How to Find People Using Free Tools on the Web

Google

Ask someone what Google is, and they'll tell you it's a search engine. However, Google is much more than just a search engine. It offers a whole spectrum of search tools that you can use to find people on the web. These include finding phone numbers, tracking down maps, and images.

Family Tree Now

Family Tree Now is a popular genealogy and people search site that provides a surprising amount of information—all free—with no registration required. Anything from census records to birth dates and phone numbers can be found here, making the site both useful and somewhat controversial at the same time. 

Zabasearch

Zabasearch, a free people search engine, uncovers a startling amount of information, most of it amazingly accurate. It updates its records according to information that's publicly available. You can search by what's available in the public domain for free public access.

People Search Sites

There are a wide variety of websites that focus only on people-related information, such as online phone directories and databases. These sites are excellent resources for picking up bits and pieces of information, such as business phone numbers, obituary notices, and census data.

Sites that focus only on people-related information are incredibly valuable tools when you're trying to dig up as much information as possible.

Obituaries and Death Notices

Surprisingly, in a day of almost limitless information online, obituaries prove somewhat tricky to find because they are published by local, city, and state newspapers. It's worth a try to check the newspaper in a person's hometown if you have that information. There are ways to find both present and past obituaries on the web using a variety of resources and search queries.

If you don't have the hometown but have the person's first and last name, try the free Social Security Death Index at Ancestry.com. It may lead you to the date of death and the city or town where the person was living. Then, you can check the local newspaper.

Facebook

Hundreds of millions of people use Facebook every day to connect with friends and family all over the world. You can use this incredibly deep and diverse network to find a person, company, brand, or organization. The possibilities are endless.

You need to have a free Facebook account to access all the Facebook information that is available to you. There are plenty of ways to use Facebook to find people, starting with your high school classmates.

Cell Phone Numbers

If you've ever tried to look up a cell phone number, you've probably hit a brick wall. Cell phone numbers are attractive to people who enjoy their privacy because they aren't listed in public phone directories. However, there are ways to get around this and track down who a cell phone number belongs to using a few clever search tricks.

If you have a phone number, try using a reverse number lookup on Google, or search the social media websites for the number.