In today’s digital age, finding a long-lost relative or a friend you have lost touch with is easier. Some online sites provide a premium people search service for a certain price. These websites have access to private and public data.
However, some of those websites can be pricey. This leads to whether there is a free way to find people. The answer is; certainly, there is more than one method to do so!
These free methods might need more time and focus, but they will be worth it. Without further ado, explore the many ways of finding someone free of charge by reading on.
🔑Key Takeaways
- You can find people for free using the internet or local directories.
- Social media and search engines are the best ways to find someone without charges.
- Free people search sites are limited to a person’s name, age, location, and phone number.
- Free people search sites also lack quality and accuracy as they rely on public information and limited funding.
- If you still can’t find the person you are looking for, try TruthFinder for only $1.
Where To Find Someone For Free
According to statistics, there are 5.6 billion Internet users worldwide. That’s 70% of the world’s population! That means there’s a huge chance the person you’re looking for is an Internet user, and they are leaving their digital footprints behind.
| 📝 Note Your digital footprint is derived from your Internet usage. Whether you know it or not, all your Internet activity creates a trail people can trace back to you. |
You can find their information from record offices and local registries if you know the individual personally. However, some offices may require you to pay a fee or present a document for verification.
To start your search for someone, you need to gather certain information about them. You don’t necessarily need them all, but having everything can greatly help your search.
That said, prepare the following information:
- Name
- Photo
- Location
- Username
- Email address
- Phone number
Now, here are ways to find a person without charges or fees:
1. Social Media Platforms
Data reveals that 4.76 billion of the worldwide population are social media users. That reflects how almost everyone has a social media profile, providing the information you need about a certain person.
If you have their name, username, and email address, you have more than enough to find them on social media.
Methods of finding a person through social media depend on the platform. So, here’s an extensive guide per social media platform:
a. Facebook
Finding people on Facebook is straightforward. Type in their name or username on the search bar. Then, select People to help filter your search.
Facebook also lets you find someone using their email address by following the same procedure. Use the email address as the search query, then set the filter to People.
A list of profiles with the name or similar names of the person within your area will appear. You can look at their profiles and click About for more details.
| 📝 Note Many Facebook users display an alternate name to protect online privacy. Clicking About will reveal more details, such as: Gender Location Birth date Workplaces Email address Family connections Other social media accounts However, the display of that information depends on the privacy settings of the Facebook user. |
b. LinkedIn
LinkedIn is a social media platform dedicated to professionals and the business community. This platform is where they connect and share insights about their jobs and work ethic. It has 310 million active users per month.
On this platform, people share their personal details openly. Once you find their LinkedIn account, you can easily have the person’s full name, location, and educational and employment history.
Follow these steps to find someone on LinkedIn:
- Type their name or username in the search bar.
- Click search, and their profile should show.
- If not, try adding their work position or company name beside their name (e.g., John Smith, CEO of XYZ) to specify your search.
You can also use LinkedIn’s default search filters to help you narrow your results. If a person’s name will not show, it means they’re not on the platform.
c. Tiktok, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram
For social media platforms like TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram, you will need a person’s username or email address to find their profile. This may take some snooping and investigative work.
You can also search for them using their names, but this will depend on them having their complete names on their profiles.
If you find them, you may have to dig deeper through their profiles since these platforms can only give little information.
The downside of people searching on these platforms is that their profiles might be private. In this case, you can use them as supplementary information for your search.
| 👍 Helpful Articles Techjury has extensively tackled using these platforms to find someone. You can find the articles here: How To Find Someone on Snapchat? 3 Effective Ways to Find Contacts on TikTok |
2. Web Browsers or Search Engines
Google, Bing, Yahoo! Search, and DuckDuckGo are valuable web browsers and search engines for finding people. If you use specific search methods, you can find them.
The best way to find someone on these leading web browsers is to use as many details as possible.
| ✅ Pro Tip: You must also employ search symbols on your search queries. When searching for a person’s name, add quotation marks to signify that you’re looking for the exact name. |
Then, you can add other details on the search bar, such as:
- Work
- Location
- Middle name
Add any more information you have. They might be the deciding factor that will narrow down the search results.
| ✅ Pro Tip: Web browsers are also great for reverse searches if you don’t have their names. You only need their phone number to find them. However, when searching for people using this method, use a Virtual Private Network or VPN to avoid localizing your search. |
3. Reverse Image or Photo Search
If you have an image or photo of the person you’re looking for, you can conduct a reverse image search using your phone or desktop.
Doing this will enable the search for where the photo comes from. Along with that information are other details about the person from the picture.
You can try this using Google Lens. So simply follow these steps:
- Go to Google Chrome.
