Internet

Tech Tips for Finding Someone Online

Before the Internet became so widely used, it was next to impossible to find someone you were looking for. You would have been able to search the white pages or hire a private investigator, but the results would have been hit or miss. The white pages weren’t very comprehensive and a private investigator’s services could get very expensive. Today, though, with tools like reverse username search and sites packed with personal information like social media platforms, finding someone is not as challenging as it used to be, and these tips will help make it even easier.

Gather Information

Before you start your search, gather all the information you know about the person you’re looking for. Even with the most sophisticated technology, the more data you have, the better your results will be. Write down the main information you know about the person, including their full name, date of birth or approximate age, the names of any relatives, the names of partners or spouses, the schools they attended, and previous employers. 

But don’t just think about the major facts. Consider the small details as well. You might be surprised to know more than you think you do about the person you’re searching for, like their hobbies, social clubs, fraternities or sororities, and other seemingly minor details that can give you hints to their current whereabouts. For example, if you know the fraternity or sorority they were in while attending college, you might be able to locate a chapter of that group that they’re currently involved in.

Conduct a General Search

No matter how much information you have on a person, you might be able to find even more by conducting a general Google search before delving into more technological solutions. This will only be helpful if you’re searching for someone with a fairly uncommon name or distinctive spelling, or if you have other information that you can search in tandem with their name. Use Boolean search strategies to exclude irrelevant information and only include results that will closely match what you’re looking for.

Consider going beyond Google as well. While Google might have the biggest reach, there are other search engines that might have indexed information that Google hasn’t. Conduct your search on Bing, Yahoo!, DuckDuckGo, Baidu, or any other search engines until you’ve exhausted your options. Write down all the new information you uncover about your search subject.

Make Use of Technology Tools

Once you have all the information you can get about the person you’re looking for from general searches, start using tech tools like reverse lookups, social media platforms, and other applications that can search databases you may not have access to. There are free tools to try first, but if you can’t get the results you need from these, you may need to pay for more extensive services to get the information you need. Fortunately, these tools are very reasonably priced so you won’t break your budget on your search.

Conclusion

Finding someone isn’t as hard as it once was, but you’ll still have to put in some effort, especially if you don’t have a lot of preliminary information. Fortunately, with the technology available, you could have the location of the person you’re searching for before the day is over!

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