A people finder site, also known as a people search site or people lookup site, gives anyone the ability to search someone else and find personal identifying information (PII) about them.
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Other names for a people search site include:

They often show a search bar where you enter in basic information like a person’s name, phone number, or email address and they will pull back as much public information as possible. They claim these sites are used to search people online, old friends, relatives, friends, etc...

They provide access to what are considered public records here in the United States.

Oftentimes, you can search with full a full name, although they will pull back dozens, if not hundreds of individuals, you have to sort through, especially if it is a common name.Accurate results are not guaranteed.

Accurate results are not guaranteed. Many of these sites say they are not subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (the "FCRA") and therefore the information cannot be used for credit reporting, employment decisions, screening potential tenants, or similar use cases.

People search sites are designed to provide access to a high quantity of information — regardless of its accuracy. We don’t really know why most individuals would need access to all of this personal information — besides doxing, stalking, or worse.  

It’s pretty creepy what information people search sites may provide access to:

And it’s not just on the person you searched - you can find people’s possible relatives’, neighbors’, friends’, and other associates’ information directly on someone else’s profile. 

*NOTE: Many sites do not provide access to criminal records or have very limited access to these types of criminal history records. Many counties do not provide easy access to criminal records, including arrests and convictions. You should not use people search sites as your end-all safety solution. In our opinion, they’re often misleading about what information they do and do not have access to, especially as it relates to criminal records.