- Open Google Search.
- Click the Lens icon on the search bar and upload the photo.
| 📝 Note Google will only recognize items from the picture, such as clothing and accessories. It won’t recognize faces even when you click on it. |
Since Google does not recognize faces, click Find Image Sources atop the photo. This allows you to see search results identical to the picture.
The results will reveal where the photo is uploaded or used. It includes information about the person.
The drawback of this method is that it’ll only search for the exact photo and most likely refer back to social media searches and results from web browsers.
4. Reverse Phone Number Search
If a random number calls you on your phone with no or hidden caller ID, you can search for them using a reverse number search. This is similar to a reverse image search but doesn’t require unique apps.
The best and most effective way to look up a person’s number is to type it on the search bar. You can type in the complete number with the area code (10 digits) or the subscriber number (7 digits).
| ✅ Pro Tip This method only works if their number is posted or used online for business pages, online directories, websites, or social media profiles. Still, you can search your local or national phone books. You also have the option to use free reverse phone search services for the phone number and see if it’s connected to someone. You can opt for paid and credible reverse phone lookup services for more accurate results. They might require a price, but they can save you time and effort. |
5. Public Record Offices and Websites
Public records, such as local directories or archives, compile and sort data to make them available to the general public. You can get the following information from these offices:
- Date of birth
- Date of death
- Marriage history
- Land records
- Tax records
- Voter registration
- Criminal records
- Any history of divorce (and details)
To discover all those information in public records offices, you will need the person’s:
- Name
- Local address
- Phone number
- Business name
Some of these are also available for viewing online. Here are a few resources you can use:
- Public Records Online Directory
- United States National Archives
- United States Government Census Data
- United States Government Court Records
| 📝 Note There are limitations when using public records data to search for people. Some documents are only available for viewing if permitted by the owner. In contrast, some information available needs to be updated or set to private according to judicial statutes. |
6. Free People Search Sites
There are free and credible people search sites that allow users to search for free. These sites run on local data from registries and public records. It also scours online data people share online.
You can browse for their names and phone numbers using these sites. Then, results will show with names and aliases.
The search results will vary depending on the information you typed in. Moreover, you may have to spend time on these sites as they will show all the results possible.
Here are free people search sites you can use:
| 📝 Note Free services will always have their disadvantages. For instance, some information these free sites give away is outdated. Most of the data available will be of those aged 30 or above. Moreover, most free sites only offer basic information, such as: |
If All Else Fails…
Not everyone likes posting their information online, especially since online privacy has become questionable. That said, some hide their data to remain anonymous online and offline.
Other times, you might not track the person you’re looking for. That’s because they have removed themself from the Internet. If you think this is happening to you, you may need to employ the help of paid search sites.
| 👍 Helpful Article One of the best options for a paid search site is TruthFinder. It offers a comprehensive search tool for accurate and reliable information. Their features include a 3-point search of people, background checks, dark web scans, reverse data lookups, public and court records, and more. Techjury has extensively reviewed TruthFinder and found its unique features impressive. Most of all, TruthFinder is an affordable option. |
Conclusion
Now that technology is advancing at a stellar pace, there are numerous ways for you to find someone. It is even possible to find them free of charge.
However, personal information is an important thing that people value. Some websites and people prefer to keep this information private. This is why most search sites require payment, and some free sites lack information and detail.
Searching for people also requires time and attention. If the person you’re looking for is still nowhere to be found after all the methods above, they probably chose to stay away from social media and keep a low profile.
FAQs
What is the easiest way to find someone?
Search for their name on available search engines or social media. However, this can take time if the person has a common name.
Can I find someone without knowing their name?
Yes, you can. You must use reverse search methods if you know other details about them, such as number, email address, location, etc.
Why can’t I still find the person that I’m looking for?
They may have deleted their data from these sites and chose to stay untraceable. In this case, your search ends.
Why do most people search sites cost a lot of money?
You are paying for convenience, assurance, and the option to be updated. Personal information is not supposed to be shared publicly, and these allow websites to filter out potentially harmful users and assure people that their data are in safe hands.
Can Google Alerts help me find information about someone?
Yes. You can make a Google Alert using the person’s name to be updated or alerted with new information about them from Google. This helps find missing people or locate lost relatives.
Timeline Of The Article
By Ritesh
With more than five years of experience in the background check industry, Ritesh Kumar founded LookupAPlate.com - a free tool to report bad drivers and look up license plates. Besides that, he has been in the SEO game for the last decade. So talk to him about Google algorithmic updates, and he can continue until the sheep come home. Here at techjury.net, he contributes mostly to the category - Background checks.