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Tuesday, March 19th
US Search calls itself "America's Public Records Search Company" and is proud to have been seen on CBS, CNN, and CNBC. It's one of four search platforms owned by PeopleConnect; you'll find the other three (Intelius, Truthfinder, and Instant Checkmate) also evaluated in our reviews.
Can be time-consuming
Of the four people search services in US Search's brand family, this site is probably the least direct. There's no helpful search box right on the main page. Instead, you'll have to click the "get started" button to get to the place where you indicate if you want to go by name, phone number or address (even that page took longer than usual to load). And there are more hoops to jump through. Are you looking for information in order to contact someone? Select yes or no... and wait for the page to load. Enter a name... and then wait again. US Search is tedious at best. When you enter your name and email address, US Search takes you to a report preview that honestly doesn't say much.
Less expensive than its partner brands
Compared with the other three PeopleConnect services we evaluated, though, US Search is the cheapest. You don't have to wait around for a pop-up to get their best available deal: $1.99 for a 5-day trial and/or a monthly membership with unlimited searches for $19.86. That in itself is enough reason to choose US Search over Intelius, Instant Checkmate or Truthfinder: they all use the same databases, so even though you can't preview the information you'll get, you can be reasonably assured that it'll be exactly what you'd find there. Might as well spend a little less, right? Be on the lookout for any "premium" report upcharges: we didn't see anything about that on the US Search site (which is lacking any kind of FAQ, but their sister sites give us the heads up that it might come into play here too.
Costs
More info upfront, please?
Just like the other three sites, your results may vary: count on US Search to do a decent job of returning basic information, but don't take what you find as the "gospel truth" by any means. You may discover that even your own personal information isn't accurate - but unfortunately on this platform you won't be able to see enough details to know for sure, until you pay for the trial or the one-month membership.
Best of the "just average" services
Should you use US Search? It's not going to break the bank if you do, and it might be the cheapest of the mid-range services to use (knowing you'll get the same results as the other three). But, we still prefer a few other people search platforms over US Search and suggest trying those first.
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.
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:
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!
Select any 2 People Search Providers to compare them head to head