According to Census data, the average American moves around 12 times during their lifetime. If you think about all the people you know and keep in contact with, that is a lot of addresses to remember and keep track of. Now, imagine all the neighbors, distant relatives, colleagues, and acquaintances you may want to visit or simply send a card or letter.
If you want to find someone’s current address and phone number, there are multiple ways you can approach this. All you need to know is a person’s name, approximate age, and the last place you have seen them. Below is a brief overview of the methods that you can use to check where someone lives:
- Ask around
- Browse phonebooks
- Check correspondence
- Utilize the power of search engines
- Browse White Pages
- Search Facebook
- View their Instagram
- Research business information
- Ask the post office
- Use people search sites
Now, let’s dive deeper into each of these options to find the best way to find out where someone lives that works for you.
How to Find Someone’s Address for Free
While there are multiple ways to look up someone’s address online, today, we will focus on how you can find where someone lives for free. All information that is available online is naturally public – simply because it is open to anyone. Combining bits of data from different sources can lead up to a good picture that will make the puzzle complete.
1. Ask Around
Ok, this one may be pretty straightforward, but you may be surprised at the results you can get by simply asking people. There is a good reason we have placed this method first, as you most likely wouldn’t need to go any further than this.
How many friends do you have in common? Most likely quite a lot. You can approach people you both know to ask around on the whereabouts of the person you are looking for. If you don’t know them directly, don’t be afraid to reach out on Facebook or other social media. They can at least pass on information that you are looking for that person and ask them to contact you.
If you know where someone works or attends school, you might be able to contact the institution and ask if they can forward a message or provide an updated address.
2. Browse Phonebooks
Yes, we all know that directory books are a thing of the past, but sometimes they provide just the right information, especially if you are looking for an older person who hasn’t changed addresses often. Directory books are a hit or miss for younger people who change homes more often than once in a few years.
Make sure you get the most recent revision of a phone book, search for the last name, find the first name, and look up a person’s address. If you know the phone number of the person you are looking for, that will help narrow down your search.
3. Check Correspondence
It may be a surprise, but you may already know where a person lives. Many people have their home or business address listed in their email signature – this is most relevant for self-employed professionals and other brick and mortar business types. Also, the address may have been a part of your previous conversation with that person.
Try searching by email to see if you have anything in your mailbox that contains that person’s address. If you know the city or town the person may be living in, try also including that in the search request. For example, look up “John Doe Cleveland” in your inbox folder. It also may make sense to check other messengers where you may have communicated together.
4. Google Them
Most likely, you have already tried this. Google is the world’s largest search engine and contains millions of people records, alongside billions of other pages that may not be relevant to what you are looking for. Google is continually working to optimize its search algorithms to provide better results, but you can try some simple tricks that can help you get the desired results faster.
Be sure to include the person’s name in quote marks – this will provide only the exact word matches in the results. If you know the city or state this person may be living in, also include that in the search request, for example: “John Doe Cleveland, OH”. If that doesn’t work, try using alternative names or nicknames – Jonathan, Johnny, Jon.
Another method would be looking for relatives of that person or a spouse – it can be a bit more time-consuming but may get the job done when a direct search doesn’t help. If you know the person’s occupation or a hobby that may also help – “John Doe Dentist” or “John Doe Drummer”.
You can also use Google’s reverse picture search if you have a photo of the person you are looking for to find websites with the image or similar images. Just go to Google Images, click on “upload photo” and view the results.
5. Search White Pages
White Pages is great for phone numbers and sometimes can contain addresses for people. Its database covers around 90% of the US adult population, so it’s a great place to start to see if you can find a person’s address for free. Please note, not all information on White Pages can be accessed without paying, and some profiles are restricted to premium access.
To find someone’s home address, simply enter a name and ZIP code (if known) and click search. The results can be refined to include city or state and the approximate age. When you have found the profile that matches your request, simply scroll down to the address section to see if data is available for free.
6. Search Facebook
Facebook is the 3rd most visited website and contains around 60% of the world’s social networking population. Roughly 71% of Americans use Facebook, so you have a very good chance of finding people you know.
Log in to Facebook and search for a full name to get a list of people that match. Open the About section to see the person’s address. Depending on the particular user’s privacy settings, they may or may not disclose their residential address. If you are friends with that person on Facebook, this greatly increases your chances of viewing this information.
If that doesn’t work, then try following their check-ins to narrow down their whereabouts. Of course, this wouldn’t give you an exact physical address with a house number and street name but will let you see if the person may have moved to another city or state, which may help you get results in conjunction with other methods listed in this article.
7. View Their Instagram
Again, Instagram will not provide a precise postal address but may give you an indication of where the person is currently residing. Depending on the user’s privacy settings, you may need to follow them first in order to see their photos, tags, and stories.
Most photos on Instagram have location markers on top of the picture by clicking on which will open a map with a location where the picture was taken. On that note, a lot of Instagram users use false location markers to improve their photo visibility (for other users to see when they search for a popular location) to get more likes. Also, Instagram is commonly used to post trip and vacation photos, so don’t start packing your bags for Thailand just yet.
