How to Find Someone Online
How can I find someone online? Where do I start?
We know that searching for someone online can be challenging, as many people have similar names, you may not know where they live, and there are so many tools online that it can be overwhelming to figure out where to start.
A great place to begin is to figure out what you do know about the person. Using as many data points as possible makes it much easier to verify that the person you’ve found on a site is truly who you’re looking for. Having only a first and last name can be challenging considering many people share the same name. We suggest using two to three data points to get started (e.g. first name, last name, city, schools attended, age, birthday, previous employment). You will be surprised that minor pieces of information will help weed out who you’re looking for.
What tools can I use to find someone online?
While it may seem easy to simply Google someone’s name to see what comes up, we suggest using other sites first. Google’s results will likely be confusing, showing many people with the same name.
We suggest using social media sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, where you can see additional information about a person. These sites include their hometown, birthday, mutual friends, as well as potential pictures of themselves. These points will help you confirm you’ve found the correct person.
Whitepages.com is another great resource to look up the person by name and then verify that they are who you’re looking for through other data points including current address, previous addresses, and relatives and associates. On Whitepages, you’ll also find their contact information like landline phone numbers.
How can I ensure that I find the correct person I’m looking for?
We always recommend cross-referencing profiles and information on multiple sources. Whitepages Person Search is a great starting point if you know the individual’s name. Social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn have profile pictures and features that show mutual friends you are connected with.
Each site provides information on an individual that may not be included on other sites. By cross referencing profiles on multiple sites, you create a broader profile of who someone is. You also confirm these are truly their profiles.
Now that I’ve found who I’m looking for, how can I learn more information about them?
Once you’ve found who you’re looking for, a Whitepages subscription option can provide information about the individual that you won’t be able to readily find on the sites we mentioned earlier. There are also more detailed SmartCheck reports available that can include mobile phone numbers, more robust historical data, arrest records, and driving records.
