There are a variety of reasons that one person may be tracking down another and, despite what television shows, they aren’t villainous reasons. In fact, whole companies dedicated to gathering information on others for the use of tracking them down have been formed. These people search sites are extremely beneficial and can help anybody reconnect with long-lost friends or family.
What is a People Search?
Many people have never heard of what a people search actually is and the information that it can provide. People search sites are sometimes called people finder sites and are pages that specialize in gathering information of public record all in one massive database. This information is then sorted based on the individual. When a person provides a name and location, the information for that person is pulled from the database and is presented to whoever requested the search.
A people search is often confused with a background report. While these two items can tell you similar information, a people search is mostly high-level information whereas a background report is far more extensive and costs money.
Is a People Search Legal?
After learning what a people search site is and its capabilities, most people immediately wonder whether using one of these sites is actually legal or not. The answer is yes, using a people search website is completely legal as all of the information is public record. The people search site simply gathers information that a person would need to scour the Internet for hours to find, which is why it’s legal.
Be aware, though, that using information garnered from a people search site for any criminal activity is illegal. In most cases where criminal activity occurs, people search information is used for stalking, which all people search sites strongly condemn.
What Can a People Search Tell You?
Assuming your interest has been piqued by the idea of finding someone online, learning what information is available through people search sites can help you determine if running such a search will help you. Most notably, people search sites will tell you information such as:
- Last known address or a current address
- Potential family members, both immediate and extended
- Contact information for a person such as phone numbers or an email address
- A person’s current occupation
- Property records for any property listed in that person’s name
- Marriage or divorce records
- Current education level
- Any other general civil record, including criminal history
3 Common Situations a People Search Can Help With
Knowing the information that a people search provides is one thing but understanding if taking the time to submit a search is right for you is another. Here are three common scenarios that a people search query can help with:
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Reconnecting with a long-lost friend
It’s no secret that life gets busy and staying connected with friends can be a challenge. Over time, people start to grow apart and, as a result, phone numbers or emails can change. This means that you no longer can contact that old friend if you ever want to reconnect. Fortunately, people search results can give you that needed information.
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Tracking down new family
With more and more people submitting DNA tests to learn about their history, people searches have become all the more important. Sites like Ancestry.com contain over 30 billion records and over 20 million people on their page, which means a person could have family they never knew about. Using the family tree given by these ancestry sites, a person can then put that information into a people search to get the contact information for their family.
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Finding what information is available about yourself
Finally, one unique use for people search sites is to see what information is available on yourself. If you are a private person or have a sensitive career, learning what the average person can find on you is beneficial. If you run a people search and see that too much information is available, contact the site to request that they take it down as soon as possible.
Gather the information you need today
For all you know, the person you’re looking for is a quick people search away. To get started with your search, it’s best to already know a person’s first and last name. Having the knowledge of their last known location will help by a great margin as well. Don’t settle for never knowing where that one person ended up when a quick search can answer your question for you.
