The internet makes finding old friends much easier than ever. Someone with a common or infrequent name online can still be hard to find, but be patient and leave a message on a friend search site, and he or she may be the one to find you. Government records are another great resource, especially if your friend has court records or has donated large sums to political campaigns.
Step
Method 1 of 3: Starting Your Search
Step 1. Write down as many details as you can remember
If your search becomes protracted or yields unclear results, you'll be grateful for every detail you can find. Try to remember his hair color, height, maiden name, names of family members and the names of cities he has lived in and places where he has worked.
Step 2. Contact other people who know the person you are looking for
Ask them when they last saw them, talked to them or look up any personal information such as their last known email address or phone number.
- If you and your friend have had a big fight, some of your contacts may not want to help.
- It can be helpful to go through your address book to see if you've written down anything about him that you've forgotten about.
Step 3. Know how to search online
An attempt through a simple search engine will often lead you nowhere, but it's worth a try. Whether you use Google or one of the specialized services described later, it can be helpful to know how to make your search more effective:
- Also look for nicknames, even if your friends didn't have them when you met them. For example, “Elizabeth” might now be called “Beth,” “Betty,” or “Liza.”
- Look only for his first name, in case your friend's last name changes due to marriage or divorce.
- In search engines, include your friend's name in quotation marks, then add information such as his school, the city he lives in, or his field of work.
Step 4. Find your friend's name in Google Image search
If you see a face that may be your friend, follow the link to the site where the image appears. Even if this doesn't lead you to a contact number, you may be able to find a more recent photo of your friend, which will help you identify them in future search results.
Method 2 of 3: Searching on Social Media and People Search Sites
Step 1. Use social media sites
Search your friend's full name on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media, as well as Google or other search engines.
On Facebook, type a name in the search bar above and press enter. On the left, select People. A filter list will appear at the top of your search, where you can enter a possible location, place of work or school
Step 2. Use a dedicated people search site
Pipl is one of the free search services out there. You can also try ZabaSearch or YoName, or pay for searches for a few dollars at Intelius, advancedbackgroundchecks, radaris, peekyou, Veromi.com, or Spokeo.com. Often you can take separate search results from several commercial search sites and combine phone numbers and addresses, without paying for the data. Each site has different information, although most of the data tends to be old. Spokeo tends to have the most recent data.
Be sure to take a look at Pipl's entire search results. An email address may be lost in an old blog post, online survey or forum comment
Step 3. Register on a friend search site
This is most useful if you suspect your friends are also looking for you, as these sites leave general messages for people to find. Try UBFound, Lost Friends, or FriendsReunited.
- Be wary of sites that require credit card registration, as they may be scams, or turn out to be more expensive than you think. All the options above are free.
- Check your Spam or Junk Mail for a confirmation email when signing up.
Step 4. Search by alma mater, military service or business
Many alumni sites require a paid membership to use, or ask your friends to pay to read your messages. However, some of these sites can be useful resources, if you know where your friends go to school.
- ZoomInfo's search is a great resource for finding people in the business world.
- BatchMates is a free alumni site. The site focuses on India but has members all over the world.
- If your friend joins the military, visit its online Buddy Finder.
Method 3 of 3: Checking Government Data
Step 1. Look for marriage records
Search online for “marriage records” and the name of the country your friend last lived in, or the state if he or she has lived in the United States. These records are often only available in person, but the state or territory site will direct you to an office where you can check this in person.
If you find a marriage record, but without additional contact information, you still get a new name for you to search for (husband/wife), as well as a possibly changed name for you to record
Step 2. Examine US political contributions
In the United States, if your friend donates more than $250 to a political campaign, his name will be listed on the Federal Election Committee website, often with his address as well.
Step 3. Look for court records
Again, you will need to search for “court records” along with the name of the country or county your friend resides in, as there is no data where you can look for this. In most cases, you will need to request a specific court for more information, so this method can be time-consuming.
Don't be fooled by scam sites that ask you to pay money to look up government data
Step 4. Use the electoral roll for the general election
To find this data for free, need your local Electoral Registry Office, or ask your local librarian if the service is available.
You can also pay a private company some money to do this search for you
Tips
If your friend's full name doesn't work, try looking up just his first name, plus his middle name if you know. Your friend's name may have changed after the marriage or divorce. If your friend's first name is a common name, narrow the search by adding a location or alma mater
Warning
- Some friends may want to forget the past, or are going through a lot to rebuild friendships. Don't take this to heart. If this friendship is important to you, consider contacting him after a few months to see if anything has changed.
- Always make membership to a paid online site a last resort, and make sure the site is trusted. Classmates.com makes canceling membership a bit difficult, and like many other sites, they will automatically renew your account every month and charge you. Some good alumni sites include Tree52 (free), ClassReport (mostly free), or Old-Friends ($3 lifetime membership).
