Whether you’re looking for an old friend, trying to find a lost relative, or doing a background check on someone, there are many reasons why you might need to conduct a people search.
Luckily, the web is home to a number of free people search engines that can help you find someone by name, phone number, address, email, social media profile, and more. You can use platforms like People Finder Free, True People Search, and Zabasearch. Though the best free people search website is Whitepages. It has the largest database of US residents.
The best part of using these websites is that many of them are absolutely free to use.
Besides finding contact information, some of these people search sites can also provide background information on the person you’re looking for. This can be helpful if you’re trying to find out more about someone before doing business with them or going on a date.
People search engines also help you see if the person of interest has any social media accounts, criminal records, etc.
Let’s dig into these websites to find out more.
Best Free People Search Websites
1. Whitepages
When it comes to people search websites, Whitepages is one of the most popular and well-known. It has been around since 1997 and contains over 250 million US records.
Whitepages provides several ways to search for people, including by name, phone number, address, and email.
You can also use it to do a reverse phone lookup or reverse address lookup. Results include the person’s name, age, current and past addresses, phone numbers, relatives, and associates.
There is also a paid premium service that gives you access to additional features, such as background checks, public records, and contact information for hard-to-find people.
The interface is clean and easy to use, and you can hit the ground running as soon as you land on the homepage.
You simply have to enter the name of the person you’re looking for and then hit the “Search” button. Then, Whitepages will provide you with a list of possible matches.
Check out the alternatives you can try in place of Whitepages.
2. Intelius
Intelius is another one of the most popular search engines on the internet. You can use it to find someone by name, email address, phone number, or physical address. The site also offers reverse phone lookup and reverse address lookup services.
Like Whitepages, it is free to use Intelius to find someone’s contact information. However, you will have to sign up for a free account to view the full results of your people search.
It provides updated data from public records and other sources. You only need to type the name of the person you are looking for to get results.
You can use reverse lookup if you have the phone number of the person and want to know his/her name and address.
To get a faster result, search with the name of the person and the location.
The website would also let you know if your data is on the dark web. This is a part of the internet that is not indexed by search engines.
3. Family Tree Now
If you’re looking for a people search engine that can help you find someone by name, phone number, address, email, social media profile, and more, then Family Tree Now is a great option.
It’s free to use and easy to navigate, so you can quickly find the information you need.
The website attracts more than 50 million unique visitors per month, so you’re likely to find the person you’re looking for. You can also use Family Tree Now to find out more about your family history and build your family tree.
It has very flexible search options and you can use it to find people by name, address, phone number, email, etc.
One of the most unique things about the site is that you don’t need to sign up for an account to use it. You can just start searching for someone right away.
Once you hit the search button, you’ll be taken to a results page where you can see all the information that’s available on that person.
It even takes it a bit further by providing links to public records, so you can find out even more about someone if you need to.
4. People Finder Free
Another great website for finding people is People Finder Free. You can find people by name, address, and phone number.
It is one of the most popular people search websites in the US and has a very user-friendly interface.
The website also has a reverse phone lookup feature that lets you find out who owns a particular phone number, so if you don’t have a name but have a phone number, this website can still be useful.
Users can also find public records such as property records, court records, and criminal records.
Sometimes, you may not want to see all the information that is available about a person.
In this case, you can narrow your search to only show results from a certain state or city. This is helpful if you are only looking for someone in a particular area.
You can also search for people by their email address, which can be useful if you only have an email address but no other information.
Also Read: Best Search Engines Other Than Google
5. True People Search
True People Search is one of the best free people search websites that offer a very user-friendly platform.
You just need to enter the name of the person you are searching for and the site will run a quick search.
The results show up in a matter of seconds and you can find all sorts of information about the person including their current address, phone number, email address, and social media profiles.
Not only is the site completely free, but the results that it shows are also very accurate and detailed.
It literally provides a full background check on the person without charging anything.
The best part is that the website does not prompt you to create an account in order to view the results.
