Intelius at a Glance
Founded in 2003, Intelius quickly became a background check industry leader, known for its vast database and advanced search technology. Every year, it adds over 20 billion new records, highlighting the extensive range of information it offers. Intelius is designed to serve various needs, from simple people searches to in-depth background checks. Its reports are detailed, covering everything from criminal and traffic records and social media profiles to educational backgrounds. This comprehensive service places Intelius among the best online background check sites.
What sets Intelius apart is its groundbreaking algorithm. This technology is a game-changer in the people search engine space, skillfully linking bits of data to the right person. This allows Intelius to sift through its huge database to create easy-to-understand graphical reports.
Why Choose Intelius
Flexibility
Intelius prides itself on its flexibility, offering services that cater to various user needs. This flexibility is evident in its wide range of search options, comprehensive reports, and the availability of mobile apps for both iOS and Android devices.
Regardless of whether users are on the move or prefer desktop access, Intelius ensures its services are readily accessible. This adaptability extends to the scope of searches available, accommodating everything from basic contact information retrieval to in-depth background investigations.
Tailored Searches
Tailored searches stand at the core of Intelius's offerings, allowing users to find precisely what they're looking for with ease. Whether it's reconnecting with an old friend, verifying a potential date’s background, or conducting comprehensive personal background checks, Intelius provides customized report types to suit these varied needs.
The Intelius Connections™ feature exemplifies this customization, enabling users to visualize connections between different pieces of information, offering unique insights that go beyond standard search results. 
Pricing Structure
Intelius's approach to pricing is all about striking the right balance between flexibility and user-friendliness, even though it might seem a bit confusing at first glance. Once you get a handle on their pricing model, the diversity of options really stands out as a major plus.
They've cleverly avoided the trap of a "one-size-fits-all" policy. Instead, they offer single reports at various prices, tailored to the depth of information you're looking for.
And for those of us who find ourselves needing more than just one report but aren't up for the commitment of a monthly subscription, Intelius has come up with a smart solution: a 24-hour pass. This option fills the gap nicely, giving temporary, unlimited access to their services.
Reports Offered
- People Search: Utilizes a proprietary data engine to find detailed information about individuals from various sources.
- Reverse Phone Lookup: Offers details about the owner of both published and unpublished phone numbers.
- Criminal & Traffic Records Search: Provides searches for criminal and traffic offenses nationwide, including offense specifics and court outcomes.
- Background Check: Delivers comprehensive reports on criminal history, liens, bankruptcies, and personal records, known for their detail.
- Public Records Search: Searches a wide range of publicly available information, including marriage, divorce, and death records.
- Reverse Address Lookup: Enables users to discover detailed information about who lives or has lived at a specific address.
Customize Search
Intelius can turn up an incredibly broad range of valuable data on the subject of your search. Every type of report will turn up the following basic information. What further information turns up depends on the type of search you run. Reverse lookups will turn up the carrier’s name and even the phone type (whether it’s a cell or a landline). Social network lookups will yield comprehensive information on your subject’s online presence, including accounts that may not be used anymore, like Myspace.
With a membership, I found that the following information was usually accessible in a report:
- Name
- Age and date of birth
- Known aliases
- Address history
- Education history
- Known phone numbers
- Known relatives
- Related contacts like friends, former classmates, or neighbors
- Property records
- Criminal records, including arrests and traffic violations
- Sex offender information
- Marriage and divorce records
- Civil judgments
- Bankruptcies
- Tax liens
- Social media accounts
- Car ownership information
I tried out Intelius and saw that search results may vary due to a few different reasons. Firstly, people who are not active on social media or have a clean record may have less information appearing on the Intelius search results.
Secondly, I saw that education history varied, especially for the high school category. Sometimes, the high schools of the people I looked up did not match what I knew to be true. However, this might be due to public school districts keeping information private from local databases. Thirdly, I noticed that often associated people beyond family members weren’t always relevant.
