Free Background Check Online: Ways to Perform Public Records Searches
How to perform a free background check online.
Background checking may seem like an extra step to do. However, background checks can give you an idea about a person you are dealing with. Whether you’re meeting a new person or going on a date, background checks can help you.
Background Checks are a common practice when researching someone. Other people may even do a background check on themselves to see the kind of information they have online.
It can also be a way to check and monitor your private information. Your privacy is important, and you may want to avoid the leak of personal information online as this can be used to compromise your identity.
So how can you background check a person online? There are a lot of Background Check Sites, but not all of them offer free trials, asking you to pay upfront without letting you try the service.
Is It Possible to Do A Free Background Check?
Yes, it is possible but not recommended. Doing a Background Check by yourself would mean going through the person’s public state records and social media. Not all of this information is accessible, especially if you do not know the person well.
Some Background Check sites offer a free option, but it is usually inaccurate and heavily relies on public records only. If you are looking for contact information about a person, you may come across outdated information instead.
If you would like to do a background check on someone you know personally or yourself, you can manually do a background check. Keep in mind that this will require a lot of time and knowledge researching online.
Background Checks - Everything You Need to Know About Searching Online Background Checks and Criminal Records
Welcome to BackgroundChecks.org - the only free online directory and portal dedicated to helping you find online public records and run an online background check. Start by using our state records below to find the information you need.
Some Cheap Background Check Services & Sites:
#1.
Truthfinder – Best For Criminal Records
#2.
Intelius – Best For Quick Background Checks
#3.
Instant Checkmate – Best For Checking Social Media
#4.
US Search – Best Reverse Email Checks
#5. People Finders – Best Choice For Basic Checks
#6. People Looker
#7. BeenVerified
#8. GoodHire
#9. RentPrep
#10. PeopleSmart
Different Methods to Do Free Background Checks
There are different methods you can use to do background checks for free.
Here are methods to background check manually:
Google
Yes, the trustworthy Google. This search engine has been a go-to for researching and gathering information. The search engine contains all the information you can find on the internet, which can be useful for researching information but not for doing background checks.
If you are searching for a person and all you have is their name, your search can come back with a million similar names. You would need extra information to get accurate search results.
Using Google means you need to spend a lot of time online as well. A single search result can come up to a thousand and filtering them all will take time.
You can also follow the following steps:
- Start by putting the name and the state of the person you are doing a background check for in the search box.
- You can also use Google Images if you have a photo of that person.
- Google also has a News feature where you can background check if the person has ever been on the news.
- You can also use Google Videos to check if there is any footage linked to the person.
Social Media
The Social Media platform has been the platform for multiple people to express themselves and communicate. You can find a lot of personal information about a person when you search for their social media account.
- Facebook Profile
- Tweet History
- IG Photos
- Job Profile on LinkedIn
- Personal TikTok Content
- Interests and hobbies in Pinterest
- Contact Information in Snapchat
However, keep in mind that people have the option to make their profile private and available only to people they know, limiting your research. This method may only be useful if you have personal information or are connected to the person on social media.
PeekYou
PeekYou is a free background check site that can give you a few public information about the person’s social media and background. However, the information given by PeekYou can be inaccurate and outdated.
The website does not provide a lot of information about the person’s criminal records, address, or personal records either. If you would only like to know the social media links of a person, you can try these websites.
Court Records
If you would like to know someone’s public records, you can check the country clerk of records. However, this method needs you to know the location and address of a person you are doing a background search on.
If you do not know the person’s address or location, you may have a hard time using this method. The Court Records only show the government records a person had on that specific city or state.
If you would like to see the records on past addresses, you will need to do a separate search for each address and compile it manually yourself. Take note that Court Records does not give a lot of details on a person’s government information as well.
State Prison Records
You can also check if a person has a prison record online using the corrections inmate tag on google. You will need to know the prison’s official website, and you can then enter the personal information of the person to check if they have a criminal record.
The information given by official state prisons is limited, and they only show information for that specific state. If the person lived in different states, you would have to check for records on other states as well, which can be time-consuming.
Credit Reports
You cannot access the credit report of other people. However, if you would like to check your credit report, you can check with specific credit bureaus and request an annual credit report for yourself.
Keep in mind that the annual check is only applicable once per year, and you cannot request another credit report for free. Other credit services will also require additional payment and identity verification.
Which Background Check Site is the Best?
Free background check software is not common and doing background checks manually can save you money. However, manual background checks can take a lot of time and effort. Google search can return up to 1000 search results that you need to filter one-by-one manually by yourself.
Instead, Background check websites like TruthFinder let you get all the information you need about a person in just one click. The website also offers an unlimited number of background checks for a monthly fee.
Other Background Check Websites like Instant Checkmate also offer affordable trial options and single-person reports to accommodate your needs. Getting a professional background check tool can also help reduce the amount of time you spend searching and compiling information.