Without any form of registration, you can find all the information you need about someone in just a few clicks.
Like a lot of websites on this list, you can still find a person on True People Search if you only have the phone number of the person.
Also Read: Yellow Pages vs White Pages
6. Zabasearch
Zabasearch is a free people search website that offers public records, reverse phone number lookup, and address lookup services.
The website has a database of over three billion people and can be used to find information on anyone in the United States.
It provides the full details of a person as well as their criminal history if any. You will also get information on where they live and who the members of their families are.
You can trust that the information provided by Zabasearch is accurate and up to date as they regularly update their database.
Zaba’s interface is user-friendly and easy to use. Plus the website is improved on a regular basis to make sure that users have the best experience possible.
It is commonly used to find people who are in the habit of making fake calls. You simply need to add the phone numbers to your search and Zaba will give you the identity of the caller.
7. PeekYou
As the name suggests, PeekYou is a people search engine that lets you find people by their name, username, or email address.
It aggregates information from over 60 social networking sites and other public sources of information to provide you with as much data as possible on the person you’re looking for.
The website has been known to be used by employers who want to know more about a potential employee, or by people who want to find long-lost friends or family members.
Its reverse email search function is particularly useful for finding out more about the owner of an email address.
You can also use the phone number search to find out who owns a phone number, although this feature is only available in the US.
PeekYou doesn’t require you to create an account, although you will need to provide an email address to use some of its features, such as downloading a person’s contact information.
The website also doesn’t run a background check on you when you do your own check on others, so you don’t have to worry about your own information being shared without your consent.
8. TruthFinder
TruthFinder is one of the best people search websites out there. It offers a comprehensive database of public records that can help you find anyone, anywhere. You can search for people by name, phone number, address, and more.
TruthFinder is only available for use in the US and it gives you access to a wealth of public records, including phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, social media profiles, criminal records, arrest records, and more.
It is the ultimate tool to carry out background checks and find people online.
If you are moving to a new neighborhood and want to find out more about your neighbors, TruthFinder is the perfect tool for you. It will use information from public records to give you an in-depth report about the people you are searching for.
The application also has some tools like address lookup, reverse phone lookup, and dark web scan that can come in handy.
It used to have a family tree builder feature as well, but that has been discontinued.
Bear in mind that while access to features like age and location is free, you will have to pay to use the more advanced features like reverse phone lookup and criminal records.
Overall, if you live in the US and need to find someone, TruthFinder is one of the best people search websites out there.
9. US Search
US Search is a people search website that allows you to search for people by name, phone number, address, email, and social media profile. US Search is free to use, but you’ll need to create an account before you can start searching.
The user interface is simple and easy to use. Just enter the person’s name and US Search will return a list of results.
You can provide additional information to refine your searches, such as the person’s city and state.
It also shows the age of a person, their age, places where they have lived, etc.
You can also pay for the more advanced search to get additional information like their recent addresses, phone number, and even a basic report.
US Search also allows you to order a full background check if you need more comprehensive information. This will cost you, but it’s a good option if you need more than just general information.
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10. BeenVerified
BeenVerified is a people search website that can help you find someone by name, phone number, address, email, social media profile, and more. The website is free to use, and it provides a comprehensive database of people’s information.
The website also offers a variety of tools to help you conduct your search, including a reverse phone number lookup and a reverse address lookup.
Other features of the website include the ability to background check someone, run a criminal record check, and find public records.
Its simplicity is what makes it one of the best free people search websites. If you need to find someone’s information quickly and easily, BeenVerified is the website for you especially if you have never used a people search website before.
BeenVerified also gives you all the information about the target person that you’d expect. It usually involves pictures, social media profiles (if they’re public), criminal records, and more.
The basic search is free, but you’ll need to sign up for a paid account to get access to some of the more advanced features, like court records and full background checks.
While BeenVerified is available to people all over the world, some of the features are only available in the US.
11. MyLife
MyLife is a people search engine that helps you find people or information about someone for a work project or background check. You can use MyLife to find old friends, classmates, family members, and more.