8. Research Business Information
Another good way to find a person’s address by name free of charge is by targeting their occupation or line of business. For example, you may have business cards or other promotional material laying around that may contain the person’s address if they do business. If you have done business with them directly, check their payment information for a billing address – PayPal receipts, payment invoices, and agreements.
Business listing websites could also be of great help if you are unsure of the company’s exact name. Sites like Superpages, Yelp, TripAdvisor, and LinkedIn can assist in finding the address of a business.
9. Ask the Post Office
If you already know the old mailing address of a person, then the easiest way to find someone’s new address may be to simply contact the post office to find out if someone changed their mailing address.
If you don’t want the person to know that you are looking for their address, use the “Return Service Requested” method. To do this, simply write RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED above the recipient’s address, attach a postage stamp and send the letter. What this does is basically notifies the postal service that you want the mail returned with the new address. If the person forwarded their mail, you will receive your letter back with a yellow sticker with the new address on it. If they didn’t forward the mail, you would receive your mail back with nothing on it.
If you don’t care if they know that you are looking for their address or simply want to send a letter or a card, then use the “Address Correction Requested” method. To do this, write ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED above the recipient’s address, attach a postage stamp and send the letter. The only difference between this method and the one above is that your mail will actually be forwarded to the new address, and the recipient will receive it. You will get a card in response that will tell you the new address.
10. Use People Search Sites
A people search site is a public records search engine, which means that the sole purpose of such a service is to gather data on people all over the web and provide it in one place. Most people search sites also have connections to thousands of government archives across the whole country, including civil archives, courts, prisons, community databases, and many more.
People search sites are possibly the easiest way to find out where someone lives, together with their full location history, phone numbers, emails, relatives, neighbors, and social media accounts. Most services would allow you to make the search knowing only a person’s name and refine the results with additional filters to narrow down your search to the exact person you need.
The catch is that not all services are free and may contain hidden fees to lure you into actually spending money on the information you need. A good approach would be to browse around and see if the people search engine provides address information for free. Try searching multiple people search sites to check if full address information is provided instantly. If you have to click numerous times between a number of pages or wait until a 5-minute loader completes – most likely, there will be a payment page hiding at the end of your journey.
How to Find an Address With Names and Facts
You can find out where someone lives on Names and Facts in three simple steps:
- Search a person by name
- Refine the results using filters
- Open the individual profile
On each profile, you will be able to see a person’s age, known names & AKAs, previous locations, and relatives. Most profiles would also have the date of birth, marital status, phone numbers, email addresses, and friends & associates.
Conclusion
In conclusion, finding someone’s address doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With the variety of methods available, from asking friends to utilizing online resources like search engines and social media platforms, you can track down someone’s current address for free. Remember to use these methods responsibly and respect people’s privacy. Whether you’re sending a letter or simply reconnecting with an old friend, these tips can help you locate the address you need.
FAQ:
What is the best way to find out where someone lives?
Each case is individual, and most of the time, a combination of the methods that we have described will work best. It really depends on many factors – whether this person has digitized property records, uses social media, has a business, has a strong online presence, moves houses often, discloses his personal information publicly. The chosen approach would also depend significantly on whether you want to stay anonymous or don’t care if the person finds out if you are researching them.
As a rule of thumb, we would suggest:
- Google them first
- Check correspondence
- Ask around
- Try White Pages or people search sites
Is it possible to find someone’s address only knowing their name?
Yes, absolutely. You can find a person knowing only their name by searching directory books, White Pages, Facebook & Instagram, LinkedIn, and people search sites.
Is there a way to find out the new address of a person if they have moved?
Check out the Return Service and Address Correction option in the “Ask the Post Office” section of this article to find out how to get a person’s new postal address or forwarding address.
Can I find someone’s address using Names and Facts?
Yes, that is one of the primary purposes of a people directory. Names and Facts is one of the largest online people search sites in the United States and was designed specifically to help people find contact information on anyone – be it an old friend, family member, colleague, neighbor, or simply any person of interest.
Does Names and Facts provide information for free?
Yes, Names and Facts offers both paid and free services. You can find names, AKAs, age, previous locations, relatives, friend & associate information without the need for payment. Some profiles also include marital status, phone numbers, and email addresses for free.
If you feel that you need more information on a specific profile, there is also premium data available which includes full address and residence history, complete list of phone numbers and email addresses, detailed relative report, home ownership, financial data, salaries, assets, bankruptcies, marriage & divorce records, judgments, criminal records, and much more.
Please note that premium reports are compiled from data that requires more time and resources, and sometimes we have to pay for the data that we provide. We want to be 100% transparent with you and don’t want to keep you waiting in long lines or perform any sales pitches. You can use our service for free without any limitations to see public data that is already available in our database or get access to full reports for $19.95 per month, and we will instantly compile every bit of premium data for you on anyone in under 3 seconds.