Intelius Review - How Accurate Is It?

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intelius review

In this Intelius review, you’re going to learn everything you need to know about it before paying a subscription.

Intelius is a people-search engine that can run background checks and reverse phone or email lookups. The platform launched in 2003 as an Infospace team project in Seattle, Washington.

It has a database of over 20 billion records. The documents include public records, criminal records, marriage, social status, divorce records, and others.

You can use its tools to quickly get access to people’s phone numbers, residential contact addresses, crime history, email addresses, past addresses, and many more.

Intelius checks at the state, federal, municipal, or county levels to find relevant and appropriate data. 

Over the years, it has attained and maintained an A+ rating by the Better Business Bureau, making it a reliable platform.

Legal Disclaimer – Intelius isn’t a Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The site can’t be used for employment, credit, tenant screening, or related purposes. 

Now, let’s start by examining a few of its features below.

Features

Intelius searches a list of available public records to gather its results into a single sheet.

Although these public records are accessible by anyone, the main benefit of using a background check service is the compilation into a single and comprehensive list. 

1. Huge Database of Records

Intelius has over 20 billion public records.

Since its inception, it has gathered a vast database with relevant information. This feature makes Intelius stand out.

However, some users claim the information lacks accuracy and is sometimes incomplete. 

2. People Search

Intelius People Search

Intelius allows you to search for information about another person’s background history. With as little information as the name, phone number, location (state and area of residence), or current location, you have access to a comprehensive report.

This feature is perfect for people who want to get information about their long-lost friends, relatives, or a new date.

The report contains the target’s date of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, age, family members, social media accounts, educational background, and work history.

3. Reverse Address Lookup

Intelius Reverse Address Search

This feature provides data about a property’s location, previous occupants, history of the owners, the homes of neighbors, the homes of previous owners of the property, the value of the house, and more.

If you’re interested in real estate, you can use this feature to uncover any hidden information like outstanding loans or liens.

4. Background Check

Intelius Background Search

With this feature, you can run a background check on your new friend, roommate, a distant relation, or just about anyone of interest to you.

This lets you know their name, age, previous locations, criminal history, and contact information.

5. Criminal Record Search

Intelius Criminal Records Check

Intelius has access to over 20 billion records, from which it thoroughly searches any available criminal records information.

It combs through federal, state, and local court records, gathering information about a person’s crime and arrest history, offenses committed, and traffic violations, amongst other crimes.

6. Reverse Phone Lookup

Intelius Reverse Phone Lookup

Intelius helps to uncover a caller’s hidden identity.

A quick reverse phone lookup will provide you with the name used to register the phone number, address, age, employment history, whether it’s a personal phone number or a business line, and more. 

This feature works across various devices, including VoIP, landline, cell phone, or business lines. 

All you need to do is enter the phone number into the search tab and you’ll get reports in a matter of minutes. 

7. Identity Check Services

Intelius Identity Check Services

When you run an identity check on someone via Intelius, you can use the reports to determine what type of person they are, their personality, and what they’re capable of. 

However, the results you get can’t and should not be used in any official capacity, such as for employment purposes or tenancy and agreement discourse. This is because Intelius doesn’t comply with FCRA standards. 

8. Unlimited monthly reports

This feature is for anyone with more than one person they want to look up. With an Intelius monthly plan subscription, you can carry out unlimited background checks and get unlimited reports. 

9. Customer Support

Most background check service providers typically offer their customers support via email or chat. 

However, Intelius provides a direct line and an email address. 

Also, you’ll find a link to the provider’s help center’s email address at the bottom of the website. This link provides an additional layer of customer support for a faster and easier resolution of errors. 

10. Identity Protection

Intelius Identity Protect

The Identity protection feature guards against identity fraud and theft. Intelius takes all the burden associated with monitoring and keenly keeping an eye on your credit card information and activities.

Ease of Use

I made a series of reverse phone number lookups to test the effectiveness and accuracy of the service while writing this Intelius review.

