl
Spokeo
PeekYou
Intelius
Instant Checkmate
PeopleFinder
Whitepages
Facebook
LinkedIn
Quora
Truecaller
Google Search and Reverse Image Search
Why You Should Use People Search Engines
Whenever we hear the term people search engine, our mind mostly goes to finding people with whom we were connected in the past. While people finder services will help you find those people too, there are myriad of real-life scenarios where they come in handy and might even save you a ton of headache and regret in the future.
Why You Should Use People Search Engines
For example, if you own a business and work with a number of remote workers, it is always good to find out information on them before you give them important business details. You might be a college student who is looking for a flatmate to share the rent. One thing that you should make sure is that the person is trustworthy.
1. Truthfinder
Truthfinder is a people search engine that offers accurate information and its results are almost comparable to Pipl. While Pipl works across the globe, Truthfinder is a US-only website. You can search for police records of an individual, check court records, photos from social media, contact information, and much more.
More than connecting with people, Truthfinder is about background checks. For example, if you are moving to a new location then Truthfinder will be a better pick than Pipl. It uses information from Federal, State, and County data sources.
Cons
- Basic information for free users
- Takes considerable time to show results
Visit
US Search is a reputable website for finding people across the US. It has a simple UI where you just need to enter the first and last name and you will get results within a few seconds. If you want, you can provide additional information so that it can filter the results much faster. In my brief usage, the website was able to locate individuals for whom I was looking for.
Pros
Cons
BeenVerified is one of my personal favorites people search websites, thanks to its simplicity and feature-set that make it stand out against other people finder services. With BeenVerified, you can search using names, email addresses, phone numbers or location.
- US-centric
Pipl is arguably the most popular people search engine and deservedly so, considering it works in almost all the countries and offers very accurate results. The platform lets you easily get professional, social, and contact info.
While Pipl Search was available in a free tier before, that is no longer the case. Moreover, Pipl is now limited to professional users. The company also makes it clear on its website that the service is not intended for personal, non-commercial purposes.
Visit
Note: You need to create a paid account to see the results.
Spokeo is another popular people search engine that shows you details from white pages listings, public records, and social networks. You can search for people in Spokeo using name, email address, phone details or location.
So, although I was able to use the service without using any VPN, I was not able to find any of my friends as they don’t live in the US. However, I was able to find my cousin brother who does resides there. If you are searching for people in the US, this is one of the best people finder services that you can use.
PeekYou is one of the few free people search engines that bring you details around a person, based on their social media accounts, web profiles, email addresses, contact details, and other public records. It also uses its patented technology to bring you results from over 60 websites, news sources, homepages, blog platforms, and several other sources.
You can search for people using names, location, web username, or phone reverse search. While the website works best when you are searching for someone residing in the USA, it also works decently when you are doing a global search.
- Results are limited
Intelius is a people finder service that has you covered on most fronts. Be it the usual people search details, email lookup, social network search, property records, background check, criminal records, or reverse lookup. The results are great too, thanks to Intelius’ robust database.
- Reconnect with old friends
- Review property data
- Exhaustive criminal and court records
- Best for background checks
- Myriad of social tools
Instant Checkmate is a more of a public records search service but it’s still handy if you want to know about important details of a person. The US-only people search engine lets you easily check a person’s criminal records, related court documents, addresses, age, phone numbers etc.
Instant Checkmate is one powerful service and while it seems a bit overwhelming with all the details around background reports, it can be used as a people finder service too. However, you can only get the reports after you’ve bought one of the subscriptions, starting at $35.12.
If you want to reconnect with people with whom you have lost contact then PeopleFinder is a great platform that you must try. It has indexed millions of publicly available data which helps in accurately identifying an individual. On top of that, PeopleFinder uses Intelius’ backend service for a more detailed report.
10. Whitepages – Find People, Phone Numbers, Addresses, & More
Whitepages is much more than just a person finder service. It’s a great tool for users who want to get more than just social or professional information. The website brings you detailed background reports on a person that includes info like contact, addresses, properties, court & criminal records, liens & judgments, and more.
While details like phone number, address, family members, locations etc. are available for free, if you want a full background report, you will have to get the premium subscription, starting at $19.95/month.
- Best for hiring employees
- Accurate contact information
- Basic info for free users
- Global search available
Now, who is not aware of Facebook? Chances are, you are looking for people search services after you failed to find a person on Facebook. Well, there’s lot more to Facebook search than you might know of. For instance, you can search for people based on the place they work, interests, location, places they’ve been to etc., all thanks to the Graph Search feature.
If you are looking to search for people through their professional details, LinkedIn is the best option there is. The Microsoft-owned service features some great search capabilities, not everyone is aware of. You can search for specific keywords with names & location, use Boolean searches, and more.
The search page in LinkedIn also features a very handy sidebar, which lets you use filters to refine your search. So, if you are looking for a person you met at a professional meet, LinkedIn should help you find him/her with ease.
Another option worth checking out is Quora. Although Quora is originally a question-and-answer website where you can write and ask answers, you can make a quick Quora lookup to find who you’re looking for, especially if the person is interested in reading or writing. All you have to do is open Quora and search for the person’s name.
14. Truecaller – Find People Using Phone Numbers
If you got a missed call from someone and are wondering how to find them, Truecaller is your best bet. With Truecaller, you can search phone numbers to know the name of the person. For those with privacy concerns, you can learn more about how Truecaller handles privacy in our article here. You can follow our guide on completely deleting the Truecaller account if you’re not satisfied with the service or want to remove yourself from the platform.
Google Search might not really be marketed as a people search engine but it can do the job pretty well. You can search for people using names with specific keywords like location, job, interests etc.
While Facebook is the place to search for your long lost friends, I have found Twitter to be extremely useful. Since Facebook comes with a big privacy concern, many people are leaving it behind by deleting their Facebook accounts. However, you can still find them on Twitter as they don’t have to share personal information on Twitter.
If you have never used Twitter as a people finder search engine before, I urge you to give this a try. Also, check out our Twitter tips and tricks article to get the most out of this service.
Q. What are Some Totally Free People Search Sites?
As we went through the article, it’s clear that not many services offer detailed reports for free. That said, I think you can use Pipl for free, but it’s limited to 5 searches. Apart from that, PeopleFinder is also pretty good for basic yet informative results.
I would say Pipl and PeopleFinder are a few websites that allow you to find a person for free albeit in a limited manner.
People Search Engines are one of the easiest ways to search for a person. We have mentioned many websites above so go through that and find your preferred website.
Q. What is The Best Website to Find Someone’s Address?
In my experience, PeopleFinder was able to show recent and past addresses of an individual without paying any charge so you should try that out.
As we went through the article, it’s clear that not many services offer detailed reports for free. That said, I think you can use Truthfinder for free to search people by name. Apart from that, PeopleFinder is also pretty good for basic yet informative results.
I would say Truthfinder and PeopleFinder are a few websites that allow you to find a person for free albeit in a limited manner.