4 Best FREE Username Search Dating Sites (2024)
It is normal to hesitate going on a date with your online match or to wonder if your partner is on a dating site. You might also be thinking of approaching a particular person on a dating platform. In other cases, you could be worried about your friend or family member being catfished or want to look out for your client as an investigator. Or are you a journalist or a tech enthusiast who wants to analyze username search technology? I am also guessing that whatever your purpose might be, you want to find a reliable and free username search tool. Therefore, I shall try to provide proper insights through this article, no matter the category you may fall into.
However, I must tell you that free services for such sensitive information are seldom reliable. Therefore, I shall take you through some of the top username tools that I tested firsthand for over 110 hours. If some of the tools I mentioned below aren’t free, fear not—they charge a negligible amount or have a money-back guarantee.
Best Username Search Dating Sites: Top Picks!
Tool Name | Data in Report | Trial | Link |
---|---|---|---|
Spokeo | • Biodata • Images • Social media & dating sites • Background | One-time report for $0.95 | Learn More |
BeenVerified | • Social media & dating sites • Address history • Biodata • Email and phone number | $1 for 7-day trial | Learn More |
Intelius | • Biodata • Background check • Dating site profiles • Criminal records | $0.95 for 5-day trial | Learn More |
Social Catfish | • Social media and dating sites • Dating history • Background check • Property check | $5.73 for 3-day trial | Learn More |
1) Spokeo
Spokeo is a people lookup tool with a username search feature. Its impressive search speed allows Spokeo to gather details from over 120 social profiles, including dating sites, social media, e-commerce profiles, and more.
Its database consists of 130 million property records, 6 billion consumer data, 89 million business information, 600 million court files, and more.
Features:
- Online Photos: It showed me all my friend’s old Facebook pictures and news articles from when she won an award for state-level poetry in Philadelphia.
- Comments: This could add more fuel to the fire, but hey, I think it’s better to know than to stay in the shadow of lies. Spokeo shows all the online comments; hence, you can see if your partner or date-to-be is leaving lewd remarks online.
- Background: When I looked up my online date before going out with them, his background history changed my mind. I could see that he had already been married twice and failed to mention it to me. When I confronted him about it, he had to admit that it was true.
- Contact Details: Spokeo brings up the email ID and phone number associated with the username. This allowed me to verify if my friend’s partner had created a profile on Hinge or was it just someone with a similar name.
Pros
Cons
How to get it for free?
Step 1) Go to https://www.spokeo.com/, type the username of your target person, and hit Search Now.
Step 2) Once the search is complete, you will receive basic results such as the number of profiles, dating profiles, and images found.
Step 3) Although not free, you can pay $0.95 to unlock the full result and get your report.
One-time report for $0.95
2) BeenVerified
BeenVerified is a people and username lookup site that can help you find individuals on social media and dating sites. It also includes phone, email, address, and vehicle lookup services.
Its database comes from public records, social media, publicly available information, and online platforms. Hence, it allowed me to find my college crush on Bumble because I did not want to seem like a stalker on Instagram.
Features:
- Username Search: BeenVerified can dig into numerous social networking and dating sites. I was surprised to see even lesser-used platforms in reports, such as QQ, OKCupid, and Telegram, along with giants like Facebook and Instagram.
- Reports: Its report includes profile pictures, other social media accounts, criminal records, phone numbers, email addresses, current and past addresses, and age.
- Mobile App: I tried both its iOS and Android mobile apps. They are convenient for instant use, especially if you want to use them when you are already on a date.
- Reverse Phone Lookup: In case your partner is the type who does not use social media, therefore acquiring a username could be difficult. Hence, reverse number lookup can be useful to find out if they are on a dating site.
Pros
Cons
How to get it for free?
Step 1) Go to https://www.beenverified.com/ and navigate to its pricing option given at the bottom of the page.
Step 2) Once you are on this page, click on Get Started on any of the plans. This will take you to another page, where you must press the Click to Go Back browser button, which will pop up a small $1 paid trial window.
Step 3) Now tap on Try BeenVerified for $1 and run 100 reports for 7-days.
$1 for 7-day trial
3) Intelius
Intelius is a people search engine that does not offer direct username search. However, its people lookup, phone lookup, and background check can help you find a person’s dating profile.
I tried out these search features and found most of my target people’s dating profiles. For some, I had to search a few times since I couldn’t find the right person at first. However, the third time was a charm, and Intelius handed me the right report.
Features:
- Name Search: The name search feature lets you find details about a specific person using their name, state, city, etc. It also asks several other questions that you can choose to answer for added accuracy.
- Reverse Phone Lookup: I noticed that this feature offers more precise reports. That is because phone numbers are unique, and it included dating profiles of my target individuals in the results.
- Background Check: Before my friend said yes to a date with this Disney Prince-looking online connection, I looked him up for her safety. We found no trace of criminal records and learned that he went to Yale, also he had only one dating profile where they connected. Turns out my friend had lucked out this time.
- Anonymity: Intelius protects your searches with 256-bit encryption, keeping you anonymous. Hence, the target never finds out about your investigation.
Pros
Cons
How to get it for free?
Step 1) First, go to Intelius’ pricing page https://www.intelius.com/ and choose the Reverse Phone Lookup + People Search plan.
Step 2) Subscribe to its 5-day paid trial for $0.95. It comes with unlimited reports.
$0.95 for 5-day trial
4) Social Catfish
Social Catfish is specially designed to help people avoid being catfished and scammed. It can perform a direct reverse username search of any social media site and provide complete details about a person.
I tested Social Catfish using usernames from different social media and found my target’s dating profile. If you do not already know their username, I suggest going for people, email, phone, or image search types.
