People search sites are consumer-facing websites where anyone can look up personal details about an individual by entering a name. Data brokers sell consumer data in bulk, typically business-to-business. The two terms are related but not interchangeable and understanding the difference matters for protecting your privacy.
What Are People Search Sites?
People search sites function as search engines for personal information, aggregating data from public records, social media, and commercial data sources into searchable profiles. Anyone can type in a name and instantly see addresses, phone numbers, age, family members, employment history, and more: often for free or a small fee.
Major people search sites include:
- Spokeo: aggregates social media, public records, and commercial data
- WhitePages: one of the oldest and largest people search databases
- BeenVerified : focuses on background check-style reports
- PeopleFinder: public records aggregator
- Intelius: provides detailed background reports
- TruthFinder : combines public records with social media data
- Radaris: aggregates property, court, and business records
- Instant Checkmate: background check reports; part of the PeopleConnect network with TruthFinder and Intelius
- FastPeopleSearch : free, ad-supported people search
- TruePeopleSearch : free, ad-supported people search
- USPhoneBook: phone number-focused people search
- VeriPages: public records and background information aggregator
Data brokers operating primarily in the B2B space, like LexisNexis, also maintain consumer data profiles, though their opt-out processes differ significantly from consumer-facing people search sites.
What Are Data Brokers?
Data brokers operate primarily business-to-business, selling large datasets to companies rather than providing individual lookups. They collect, aggregate, and license consumer data for marketing, risk assessment, fraud detection, and analytics. Their collection methods range from harvesting public records to tracking your online activity.
Major data broker companies include Acxiom, Epsilon, Oracle Data Cloud, Experian, Equifax, TransUnion, CoreLogic, and LexisNexis. According to Mordor Intelligence, marketing and advertising agencies controlled approximately 38% of overall data broker demand in 2025.
Key Differences
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| Data Brokers | |
Audience | Anyone (consumer-facing) | Businesses (B2B) |
Access | Search by name on a website | Bulk data purchases, APIs, subscriptions |
Pricing | Free or $1–$50 per report | Enterprise contracts, data licensing |
Data depth | Basic personal info, public records | Thousands of data points per individual |
Opt-out | Visible opt-out forms on the site | Formal deletion requests under privacy laws |
Why Both Require Removal
People search sites are the visible layer: anyone can find you. Data brokers are the invisible layer: companies use your data without you knowing. Both feed each other: data brokers supply people search sites with data, and people search sites generate data that brokers aggregate.
A comprehensive privacy strategy addresses both categories. Removing yourself from one type without addressing the other leaves you exposed, which is why RemoveMe scans 115+ data broker and people search sites.
→ How to Remove Your Information from the Internet: Step-by-Step
FAQ
Is Spokeo a data broker? Spokeo is technically a people search site: a consumer-facing subset of the data broker ecosystem. Like all people search sites, it requires an opt-out request to remove your information. Spokeo opt-out guide →
What’s the difference between a data broker and a background check company? Background check companies like Experian and Equifax are a type of data broker regulated under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Learn more about data broker legality →
