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Whether you want to find out more about an elusive neighbor, see what the internet has to say about you, or track down a former boyfriend or girlfriend, using a background check service is an easy way to quickly get the information you need.
TruthFinder is one such online service you can use to dig for information on someone. You can even use it to find out what others see online when they search for you.
Keep reading for our TruthFinder review to find out if it’s legit, how much it costs, and whether it really works:
TruthFinder is a background search service that crawls public records and aggregates the information into a report. You can use it to search for just about anyone in the United States by typing in their name, phone number, email address, or physical address.
What information does TruthFinder provide?
When you run a background check on someone using TruthFinder, you may be able to see the following:
Contact information (phone numbers, email addresses, social media profiles)
Sex offenders in the area
TruthFinder won’t reveal someone else’s social security number to you in any of their background reports. However, they do have a section on their background reports that lets you know when and where someone’s social security number was issued.
How far back does TruthFinder go?
According to Consumer Affairs, a customer review platform, the information included in a TruthFinder report goes back as far as 15 years — although results vary by person. I was able to see my aunt’s childhood address, where she lived in the 1960s, in her report.
Keep in mind that convicted crimes, including felonies and misdemeanors, will stay on someone’s records indefinitely until the person files a request to have their criminal record expunged or sealed, according to the Center for American Progress.
TransUnion credit reporting agency reports that bankruptcies will stay on someone’s record for seven to 10 years, depending on which type of bankruptcy they file.
Is TruthFinder accurate? Does it work?
Customer reviews say that TruthFinder is mostly accurate and that the service works relatively well.
However, what you’ll be able to find really varies from person to person. Some customers complain that the information in reports isn’t totally up-to-date or is pretty basic.
From my experience of doing background checks on myself and family members, TruthFinder was easy to use and provided accurate results, although there was nothing surprising in any of the reports I ran.
They have different types of searches you can conduct on their website:
Reverse phone lookup service
TruthFinder searches can reveal someone’s contact information, criminal and arrest records, marriage and divorce records, employment history, current and previous addresses, and social media profiles.
With TruthFinder’s background check, you can pull a background report on an online date, cheating spouse, family member, friend, co-worker, neighbor, or roommate — but not on a potential employee or tenant. You’ll need to input into TruthFinder the person’s first name, last name, city, and state to run a background check.
Once you do this, TruthFinder will run the background check and compile it into a report, which may include: education, employment history, relatives, and more.
Learn how to run background checks for the following reasons:
Background checks for nannies
Background checks for dating
TruthFinder’s people search allows you to find someone’s contact information, whether you’re looking to reconnect with an old friend or get in touch with an estranged family member.
You can search just by first and last name, but you’ll get the best results if you also include a city and state. Once you input their information, TruthFinder will run the search and compile the results into a background report, including all of the same information listed above.
TruthFinder for public records search
You can use TruthFinder’s public records search to find public records, arrest records, or information about a legal case.
After typing in a person’s first name, last name, city, and state, TruthFinder will run the public records search and compile the information into a background report. Just like the background check service, the report may include the following information:
This is a good option if you're dating someone and notice some red flags.
TruthFinder’s reverse phone lookup
If you want to look up a spam number or find out who’s been texting your partner, you can use TruthFinder’s reverse phone lookup.
All you have to do is type in the phone number, and TruthFinder will create a report telling you the name of the person associated with that number and any other known aliases that person has.
The report may also include a photo of the person, links to their social media profiles, and job and education history.
TruthFinder is a legitimate, Better Business Bureau-accredited company based in San Diego. They currently hold an A+ BBB rating.
TruthFinder has more than 700 customer reviews on the BBB website and over 1,000 customer reviews on TrustPilot. Although customer reviews on both platforms are mixed, they’re mostly positive, with 62% of TrustPilot reviewers giving TruthFinder 5/5 stars and 15% rating them 4/5 stars.
TruthFinder is transparent about the services they offer and how their services can — and can’t — be used. They have a disclaimer on their website that says you cannot legally use their services to conduct employee or tenant screenings.
TruthFinder has an A+ rating from the BBB and has been an accredited business since 2018. Customer reviews are mixed, with the company holding a 2.98/5-star customer rating.
Positive customer reviews note that the reverse phone lookup is a great tool to identify scam callers. They also highlight TruthFinder’s good customer service and how easy it is to cancel a subscription.
Negative customer reviews claim the information included in background reports is pretty basic and could be found using a Google search. They also complain about inaccurate information showing on a report.
Our own experience when logging into TruthFinder
I signed up for the $1 five-day trial to see how TruthFinder’s background check service works. Once I put in my payment information and verified my email address, I was able to use TruthFinder.
I wanted to find out what information other people could see about me, so I started by running a background check search on myself. I entered my name, city, and state, and in about a minute, my report was ready.
The results were accurate, albeit underwhelming (although I guess I should be happy that there isn’t more about me out there for other people to find).
I was able to see my age, birth month, possible relatives (including my boyfriend), possible associates (these included my boyfriend and friends of my parents), my parent’s home phone number, my current and previous addresses (with the dates I lived in each place), and a list of sex offenders in my neighborhood.
Next, I tried searching for my estranged aunt whom my parents and I haven’t seen or spoken to in five years. I knew her name and address, but I had lost her phone number and had no idea what she’d been up to since we last saw each other, pre-pandemic.
