The web is littered with catfish who pretend to be someone else. While not everyone is out to get you, it’s wise to be cautious when chatting online with someone you don’t know.

If you’re suspicious of the identity of a Snapchat user, there are a few simple tools to find out someone’s real name on Snapchat.

1. Try a Search Engine

While it sounds glaringly obvious, start with a general search engine like Google, Bing, or Duckduckgo. Simply plug everything you know into your search engine.

For example, the person’s Snapchat username, or if the person gives you a full name, just enter it and see where else the name appears online. Don’t rule out nicknames, either. For example, if you meet someone named “Liz,” try “Elizabeth,” “Betsy,” “Eliza,” “Beth,” or “Betty,” coupled with a tidbit you already know.

Also look for bits of information from your previous conversations, such as details about the person’s city, place of work, or occupation, and use them to search to construct a more complete picture.

2. Reverse Image Search

You can also try using the person’s Snapchat profile picture to run a reverse image search with Google Images, TinEye, or Bing Images.

For example, just go to Google Images, click the camera icon, then drag and drop the photo into the Google search bar, and see what pops up.

This will show you other places on the web where that photo has appeared, which could lead you to the person’s other social media page given many people use the same profile picture on multiple social media platforms.

3. Check Social Media

If your Google search comes empty-handed, you may want to check to see if you can find social media accounts owned by your person of interest.

To find someone on social media platforms, try using the search bar or directory on the platform to search for their Snapchat username. Many people recycle their usernames and profiles on multiple sites, so there is a chance that you find them through this. Additionally, you can also try searching for the person’s email or phone number on each site to see if they have a public profile, if you have this information.

If you manage to find a profile belonging to the person, check their posts and comments to see if you can find out their real name. You should also cross-reference their email address, profile picture, username, or any communication handles, with their social media accounts, especially if you haven’t found a full name yet.

Note that if the account you find has a small number of friends and no photos with other people (mostly selfies), it might be an indication of a phony profile.

4. Use a People Search Tool

There are third-party account finder tools that are designed specifically to find people-related information, such as Social Catfish – a social media investigation service based in California.

Social Catfish lets you look up someone‘s information such as their social media username, email, and phone number to find their name, contact details, public records, and more. Just search the Snapchat username with Social Catfish and see what comes up.

Below is a Social Catfish username lookup sample report:

Social Catfish also provides an image search tool – like Google Images mentioned above but more powerful – which can help you find any other accounts someone has set up with a specific photo. This could verify the authenticity of a profile picture by finding out if the same image has been used elsewhere on the internet.

5. Hire a Private Investigator

If finding the person is imperative, you may want to consider hiring a private investigator. Private investigators can help you gather information and conduct investigations using various methods.

You can look for private investigators through online directories or professional organizations such as the National Association of Private Investigators. Or you can hire a search specialist from Social Catfish. The search experts at Social Catfish will tailor their search to your specific needs and do all the legwork for you.

Wrapping Up

We don’t condone stalking, but it’s sensible to do a little vetting when something seems a little off with someone you met online.

In this post, we’ve covered how to find out someone’s real name on Snapchat. Now that you have the knowledge, go ahead and give it a try, and let us know how it goes. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to reach out to us.