It gives you access to public records, background checks, court records, and more. MyLife also allows you to search for people by name, email address, phone number, and more.
The website also lets you export your search results to a CSV file. This can come in handy if you need to share your findings with someone else or if you want to keep a copy for yourself.
MyLife is not only known for the ease at which it can generate reports on a person. It is also known for being one of the best free people search engines.
While you need to register for the platform, you do not need to enter your credit card information.
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12. Spokeo
Spokeo has one of the largest people search databases in the world. You can use it to find someone’s current address, phone number, social media profiles, and more.
All you need is a first and last name (and sometimes a city and state), and Spokeo will give you a list of results to choose from.
Many years ago when they first started, they mostly relied on social media data. But now they also use data from public records and other verified sources to give you more comprehensive results.
The interface is very user-friendly, and you can use it to find background information on someone without too much hassle.
You can narrow down your search results by location, age, gender, and more.
If the site is unable to find who you are looking for simply by name, you can try looking up the person by their email address or physical address.
Spokeo servers are located in the United States, so you may not be able to use them if you are trying to find someone in another country. That being said, they are fast, reliable, and have a lot of data to work with.
The website does not show you annoying ads, and you can use it for free without having to create an account.
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13. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is not only a powerful networking and job-hunting tool, but it’s also one of the best people search engines available.
You can find anyone on LinkedIn, even if they’re not in your network, by searching for their name in the top search bar.
LinkedIn will show you their profile, including their current job title and company, where they went to school, and any mutual connections you have, as well as any other LinkedIn members with that same name.
It is the ultimate website for business search. That is, finding people with specific job titles or who work at specific companies.
This makes it a perfect resource for salespeople, recruiters, and others who need to find business contacts.
While LinkedIn does not branch out to other sources to find people that are not on its database, it is so popular that practically any professional who is worth finding would have an account on the platform.
LinkedIn is free to use, although there is a premium subscription that offers more features, such as InMail (messaging people outside of your network) and advanced search filters.
14. CocoFinder
CocoFinder is one of the best free people search engines that help you find people or information about someone for a work project or background check.
The website has been operational since 2020 and helps you search for people by their name, email address, phone number, and social media profile.
While it is relatively new to the market, CocoFinder has already helped over 10 million people find what they are looking for.
The website is easy to use and offers a variety of features that make it a valuable resource for anyone looking for information about someone.
CocoFinder is also fast and scans over 20 billion records to find the information you are looking for. It has servers in many countries and is constantly being updated with new records.
It is one of the easiest to use and most comprehensive people search engines available.
Employers often use CocoFinder to check the background of job applicants and to find contact information for potential employees.
The website is also useful for finding long-lost friends or family members, as well as checking out a new neighbor or romantic partner.
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15. Google
Google is the most popular search engine in the world, and it should be your first stop when you’re looking for someone or something online.
Just enter the person’s name (or keywords related to them) into the search bar and see what comes up. You can also use Google’s “Advanced Search” options to narrow down your results.
You won’t find all the information you’re looking for in one place, but Google is a great starting point for your people search.
It aggregates public data from a variety of sources, so you can find information like contact info, social media profiles, and even criminal records.
As long as the information you are looking for is in the public domain, you have a good chance of finding it with Google, or at least, getting directed to a site where you can find it.
Google indexes billions of web pages, so it can be a bit overwhelming at first. But with a little digging, you should be able to find what you’re looking for.
If you are familiar with how to use keywords and Boolean operators, you can use them to narrow down your Google search results. This way, you can get more specific results that are more likely to be relevant to your search.
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Conclusion
People search websites can be very helpful when you need to find someone or run a background check. They are easy to use and provide a wealth of information.
The 15 websites listed above are all great options, so choose the one that best meets your needs.
Scott L. Macarthur is a marketing consultant and an online author. He is mostly engaged in providing his expertise to startups and SMBs. He is also an author on TheNextWeb.