People search site

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A people search site or people finder site is a specialized search engine that searches information from public records, data brokers and other sources to compile reports about individual people, usually for a fee. [1] [2]

Early examples of people search sites included Classmates.com [3] and Switchboard.com (later acquired by Whitepages.com). [4] With the rise of social media networks, sites like Spokeo, BeenVerified, and Truthfinder began to aggregate social media profile information alongside other personal data, allowing searches by username and email address. [4]

See also

References

  1. "What To Know About People Search Sites That Sell Your Information". ftc.gov. Federal Trade Commission. July 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  2. Komando, Kim (February 19, 2023). "Take your privacy back: How to remove your personal data from people search sites". USA Today. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  3. "Classmates.com Becomes Probably the First For-Profit Social Networking Site : History of Information". www.historyofinformation.com. Retrieved 2024-10-22.
  4. 1 2 "A Short History of People Search: How It Has Transformed Over Time". 24 June 2024.