Social Media Search

What is a social media username search?

A social media username search is similar to conducting a people search; instead of searching for someone by name, you're searching by social media username. Even if all you know about someone is their Twitter handle, for example, plugging that into a social media profile search may reveal the person behind the account.

Seventy-two percent of all U.S. adults use some form of social media, and that number reaches 90% for people aged 18-29. Virtually everyone is on social media, and is likely active on multiple apps and websites. And for every account they own, there's a username associated with it. Plug in a social media username, and in addition to possibly learning more about the person behind the account, you may also find other accounts they use.

That's the power of a social media username search: potentially finding useful information on people you only know virtually. Whereas you might use a people search to find your coworker's Instagram account, a social profile search may reveal that the anonymous account you follow is, in fact, one that belongs to your coworker.

Source: pewresearch.org

How does a social media profile search work?

Running a social media username search is easy. If you've ever searched for someone by name or email, you're familiar with the concept. Input a username, and the search will comb through public records to try and connect it to the person associated with the account.

Whether it's for branding purposes or just to make life simpler, it's not uncommon for people to use the same username across multiple sites. If you know someone's YouTube username, there's a good chance you've found their Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter profiles as well. You can even search usernames on sites not traditionally considered to be social media platforms, such as, Quora, Yelp and Imgur.

Why use online People Search?

One of the most impactful ways to use a username search is to better spot fraud and scams. Bad actors rely on the anonymity of social media, so attempting to learn the identity of the person behind the username could save you a lot of hassle further down the road. But even if it's a case of benign curiosity, there's no harm in learning more about the people you interact with on a daily basis.

By running a social media profile search, you may be able to:

Unmask online trolls. Trolls are online denizens who antagonize regular users for their own amusement. Their most powerful weapon is anonymity. By potentially finding out their identity, you may be able to neutralize them and report the behavior.
Avoid catfishes and other online dating scams. The most sophisticated catfishes create whole personalities for their characters, often including social media accounts. Using a social media profile search may reveal the identity of the person behind the account.
Learn more about your date. A reverse username search for a known profile may reveal other profiles associated with your date.
Limit e-commerce fraud. Cybercrime costs consumers worldwide an estimated $445 billion a year, and that includes fraud committed on p2p commerce sites such as eBay. By running a search on a buyer or seller's username, you may feel more confident making a deal.

What information will a social media account search provide?

The value of a social media username search is its ability to potentially connect an online username to a real person. Once that's established, the search may reveal the same information you might get from a people search, including:

age

Current & Past ADDRESS

CRIMINAL RECORDS

Possible relatives

Phone numbers & email addresses

Profile photos & other social media accounts

What the search returns depends on multiple factors, including the availability of digitized records and someone's overall online activity. The more active someone is on social media, the more information a search may be able to find.

How to search social media by username?

Simply take the username for the account you want to research, plug it into the search form and see what results turn up. For greater accuracy, you can specify the social platform, but it's not required.

If PeopleLooker is able to locate the owner of the account, you'll be able to see a report that may contain even more information on the person.

Can I search social media by email?

Of course! In fact, you may be able to find someone's social media accounts by searching their email address, name or even phone number. After all, smartphone use has grown by nearly 500% in the U.S. since 2010, and many social media apps require pairing a phone number to your account as a security measure.

Regardless of how you search, PeopleLooker is able to return the same potential information, including social media profiles. In today's digital world, you can never be too cautious about your online connections. A social media username search is just one more tool that can help provide some peace of mind.