Features:
- Background Report: Using Social Catfish, not only will you find a target’s dating site, but also you will get detailed background info. I found out about my recent online match’s actual occupancy, their real age, addresses, images, aliases, etc., and saved myself from being catfished.
- Multiple Dating Sites: This tool can look up multiple dating sites and inform you about active and inactive profiles. Even if you use their social media username, such as Instagram, it will lead you to the dating sites that they are on. This is especially helpful if you want to test your partner’s loyalty.
- Database: Its database consists of 200 billion records. The records are gathered from social networks, public databases, education and government, professional records, and news articles.
- Relationships: The most exciting search process that I noticed on Social Catfish was that it looks up an individual’s past relationships. It also scans dating history, preferences, casual friends, and exes to offer an in-depth report.
Pros
Cons
How to get it for free?
Step 1) Go to https://socialcatfish.com/, select the username search option, and enter the target’s username.
Step 2) Allow it to perform the search and enter your email ID when the search is complete.
Step 3) Now, you can pay $5.73 for your report, which is a three-day paid trial.
$5.73 for 3-day trial
How to Verify Results of Reverse Username Search
Reverse username search tools generate their reports using social media and other publicly available information. This can lead to outdated data; additionally, there might also be times when you get wrong or incomplete information. Hence, here are some ways that you can use to verify the results generated by Reverse Username Search tools.
- Try Multiple Search Tools: You can run the username through multiple tools to see if the result remains consistent. It helps you verify the data.
- Check Social Media Directly: I recommend visiting the social media profiles of your target person and checking if the details align with the report.
- Perform a General Search: You can also use the usual search engines to look up the username along with their location or occupation. If it’s regarding an incident or some major event, you may find news articles or blogs.
- Check Profile Metadata: You can investigate the metadata of the profile on the dating site or social media. Check the creation date, their interactions, images posted, followers, etc., to see if it’s a fake profile.
- Find Consistent Patterns: I suggest ensuring that the username is consistent throughout different platforms. If there are any disparities in the biodata, display pic, etc., the reverse lookup might have located a fake profile.
- Reverse Image Search: This search type can also help verify the results since the images are linked to profiles. If the images have been duplicated and used elsewhere and the target is unaware, it may indicate a fake profile.
- Analyze URLs and Domains: You must check the URLs linked with the username thoroughly to see if the username is connected with any suspicious site. Hence, it could be fake information that was registered in the report.
- Check Public Records or Databases: You can manually review public records and databases to determine whether the reports are updated.
- Read Tool Reviews: Check for tool reviews, ratings, and feedback. See what the users have to say about the platform. I suggest going through genuine reviews on app stores and authoritative sites instead of just reading the official tool’s site reviews.
Alternatives to Find Someone’s Profile on Dating Sites
I understand if the third-party username lookup tools are too much work for you. It is also a valid reason if you are still worried about data privacy even after reading about their policies. Hence, here are some alternatives that won’t require using reverse username search sites:
- Request a video chat verification and observe their movements to ensure they are not using a filter or an AI.
- If the person you have been chatting with claims to have published work, review it and find articles and bio data on it.
- You never know what a simple Google search might bring up. It could uncover essential news articles, blogs, or other public records.
- Why not use public and government records such as business information, voter registration, court statements, and other official documents? They shall offer some factual insights and legal background information.
- Find them on professional networks like LinkedIn and verify if their professional information is accurate. Check their educational history, previous workplaces, and mutual connections.
- Ask the individual for their official IDs such as driver’s license, passport, employee card, etc.
- If you have mutuals, I suggest reaching out to verify their identity. If you don’t, you can build connections with their friends, family, and acquaintances.
Dangers of Free Username Searches and their Fixes
Testing numerous username sites, I have learned that they come with their fair share of challenges. Hence, here are the risks of using free tools and how to mitigate them:
Risk | Mitigation |
---|---|
Free tools may generate outdated or incomplete data | Verify the information with other trusted sources. I suggest checking user reviews and ratings to see how reliable the tool is. |
Privacy and security issues | Please take your time reviewing the tool’s privacy policy to learn how it protects personal data and what its terms include. |
Limited or no advanced features | Try the paid trials; they offer all the features in this short period. For example, Spokeo has a one-time report, and BeenVerified allows all search types for throwaway rates. |
Doubts about source legitimacy | Make sure to verify the results with other tools and verified data. You must also read about its sources and user reviews. |
It might be unreliable or operated by malicious entities | If this is your main concern, just go for the paid trial that comes for as little as $1. |
Platform incompatibility | Do not forget to check device and platform compatibility before subscribing to the tool. |
Signs That You Are Being Catfished
Here are some of the signs that you are being catfished:
- They avoid video calls and make excuses when asked to meet in person.
- The details of their life do not add up or change often.
- The profile picture looks too good to be true or like a stock image.
- Their social media has suspiciously less activity or random posts.
- They lovebomb or express deep emotions way too quickly.
- You get asked for financial help, or they want expensive items, creating unusual circumstances.
- They avoid the questions or give excuses when asked about their identity and background.
- They compliment you way too much or are too supportive of every little thing too quickly.
- The individual has multiple profiles with similar usernames and vague information.
Verdict
The above username search tools that I introduced you to are some of the best reverse lookup sites that I have tested. They certainly offer reliable data to an extent; however, a few times, I did receive outdated reports, and there was some missing information. However, the following would be my top recommendation:
- Spokeo: I was absolutely impressed with its search speed and the detailing in the report.
- BeenVerified: It offers a trial that allows all seven search parameters for a mere amount, and the mobile app makes it convenient for all users.
- Intelius: Its quick public record search and instant background check for trending names make things efficient.