August 25, 2024

Truthfinder Review

Read more about TruthFinder
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Curious about someone's past? TruthFinder's powerful background check service can reveal hidden details and fascinating insights. Read on to know how.

5-point scale (the higher, the better)

Pros and Cons

  • Easy to use
  • Unlimited reports
  • Responsive customer service
  • No marriage/divorce records
  • Auto-renews after trial

Bottom Line

Legit background check with dark web monitoring

Like many background check services, TruthFinder promises to retrieve info beyond surface-level searches. This way, you get more comprehensive search results.

How much of this is true? Take a look at its features and see if you can "find the truth" in just a few clicks.

What Is TruthFinder?

TruthFinder is an online people search engine that consolidates background information from third-party data sources. It crawls through billions of US public records and compiles them into one digestible report.

Anyone can access this tool for personal use by paying a monthly membership fee. A limited-time trial may also be available, but more on that later.

Here are some info you can retrieve with a basic people search:

  • First and last name
  • Addresses
  • Photos
  • Social media profiles
  • Location history
  • Related persons
  • Birth information
  • Phone numbers
  • Email addresses
  • Employment history
  • Educational history
  • Possible associates
  • Business ownership
  • Assets
  • Criminal records
  • Arrest records
  • Traffic records
  • Court records

What information are you most curious to find in a background check?

Who Is TruthFinder Best For?

TruthFinder is great for those who want to:

  1. Trace old friends or estranged family members
  2. Double-check your online date's information
  3. Vet new sellers
  4. Learn more about your neighbors
  5. Catch a cheating spouse

TruthFinder can be useful for anyone who needs to access public records and background information without the heavy lifting. Just make sure not to use it when hiring employees, assessing creditworthiness, and screening property renters.

Do employers use TruthFinder?
Employers should not use TruthFinder to screen job applicants. Based on the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), you will need a consumer reporting agency for that purpose,[1] which TruthFinder isn't.

Have you used a background checking service before?

TruthFinder Pros and Cons

Pros:

  • Multiple data sources
  • Easy to use
  • Unlimited TruthFinder reports
  • Responsive customer support
  • Dark web monitoring option
  • Tailored membership plan option
  • Report monitoring option
  • Opt out for your own listing

Cons:

  • Auto-renews to a monthly plan after trial
  • No marriage/divorce records
  • Misleading reverse email lookup results
  • Extra charge for downloadable reports

TruthFinder's Reverse Email Lookup isn't always accurate. We encoded a non-existent email address and triggered a TruthFinder report with zero information, which can be misleading. Thus, it's possible you'll pay for nothing in return.

How concerned are you about the accuracy of background check services?

How Does TruthFinder Work?

TruthFinder aggregates personal records that you may otherwise have to retrieve manually. You can search by name, phone number, address, or email address, all in one place.

For example, with a People Search, you can just input the person's first and last name and press Search.

During the initial scan, it will try to locate possible matches. It will also ask you for corroborating data such as known location, age, etc. These will help narrow your search, especially if the person has a common name.

Once you confirm the right person, it crawls through its data sources. These include federal databases, state and county records, social media platforms, and other public websites.

When it's done searching, you will be directed to the payment page. Once you have paid, find the full report from your dashboard.

Is TruthFinder really anonymous?
You remain anonymous as a TruthFinder user because it won't alert the person that you are checking them out. Rest assured, you can be confident in your search despite the most sensitive of circumstances.

TruthFinder Pricing Plans

TruthFinder has 3 types of membership with the following prices:

Membership Plan[2]BenefitsPrice Per Month
People SearchUnlimited number of person and location reports$28.33
Reverse Phone LookupUnlimited phone reports$4.99
Reverse Email LookupUnlimited email and person reports$29.73

Person reports cover people searches, background checks, public records searches, and dark web scans. More about these services in the next section.

Trial Offers:
You may get a much cheaper 5-day trial popup offer if you hang around a bit more while on the payment page. Similarly, a single report offer may appear, but it's usually about the same cost as the monthly plan.

With a single report offer, you won't be auto-renewed to a monthly subscription, which often turns off future customers. But just the same, you can easily prevent auto-renewal of memberships by canceling your subscription before the trial ends.