In her report, I was able to get her possible aliases (versions of her name including her maiden and married last names), home and cell phone numbers, and a few possible email addresses.
I was also able to see her possible relatives (which included her husband, son, and in-laws)  as well as her current and previous addresses — all the way back to the address where she and my dad grew up (in the '60s and '70s!).
I also learned that my aunt sold my grandmother’s house, which had been in her possession since my grandmother died, in 2018.
Finally, I signed up for a month of TruthFinder’s reverse phone lookup service ($4.99) to check if any of the random calls I get on my cell phone daily were people I knew or if they were just spammers.
I was able to get names, email addresses, and physical addresses for many of the phone numbers spamming me and could even see their more detailed background report with information on employment and education history.
After confirming that the last few random numbers that called me were indeed not people I knew, I blocked them from contacting me again.
After three days, I first canceled my five-day trial and was refunded the $1. The cancellation process was relatively easy. All I had to do was go to my membership settings, select Cancel Membership, and go through a few prompts to confirm I wanted to cancel. (TruthFinder offered a discounted subscription and asked me a few times if I really wanted to cancel). Once I confirmed that I did, it was canceled immediately.
I also canceled my subscription to TruthFinder’s reverse phone lookup service, which involved the same process as canceling the five-day trial; I had to pay for the month and still have access to my account and am able to make phone searches until the 30-day subscription period is over.
Running a report on someone on TruthFinder is anonymous. According to the company, the person you’re searching for won’t be notified that you’re searching for them.
Does TruthFinder tell the person?
TruthFinder won’t tell the person you’re searching that you’re searching for them. According to the company, “You don’t need to worry about an email or push notification alerting them that you’ve been doing some poking around.”
TruthFinder cost: Is there a fee for TruthFinder?
Yes, you’ll need to pay a fee to use TruthFinder. They offer a monthly subscription plan for $28.05, or you can prepay for two months at $45.57, which works out to $23.28 a month. With both plans, you get unlimited reports.
TruthFinder also offers a subscription option for their reverse phone lookup feature. It’s $4.99 a month for unlimited phone number lookups.
If you’re not interested in making a commitment, TruthFinder offers a five-day trial for $1, which includes unlimited reports. If you cancel before the five days are up, you’ll get a refund — but keep in mind that if you fail to cancel before your trial is up, you’ll be enrolled in a monthly membership and be charged $29.89 every 30 days until you cancel.
Is TruthFinder hard to cancel?
TruthFinder isn’t hard to cancel. You can cancel your subscription at any time with no early termination fees.
To cancel your subscription, log into your account, click on the “Account” tab in the upper-right corner, and select “Membership Settings.” From there, click “Cancel Subscription” and submit your request. Your cancellation request will be processed immediately.
You can also cancel over the phone by calling TruthFinder’s customer support team at 800-699-8081 during normal business hours or emailing them at [email protected]
Just note that if your membership is between billing cycles, you’ll be charged the full amount for that period even if you cancel before it ends.
Can you use TruthFinder for free?
No, you can’t use TruthFinder for free. You must pay for a trial or membership to access background reports and to be able to look up phone numbers.
Pros and cons of TruthFinder
TruthFinder has its pros and cons. On the positive side, it can help you vet people and see what kind of information others can find out about you.
Plus, it’s simple to use and results are pretty accurate. All you need is a person’s name or phone number to run a background report on them, and any information TruthFinder finds will be compiled into an easy-to-read report.
Because TruthFinder aggregates public data from many sources, you don’t have to go digging around multiple websites or spend a ton of time tracking down information on someone. When I ran a background check on myself, it took all of a minute for the report to be completed.
There’s also a $1 five-day trial so you can try out the background check service before committing to a subscription. If you cancel the trial before the five days are up, you’ll be refunded your money.
On the negative side, because all of the information you can get from TruthFinder is from public sources, the information isn’t unique. It’s possible to find this information elsewhere for free.
According to customer reviews, sometimes the information included in a report isn’t up-to-date or can be scarce — so you might be disappointed, depending on what information you’re hoping to find about someone.
TruthFinder also isn’t free. You have to pay to access information — and if you sign up for the $1 trial but don’t cancel before the five days are up, you’ll be charged $29.89 for a monthly subscription. Plus, the reverse phone lookup feature isn’t included in the trial. You’ll have to sign up for a $4.99 per month subscription to use that service.
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Bottom line: Is TruthFinder worth paying for?
If you’re not interested or don’t have the time to search a bunch of different places to try to find information on someone, then it may be worth signing up for TruthFinder’s $1 five-day trial. As long as you cancel before the five days are up, you’ll get your money back.
TruthFinder is easy to use, easy to cancel, and relatively accurate. It can help you track down basic information about someone, including phone numbers, current and past addresses, and employment and education history. But you may be disappointed that all of the information isn’t up-to-date or doesn’t go beyond the basics.
Start searching for someone on TruthFinder >>
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Christina Heiser is a New York City-based content marketer and freelance writer. She covers beauty, health, nutrition, fitness, and parenting for a variety of online and print publications. Her work regularly appears on websites including NBC News and A Sweat Life. Over her decade-long career, she's also held editorial positions at Everyday Health and Women's Health. When she's not working, you can find Christina checking out the latest boutique fitness classes, attempting to master gluten-free cooking, and watching reality TV.