"How can I find someone online?"

That's a common question that's being answered by social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn these days. But even before they took over, there was a category of search engines that did the sleuthing for you. Some of these people search engines still exist, and ZabaSearch is perhaps the best of all.

ZabaSearch is a people search engine that lets you search for people in the U.S. by name, address, or phone number. Simply enter the person's details into the search field and wait for Zaba to crawl its databases.

The Hunt for Information

ZabaSearch gleans all information from public record databases: directory assistance database, voter registration records, court records, marketing information, any public record of property transaction, etc.

The company reiterates that it does not maintain any records of its own:

"Information found using ZabaSearch is all available elsewhere on the web and is all public information."

So using ZabaSearch is like looking at a mirror. You might not like that so much of this information is available to anyone online. But then, this information has already been available in some form or another -- the search engine is just a powerful shovel that digs it all out.

How to Find Anyone Easily

You do not have to register to use the basic ZabaSearch search engine. Search with a name or a phone number. You can restrict yourself to a single state or do a blanket search across the country. Search results are capped at 100.

There are some other ways to do a people search on the site:

  • Reverse phone lookup
  • Search with the 3-digit area code
  • Search by zip code
  • Search an IP address

The Advanced Search tool adds a few more options. You can break down your search by:

  • First Name
  • Middle Name
  • Last Name
  • City/Town
  • State

Some ZabaSearch Premium features are also "free" but you must log in with your Facebook account. And that's something any privacy-minded person will balk at, and I wouldn't blame you. Here's a complete list of the search features [Broken URL Removed] on offer at ZabaSearch.

The deeper Background Check and Search by Phone Number features need payment as they are performed by Intelius or US Search. ZabaSearch is an affiliate partner of these services. These searches are not part of the free "Premium" services on offer via the Facebook login.

Are You Looking for Someone?

ZabaSearch is a basic people search engine and just one of the tools you need in your arsenal. It does manage to show how little bits of isolated public information can be strung together.

Have you successfully found a friend or a relation online with the help of people search engines? Or does social media trump them all?

Image Credit: ASDF_MEDIA via Shutterstock