As soon as I entered the phone number I wanted to search, it asked for my age to verify that I was an adult (aged 18+).

Intelius Age Verification

It then started the search process, which took around 2 minutes to complete.

intelius searching for number

When it finally completed the search, I was prompted to verify that I wasn’t a robot before I could view the results. Afterward, it requested my name and email address to save my search results.

In the final step of the search, I had to pay $0.95 to read the full report.

Intelius Payment Page

However, I experienced difficulties with paying the fee because of the website’s strict geo-restriction mechanism.

But if you’re in the US, you won’t have this issue.

Furthermore, the platform is intuitive and easy to navigate. You can use the website or its mobile apps for Android and iOS devices.

The web browser and mobile app interface are intuitive and highly responsive. So, the user experience on both platforms is the same. 

However, there are a lot of negative Intelius reviews flooding the internet claiming that the reports they got are either outdated, incomplete, or inaccurate.

Pricing

You get a variety of subscription plans and pricing with Intelius. Still, the company doesn’t offer a free trial. No one can access a detailed background check report without payment. 

  • Reverse Phone Lookup
    • 5-day trial ($0.95)
    • Monthly subscription ($34.95) – Grants access to unlimited people, phone number, and address lookups. 
  • Address Lookup with people search membership
    • 7-day trial ($0.95)
    • Monthly subscription ($34.95) – Unlimited people and address lookups.
  • People Search
    • Monthly ($24.86)
    • Bi-monthly ($42.95) – This plan provides access to everything you need to perform an in-depth background check. 
  • Criminal Record Search
    • Access to one state’s record ($14.95)
    • Access to nationwide criminal records ($29.95)
  • Identity Protection Services
    • Monthly ($9.95)
  • Report Downloads
    • A one-off fee of $3.99
  • In-depth Background Checks
    • Premier Membership ($19.95 monthly) – You get unlimited searches with this plan.
    • Premier Plus Membership ($29.95 monthly) – This plan includes unlimited searches and a background check monthly. 

Remember that you get to pay lower prices based on your subscription length. In short, the longer your subscription plan, the less you pay.

However, opting out of Intelius membership isn’t free, as it costs $7.95.

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Verdict

Intelius delivers detailed, accurate, and comprehensive background check reports, mainly for noncommercial or personal reasons.

It offers several subscription plans that are reasonably priced. Furthermore, its intuitive interface makes it a good choice for background check services, especially for first-time users.

The only downside to Intelius, however, is the many online complaints about the accuracy of the information it provides.

Hopefully, this Intelius review will help you make an informed decision.

FAQ

Is Intelius reputable?

Yes, Intelius is reputable, as it has garnered many positive reviews from satisfied users.

 Furthermore, it has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau since 2001.

Is it easy to cancel Intelius? 

Yes, it’s easy to cancel Intelius. All you have to do is:

  1. Log into your account.
  2. In the accounts section, click on “My Membership”. 
  3. Select “Cancel My Membership”.
  4. Click on “Yes” to proceed.

This will automatically cancel your subscription or membership with Intelius without hassles. 

How does Intelius get your information?

Intelius works with several record providers like the civil courts, judiciary, and other public record holders.

Additionally, it gathers information about a person by checking through their social media accounts or data brokers. 

Other common sources of information include marriage and divorce records, lawsuit filings, criminal records and sentencing, liens, real estate deeds, published phone directories, etc.

Does Intelius opt-out work? 

Yes, Intelius opt-out works.

To remove your information from Intelius:

  • You need to submit an opt-out request on the website, which may take anywhere between 72 hours to be processed.
  • Afterward, you’ll have to confirm your opt-out request through a confirmation mail.
  • This will then delete your information from its database.

If you want to delete your account, perform the following steps:

  • Log into the platform and find the Account Settings. 
  • Here, you’ll find the option to delete your account.

For more information about the service, check out the rest of my Intelius review.