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Intelius Review

Tuesday, March 19th

2024 People Search Provider Reviews

Intelius Review 3 Star Rating

Intelius

3 Star Rating
  • "A+" rated and accredited by the BBB
  • In business for nearly 20 years
  • Search by name, address, or phone number
  • Options for unlimited monthly searches or a one-off report
  • 5-day trial for $1.99

Intelius is one of four people search platforms in our review under parent company PeopleConnect (in addition to US Search, Truthfinder, and Instant Checkmate). That means you'll come across similar results here as what you'll find there, though each service differs slightly in terms of pricing.

Takes 5+ minutes to search

How would you like to start your people search? At Intelius, you can start with a name, city and state (and check the box if you're searching for your own records). Otherwise, you can start with a phone number or address. As the search runs, you'll see questions come up that help the search engine refine the results: specific towns where the person may have lived, age range, number of siblings, and so forth. (Unless, of course, you're looking for someone with an unusual name - and then you can click to have the report run without answering further questions.) It may still take five minutes or longer for Intelius to go through all of the available records, and in the middle of the process you'll have to put in your name and email address to save your progress.

Several options for reports and pricing

Of the sister services, Intelius comes in with the second-lowest price - most of the time. You can expect to pay $24.86 for one month of unlimited people search access, or $42.25 for two months. On the other hand, if you wait around on the site for 5-10 minutes, you'll get a pop-up offering a 5-day trial for $1.99, which we found for just $1 with the other services in the brand family. Give it even longer and you'll be offered a price of $29.99 to access just one report, with no ongoing subscription fees.

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Needs to spell out all of the costs

What's missing? That's a smart question to ask. Intelius doesn't provide an FAQ, so there's nothing spelling out anything about having to pay for "premium" data reports. However, given that all of the PeopleConnect sites work in the same way, we think it's pretty safe to say that at some point in your people search, you're going to be hit up for more cash if you want access to absolutely everything they have about the person you're researching.

Costs

  • $24.86 for one month of unlimited reports
  • $42.25 for two months of unlimited reports
  • $1.99 for a 5-day trial
  • $29.95 for a single report

Your results may vary

It should come as no big shock that Intelius' user feedback mirrors the three other brands'. People searching for basic info usually find what they're looking for here, and the BBB gives Intelius an "A+" - which means it's trustworthy, relatively speaking. But, like many people search sites, you're not going to get every possible piece of information from their basic features, and some details may be flat-out wrong. We encourage you to search your own information first and see for yourself.

Not the best, but pretty low-risk to try

Intelius winds up with a just-average rating from us, right along with the other people search services held by its parent company. You might pay a little less - or a little more - here, depending on how you use the platform. You could do worse than Intelius when it comes to looking for someone's information, but you've got a couple of choices that might give you more details with less hassle.

Which People Search Platform Offers the Most Accurate Results?

There are hundreds of sites out there that promise to connect you with long-lost relatives, childhood friends, former classmates and coworkers - or to help you look into the background of someone on your radar. Most of these services utilize the same public records databases to deliver results.

So, what makes one people search platform different from the next? None of them guarantee the accuracy of their results - after all, databases can have incorrect information. But, the best services give you enough of a preview before you pay for a report that you can determine for yourself if you've found the right individual. They also may include a trial period of a few days to a week, letting you conduct multiple searches to see if you'll get what you need from their results.

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People Search Provider FAQ

The breadth and depth of these services vary, but you can expect to find everything from basic address and phone number information to social media accounts and even criminal convictions. Your search results will depend on the service you select.
It's true that some services use public records databases to return details you might find on your own. But, if you want the most comprehensive reports possible in the least amount of time, it's worth it to let a people search platform do the work for you.
You can typically pay for a single report, a month of access, or an ongoing membership. Single reports tend to cost around $30, a month of access for around $20, or a month-to-month subscription for around $12.
A people search can only be as specific and accurate as the search terms provided. If you search for "Jason White" in New York City, you'll probably come up with thousands of matches. But, add on a date of birth, last known address, or email address and you're more likely to narrow down the results to the right person. However, one of the biggest complaints from users of many people search platforms is that the information isn't always up-to-date.
No. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) restricts such information from being used for those purposes. It also can't be used to determine eligibility for insurance coverage or creditworthiness. Stick to searching for your high school sweetheart or your new neighbors and you'll be fine.
Searching for your own information is a great way to test out a people search service! After all, you'll know if the results returned are accurate. But, that does raise the question: do you want people to be able to find you? You may be able to ask a service to remove your information, but you'll have to dig around in the fine print to find the process required to do so. And, for information coming from public records databases (such as home sales and property tax rolls), there might not be a way to keep that private.
Yes, most of them provide the information they advertise: background checks, contact information, and so forth. For extra reassurance before you sign up for a people search service, be sure to check out their Better Business Bureau listing. There, you'll see how the BBB rates the company, any complaints that have been registered, and if there are any alerts regarding the business.
You don't have to sign a contract to use a people search platform, so just cancel your membership. Unfortunately, most services don't offer any satisfaction guarantee or refunds on fees you've already paid.
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Continued from above...

Those trials typically convert to a monthly membership unless you cancel first. As you might guess, some people search providers make that cancellation more difficult than others - or they make it less likely you'll realize that you're opting into a monthly plan with your trial. Be sure to read the fine print.

Another thing to watch out for is the difference between a basic people search and a comprehensive one. What you'll get with almost every platform's initial search is just the basics of phone, address, known relatives and email addresses. More detailed information like criminal records and property ownership will almost always require an upgraded plan, either as a one-off fee for each report you want to run in-depth or as an extra monthly fee.

If you're concerned about having your own personal information available to other people conducting searches, you've got one good reason to visit every people search site, even the lowest-ranked ones: removing your own data from their records. You'll usually find that function at the bottom of the site, worded as "Opt-Out" or "Do Not Sell My Information" . Typically, you'll either enter your information and perform a basic search (no paid membership required), then click on your matching profile to request that it be removed. Finally, expect to get a confirmation email; after you've clicked on the link in it, your info should be removed within 48 hours (though, in our experience, some sites had our results gone almost immediately).

When you're trying to choose among people search providers, they all start to look the same. Confused? Don't worry! You can use these criteria to decide which one to use:

  • Preliminary Results. Try searching for your own report and see how it goes. How quickly did the service return the right information (if at all)? Did you get enough details to confirm the accuracy?
  • Value. All people search services come with a cost. What will you get for what you pay? Is it worth it?
  • Customer Service. Can you get help if you need it? Some people search platforms include assistance with conducting searches, above and beyond the usual support for billing issues.
  • Reputation. What do people say about their experience using the people search platform, besides complaining about monthly charges they missed in the sign-up process? Does the company have a good rating from the Better Business Bureau, at the very least?

To help you find out more about virtually anyone, TopConsumerReviews.com has evaluated and ranked the most popular people search providers available today. We're confident that this information will make it possible to track down a long-lost relative, learn more about your prospective love interest, or see what your high school classmates are up to!

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