Although TruthFinder is only advertising three membership search plans (People Search, Reverse Phone Lookup, and Reverse Email Lookup), they are open to customization upon your request.

Add-ons:
Once a member, you can opt in for these add-on features:[2]

  1. PDF/Report Monitoring: $3.99/mo
    Download search reports in PDF format anytime, while ensuring you are alerted when there are updates/changes in your saved searches.

  2. Dark Web Monitoring: $2.99/mo
    TruthFinder will notify you in case it discovers your personal credentials such as passwords and Social Security Numbers on the dark web.

TruthFinder Services

There are many ways you can use TruthFinder. Check out its various services below:

Reverse phone lookup
This is a must-use for identifying unknown callers, verifying contact information, and gathering details about individuals associated with specific phone numbers.

People search
Tracing a long-lost relative? Unlock a wealth of information, such as their location history, social network data, property ownership, court records, etc.

Background check
TruthFinder returns a detailed report containing personal information, address history, criminal records, and more. The range of info provided will depend on the availability of data.

Reverse address lookup
Aside from knowing who the owner is, you can get property records on a particular address and details about its surrounding area, including neighbors.

Public records search
Want to verify some of the things your date told you? TruthFinder can unearth misdemeanors, bankruptcies, and other sensitive data.

Reverse email lookup
Discover the owner's name, photos, videos, and online profiles, among others, by simply providing the email address in question.

Dark web scan
TruthFinder can monitor your SSN, for example, by searching through thousands of data points on the dark web. This may cover peer-to-peer file-sharing networks, forums, chat rooms, etc.

How reliable is TruthFinder?
TruthFinder's reliability is often contingent on one's user experience. If you get the results you were looking for, you may find it reliable. But if you don't, you're likely to dismiss it completely. In any case, it has access to multiple databases, which can provide you with meaningful data.

Is TruthFinder Worth It?

TruthFinder is worth a try, especially if you plan to make multiple searches frequently. It shares many good things that other legit people search tools offer, such as:

  • a user-friendly interface
  • responsive customer support
  • billions of data sourced from public websites

But what makes it stand out is the availability of dark web monitoring for $2.99 per month, which is pretty affordable. If you think your details have become too exposed online, this can help detect data breaches and identity theft.

You can also get update alerts for your saved search reports by activating Report Monitoring in your TruthFinder dashboard. For example, you get notified if the person gets a traffic ticket, buys another property, or if there are changes in their public records.

This can be pretty handy if you're keeping an eye on somebody.

Take note of the slow retrieval process.
During the retrieval process, you will encounter a series of loading screens and progress bars. These give you the impression that they are scraping info from a large stash of databases. But they can take up to 15 minutes, which can drain your patience.

Is TruthFinder Safe?

TruthFinder is generally safe to use. Rest assured, it won't expose your device to computer viruses or system hacks.

The website boasts 256-bit encryption,[3] which is the same protocol used by banks and government agencies for enhanced privacy and data security.

What is the lawsuit against TruthFinder?
The lawsuit filed on September 11, 2023 by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against TruthFinder was based on complaints filed by multiple customers.[4] One of the main allegations is TruthFinder's illegal marketing strategy of using search engine keywords pertaining to employee and tenant screening.

TruthFinder Customer Reviews

PLATFORMAVERAGE RATING
ConsumerAffairs[5]3.00 out of 5 ★ from 1,667 reviews
Sitejabber[6]2.00 out of 5 ★ from 670 reviews
Trustpilot[7]1.70 out of 5 ★ from 1,347 reviews

TruthFinder reviews are generally average. Several users were happy with the accurate information they got, while others found their customer service very responsive.

Milly states:

"TruthFinder has been very helpful to me. [These days,] it's vital to look up people even if they're family, friends and especially strangers. No one can be trusted anymore, no matter how well you think you know them or how close [you are] to the person. It's better to be safe than sorry." (From a Trustpilot review)

However, some users complained about incomplete or inaccurate data and unwanted subscription charges. Others felt the service was a complete waste of money.

