We’ve all been in the situation where we would like to know more about someone but only have a little information about them, such as a name, phone number, email address, username, address, or just their social media profile picture. Maybe it’s someone you just met online and you want to learn a little more about their background before meeting them, or you want to track down someone you know on social media. If that sounds like you, then Social Catfish should be your go-to search tool.

What Is Social Catfish?

Social Catfish is an online investigation service that offers various tools for you to search and verify people’s identities. It’s not the most well-known people search tool out there, but it’s definitely the one that compiles the most comprehensive social media information. You can search for someone by their name, email address, address, phone number, social media username, or even just their photos.

How Does Social Catfish Work?

Social Catfish claims to use proprietary algorithms and advanced search techniques to find accurate and up-to-date information on individuals. It also has a team of search specialists that can help you investigate someone using tools and databases that are not accessible through regular searches.

No matter what you’re looking for, there’s a good chance Social Catfish will find it for you. In our tests, it provided a treasure trove of information with just a few clicks, and almost never completely failed to find someone. Read our full review below to learn more…

Ease of use

Social Catfish has made searching for people-related information simpler than ever.

All you need to do is provide a piece of identifying information about your subject, then Social Catfish will use a combination of advanced search algorithms and human investigation techniques to gather information about individuals and their online activities.

Flexibility

Social Catfish‘s flexibility in search is one of its standout differences. While most people search tools allow you to search for people by name, phone number, and address, you can search with name, address, email address, phone number, username, or just a photo of the person you want to investigate. So even if you don’t know much about the person, there’s still a good chance you’ll be able to track them down.

Information Found

Social Catfish sources its information from dozens of online sources, including public records, social media, and other online databases.

In the first part of the Social Catfish Background report, you can view basic information about the person, including their name, age, current address, and email address.

The next section tells you what public records about the person have been found. For example, the attached screenshot is a Social Catfish sample report, next to Professional Licenses, it says “Found”. You can click the text to view the associated record – which may look like this:

If the person has a criminal or traffic record, it will be listed next to Judgements, and it may look this in the report:

If you’re more interested in the person’s online presence, Social Catfish might also find websites the person has accounts on under the Websites section. Click on the website and you’ll be taken to the person’s account page.

If you run a phone number lookup with this tool, you will be able to view a list of possible owners of the phone number, the carrier, and line type.

A reverse address lookup with Social Catfish usually digs up details like who the property owner is, its residents, property records, and the safety of the neighborhood.

Social Catfish also provides a reverse image search feature that lets you search for someone based on their photo. This feature can be useful for verifying the identity of someone who may be using a fake name or profile.

Accuracy

As with other people search engines, the information available on this website won’t be 100% accurate, complete, or up to date. Social Catfish sources publicly available data from a wide range of sources, and there is no guarantee that the information you found is correct.

Cost

Performing a basic search with Social Catfish is free, but if you need to access the detailed report, you’d need to pay for the membership.

• Unlimited Social Search — $6.48 for three days and then $29.94 a month
• In-Depth Search — $297 for one report

Anonymity

When you use Social Catfish to search for someone, there’s no way for the subject of your search to find out you searched for them.

Is Social Catfish Legit?

Social Catfish is a legitimate online investigation service that provides assistance in identifying and verifying individuals and their online activities.

Social Catfish obtains the information it provides through a variety of sources, including publicly available records, social media profiles, and other online sources. The information found is inherently public and Social Catfish does a superb job at gathering all the public information together into one cohesive page for you to review.

Is It Ethical to Look Up Someone with This Tool?

Using people search tools like Social Catfish is completely legal and ethical if you don’t use the information for illegal purposes. In fact, all the information provided by Social Catfish is already publicly available, so you could probably find it yourself, manually, if you’re willing to invest the time, effort, and money required, and you’re very good at research.

So the ethics of using a people search service like Social Catfish to look up someone’s information depends on the intent and purpose behind your search. Suppose the search is conducted with the intention of reconnecting with an old friend or family member or verifying the identity of someone for legitimate personal or professional reasons. In that case, it can be considered ethical as long as it is done in accordance with applicable laws and regulations regarding privacy and data protection.

However, it’s illegal to use the data provided by Social Catfish and all other people search tools for any purpose prohibited by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). If the search is carried out with malicious intent, such as to harass, intimidate, or stalk someone, or to obtain information for illegal or unethical purposes, then it would be considered unethical and potentially illegal.

To put it simply, the act of obtaining information about someone is not inherently unethical; it only becomes unethical when that information is used in an unethical manner. If, for instance, the acquired information is intended to facilitate stalking or bullying, it is unequivocally unethical. Similarly, it is unethical to employ the information for theft, identity theft, or to deceive individuals into engaging in actions they wouldn’t ordinarily undertake.

Wrap Up

Overall, Social Catfish appears to be a comprehensive people search and verification service, offering a range of tools and services for you to search and verify people’s identities. However, as with any online service that collects and provides personal information, it doesn’t guarantee accurate and updated information.