Over the last decade, we have witnessed a remarkable rise in the number of background check services in the United States. The term background check is a rather loose one, however, as it only pinpoints one element of what these services provide. They are, in essence, information-finding tools, a term that more aptly describes the broad range of products and services they provide.
One of the major players in the sector is PeopleLooker, which was founded in New York in 2016. It has since become one of the more popular online tools nationwide for searching through public records. Those searches are performed for a myriad of reasons, but mainly, as the brand name suggests, to locate people and information about them. That includes people searching for ‘themselves’ in order to understand their digital footprint and what their digital identities say about them.
What is PeopleLooker?
A good way to think about PeopleLooker is as a people search engine. As with Google and Bing, the search engine trawls through billions of pieces of data in real-time, providing users with either direct results or clues to where they can discover more information. However, the searches are targeted, using expert techniques to filter through huge databases and files to get people the information they require. PeopleLooker promotes its business as something that “helps you find information on people that you may struggle to find elsewhere.”. That’s also a good way of thinking about it. Importantly, PeopleLooker does not break the law – it is a legitimate tool that can only look at records and databases that are freely available online, albeit hard to reach for those of us not adept at such undertakings.
What is PeopleLooker used for?
Let’s start with what PeopleLooker is not used for. Legal constraints mean that you cannot use the service for credit or employment reasons. For example, if you were a landlord who wanted to check up on a tenant before leasing an apartment to them, it is illegal to base that decision on such a background check. However, PeopleLooker is used for other measures that fall under the category of security. People can find out if the subject of their search has criminal convictions or has been placed on a sex offenders’ registry. The service can be used to spot scams, verify if businesses are legitimate, check who called you, locate missing persons, and can even help people pinpoint and track missing money. There are several routes you can go down with your search, ranging from reverse property searches to unclaimed money database searches. But the team has put a lot of effort into the UX, making it easy for anyone to use.
PeopleLooker’s reception and user reviews
PeopleLooker is a popular platform, having particular appeal to smartphone users due to its cutting-edge app and commitment to mobile search tools. It does, however, operate in a highly competitive market for people search engines and has several highly-regarded rival services, so read this more comprehensive review of PeopleLooker background check services before deciding if it is right for you. Nonetheless, we can say that the platform, particularly the app, has good reviews from users, many of whom are MAUs (monthly active users) who come back to the service again and again. One of the things users tend to like about PeopleLooker is that it isn’t just a static search engine – it fosters a sense of community with blogs and social media content, most based on the subject of staying safe online.
Examples of PeopleLooker use cases
As we touched upon above, PeopleLooker performs a variety of services. As an example, consider that up to 83% of couples now meet online before meeting in person. The progression can go from first matching on Tinder to following on Instagram to the swapping of phone numbers, before finally biting the bullet and meeting up for an in-person date. Now, it goes without saying that there is trepidation before that in-person meeting, and often people wish to verify the identity of their online squeeze. That’s where PeopleLooker comes in, allowing you to potentially find out if the person is married, has the job they claim they have, or is withholding some other secret. Unfortunately, the search can also throw up uncomfortable results, such as a history of sex offenses. Nonetheless, we can list countless other use cases, some simple, others sophisticated. Think about getting a call from a number claiming to be your bank – a simple reverse phone number lookup on PeopleLooker can provide the information in real-time so you know the caller is legitimate.
Conclusion: An important player in a growing industry
PeopleLooker is a relative newcomer (founded in the mid-2010s) to its industry. Many of its rivals were created for different purposes and target markets – Spokeo, for instance, was a social media aggregator – but evolved into people search and background-checking tools. But they changed their business models organically due to one factor – demand. Millions of US citizens use these services each month, both for business and personal reasons. As more of our lives continue to be lived online, it is predictable that these services will continue to grow. PeopleLooker, and its competitors, help us find information that we otherwise struggle to find. There will always be a market for that.
