What are People Search websites?

Overview

People search websites, also known as people finder sites, are a specific type of data broker that collects, stores, and sells personal information. These sites compile publicly available information and create a profile to display on their website. You may have crossed paths with these sites before.

You might use these sites to learn more about a new neighbor, a potential employee or first date, or to look up an old friend. Law enforcement, private investigators, and the media could even use them during an investigation. There’s also the danger that stalkers and criminals are using these sites.

In this article

How do People Search sites work?

People search sites collect data from local, state and federal public records, along with information that’s posted online in public forums, message boards and on social media. They may also purchase information from private companies, including other types of data brokers.

For example, if you Google someone’s name or email address these are the very first sites that will pop up. Many of these sites are completely free while others require you to sign up or to purchase a one-off report. Costs can vary, depending on the search depth and the type of details they provide.

They range from free directories to paid background check services. Some well-known sites include BeenVerified, Dataveria, Spokeo, InfoTracer, Whitepages, among many others. You can visit one of these sites and look through the results to see the type of information available about you online.

A few of these are actually part of the same parent company. For example, PeopleConnect also runs TruthFinder, Intelius, USSearch and several other people search sites.

What information do they have?

You would be surprised how much personal information these sites collect and what can appear in a people search profile. The specifics will vary by each website and each individual. Some of the information available about you either for free or for sale could include:

Current and previous name and aliases
Current and previous addresses and roommates
Current and previous phone numbers and email addresses
Age, gender, occupation and education level
Social media profiles and other online activity
Family members, including extended family
Criminal records and political affiliations

This information will remain public unless you choose to opt-out. These sites are required by law to comply once you verify your identity, but it can be very difficult to do so.

How can I protect myself?

You can attempt to opt-out of these sites on your own, but finding them all and demanding your privacy would take forever, if they even comply. Sometimes the steps required can be extremely complicated and time-consuming. So why not let the professionals do it for you?

Alternatively, you can use a tool like VirtualShield’s Personal Data Removal service to remove your information from multiple sites at the same time. We completely wipe all of your information off the internet, and you can keep track of this activity in your own personalized Account Dashboard.

VirtualShield will continuously monitor the web for any new instances of your personal information and repeat the opt-out process as necessary. The best part is this activity is constant, so you can rest easy knowing that any new breaches that crop up will be delt with swiftly and efficiently.

We will find every last one of these data brokers and make sure that all of your information remains completely private. See our support article for more information.