Here's what Ali thinks:

"If I could give 0 stars I would. I deactivated my account about a year ago. In September of 2023 I noticed my bank account was still being debited $28.05, $7.99, $3.99 every month. I called and was assured the charges would stop and that I would be refunded for the charges made since cancellation. In January of 2024 I noticed that I was still being charged and was never refunded..." (From a Sitejabber review)

The Truthfinder app is available on both Android and IOS devices. It has a 4.4 rating on Google Play[8] and 4.6 on the App Store[9].

How to Choose a People Search Service
Here are a few things to consider when subscribing to a people search service:
  • Accuracy of results
  • Purpose
  • Cost
  • Number of reports
  • Customer support

TruthFinder Customer Service

TruthFinder offers various means to help you with your concerns:

  • Live customer support: (855) 921-3711) from Mondays to Fridays (no weekend calls); from 7:00am to 4:00pm PST, or 10:00am to 7:00pm EST
  • Contact TruthFinder Form (website)
  • Help Center (basic info and quick instructions)

Unfortunately, there's no 24/7 chat facility or an email address for customer service.

Is it hard to cancel TruthFinder?
It is relatively easy to cancel a TruthFinder plan. You can do it on your TruthFinder dashboard by clicking on the Cancel Subscription button located in the lower right corner. Alternatively, a customer service rep can facilitate this request.

TruthFinder Alternatives

Below is a side-by-side comparison of TruthFinder and 2 of its closest competitors, Intelius and Spokeo.

TruthFinder vs. Intelius
TruthFinder and Intelius offer similar features and membership plans, but Intelius' People Search plan is slightly cheaper.

Both platforms provide a 5-day trial with a reverse phone lookup feature, which renews to a monthly subscription. But TruthFinder requires a membership for reverse address lookups.[10]

Additionally, for downloadable PDFs, Intelius charges a one-time fee of $3.99[11], while TruthFinder charges $3.99/mo. That said, TruthFinder's fee includes report monitoring.[2]

TruthFinder vs. Spokeo
Spokeo surpasses TruthFinder in retrieval times, but TruthFinder offers more comprehensive reports compared to the basic information from Spokeo.

That said, each service has unique features. For instance, TruthFinder lets you download PDF reports without a time limit and provides update alerts. In contrast, Spokeo includes a reverse username lookup.

Additionally, Spokeo reports typically cost less than a dollar and usually come with a 7-day free trial. Although TruthFinder has a similar trial offer, it is less prominently advertised.

Spokeo requires an additional fee if you want more than a simple report. Thus, their People Search plan is much cheaper than TruthFinder's.

Bottom Line

TruthFinder is a legit background check service that helps you find the truth about someone. The dark web monitoring feature may also be worth a try, especially if you have high online activity.

But if you're looking for a perfect tool, this may not be it. Or perhaps, any people search tool, for that matter. Nonetheless, their dedicated customer care team can compensate for any negative issues you may encounter on their platform.

References

  1. ^ Federal Trade Commission. Employer Background Checks and Your Rights, Retrieved 4/25/2024
  2. ^ TruthFinder. TruthFinder Pricing & Membership Information, Retrieved 07/21/2024
  3. ^ TruthFinder. Is TruthFinder Anonymous?, Retrieved 4/25/2024
  4. ^ Federal Trade Commission. Truthfinder Complaint, Retrieved 4/17/2024
  5. ^ Consumer Affairs. TruthFinder Reviews, Retrieved 6/18/2024
  6. ^ Sitejabber.com. TruthFinder.com, Retrieved 6/18/2024
  7. ^ Trustpilot. TruthFinder, Retrieved 6/18/2024
  8. ^ Google Play. TruthFinder Background Check, Retrieved 4/25/2024
  9. ^ App Store. TruthFinder Search, Retrieved 4/25/2024
  10. ^ Truthfinder. How to See Who Lives at an Address, Retrieved 4/16/2024
  11. ^ Intelius. Intelius Pricing & Membership Information, Retrieved 4/25/2024

Write to Penny Besana at feedback@creditdonkey.com. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our latest posts.

Note: This website is made possible through financial relationships with some of the products and services mentioned on this site. We may receive compensation if you shop through links in our content. You do not have to use our links, but you help support CreditDonkey if you do.

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