My trial showed that Intelius' customizable search results were detailed, informative, and varied from person to person.
Is Intelius Legitimate?
Intelius enjoys an A-rating from the Better Business Bureau. Regarding FCRA compliance, Intelius is not compliant, which it states directly on its home page. However, this does not compromise its legitimacy; it just means that the service should not be used to determine an individual’s eligibility for credit, insurance, employment, housing, or any other purpose covered by the FCRA.
How Intelius Works
Intelius sets itself apart by offering one of the widest search options available anywhere. The service is also incredibly easy to use, never feeling cluttered or overwhelming. Once you make an account, you’ll be greeted by a straightforward search bar that allows you to search subjects by name, phone, email, or address.
You’ll be taken to a full profile on your subject when you input the basic information. From the navigation bar, you can easily access all the reports you have made in the past.
As easy as it is to access reports, it’s also easy to share them, though saving reports as a PDF costs a bit more. This counts as an add-on service, which you’ll have to pay a one-time fee of $2.99.
Unlike other background check websites, Intelius doesn’t track your searches and notify you when updates are available. However, the database is updated on a daily basis, which means that the information in your reports should always be the most up-to-date available.
The information in Intelius’ database comes from various data sets sourced from federal, state, county, and local records. Moreover, Intelius can also turn up unlisted numbers, as these may still form part of public records even though they’re not in the phone directory.
The system cannot turn up information about people outside of the US. I searched for people I knew who currently live abroad or did some gap year outside of the US, but I did not find that Intelius had the information. I would still give the service the benefit of the doubt, as the background checker may work well for tracking people who spent time within North America. It could be that military personnel stationed abroad may also show up with more detailed international information.
Search Options
Search options are divided into six main categories: People Search, Reverse Phone Lookup, Criminal & Traffic Records Search, Background Check, Public Records Search, and Reverse Address Lookup.
These are then further subdivided into more specific categories, providing you with incredible flexibility. While you can get an all-encompassing, comprehensive background check report, you can also get a report containing only the information you need.
Criminal records searches hone in on your subject’s past. You can focus your search on a particular state or even run one nationwide. Your options include a general search, public records search, criminal court search, or civil court search.
Reverse lookups allow you to track down unknown callers. You can run a general search or else zone in on cell phones by running a tailored reverse cell phone search. Of course, a background check will turn up the most comprehensive report possible.
Help & Support
The company goes out of its way to help you out before you even run into issues by providing clear and concise explanations of every type of search it can do. This is great if you’re not sure how to go about finding the information you need, as it helps you decide which type of search is best for you.
Live customer support is available 7 am to 4 pm, Mondays to Fridays, via a toll-free number. Alternatively, you can get in touch by email or by opening a support ticket. You can submit a report 24 hours a day.
Intelius Pricing
Intelius provides a diverse range of pricing options, including customizable plans that are intended to suit your personal needs. The People Search membership is available for $25.11 monthly or $21.35 for bi-monthly commitments. This service includes all the necessary features for comprehensive background checks.
Intelius also offers a 5-day trial for its Reverse Phone Lookup and People Search plan at just $0.95. Post-trial, the cost goes up to $34.95 monthly, granting unlimited access to phone, individual, and address reports. Similarly, the Address Lookup combined with the People Search membership also starts with a $0.95 trial for seven days, transitioning to $34.95 monthly thereafter for unlimited address and person reports.
Optional Add-Ons
Additionally, Intelius caters to the need for detailed downloadable reports at an extra charge of $2.99 each. Furthermore, the Intelius Identity Protection service is offered at an added fee of $9.95 monthly.
Bottom Line
Whether you’re trying to see if someone is really who they say they are, find a long-lost relative or classmate, or want to confirm one’s employment or education history, Intelius offers a robust system for accessing personal information. While there’s no free trial available, the membership cost isn’t steep, and it actually provides a lot of information that goes beyond the surface level. If you need a background check service with many search options and layers of search results that include your subject’s extended circles, Intelius is the way to go.
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