What Is Intelius? A Complete Guide to This Background Check Service

Understanding Intelius: The Basics

Intelius is one of the longest-running online background check and people search services in the United States. Founded in 2003 by six former InfoSpace executives—including Naveen Jain, Kevin Marcus, Niraj Shah, Ed Petersen, Chandan Chauhan, and John Arnold—the company has grown to become a major player in the consumer background check industry. The company is now owned and operated by PeopleConnect, Inc., which also operates related brands in the people search space.

At its core, Intelius aggregates publicly available records from federal and state databases, court records, and other sources to provide detailed reports about individuals. The platform claims access to over 20 billion public records covering more than 250 million unique profiles in the United States. Users can search for information including contact details, address history, criminal records, court records, employment history, educational background, and social connections.

What Intelius Offers: Key Features

Intelius provides several distinct search types, each designed for different information needs:

People Search

The foundational service that uses a proprietary data engine to find detailed information about individuals. Reports can include phone numbers, email addresses, current and past addresses, relatives, and educational background. This is often the starting point for users who know someone's name but need to locate or learn more about them.

Reverse Phone Lookup

This feature allows you to identify the owner of a phone number—whether published or unpublished. It's useful for identifying unknown callers or verifying contact information. Many sales professionals and recruiters use reverse phone lookup services to verify prospect data before outreach.

Background Check Reports

The most comprehensive option, delivering detailed reports on criminal history, liens, bankruptcies, court records, and personal information. These reports are designed for personal use cases like reconnecting with lost contacts, checking on new neighbors, or vetting people you've met online.

Criminal and Traffic Records Search

A focused search specifically for criminal and traffic offenses nationwide, including offense specifics and court outcomes. Users can access statewide or nationwide criminal record searches depending on their needs.

Reverse Address Lookup

This service provides information about a property, including current and past residents, property history, value estimates, and neighborhood details. Useful for anyone researching a new area or investigating a specific address.

Intelius Pricing: What You'll Actually Pay

One of the most common complaints about Intelius is that pricing information isn't displayed upfront on their website. Instead, you typically need to initiate a search before seeing subscription options. Here's what you can expect:

• People Search Membership: Approximately $25 per month for monthly billing, or around $21 per month when billed every two months ($42-43 total)
• Reverse Phone Lookup + People Search: After a trial period, this runs approximately $35 per month with unlimited phone, person, and address reports
• One-Time Background Check: Around $39-50 for a single comprehensive report
• Statewide Criminal Record Check: Approximately $15 per search
• Nationwide Criminal Record Check: Approximately $30 per search

Intelius often promotes low-cost trial periods (typically $0.95-$1.99 for 5-7 days) that convert to full-price subscriptions. Be aware that many users report unexpected charges after trial periods auto-renew—a common complaint across customer review sites.

Additionally, Intelius charges extra fees for certain features, including approximately $4 per report for downloadable PDF files.

Important Limitations: What Intelius Cannot Be Used For

This is critical: Intelius is NOT a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). This means you legally cannot use Intelius for:

• Employment screening or hiring decisions
• Tenant screening for rental applications
• Credit decisions
• Insurance underwriting
• Any other purpose requiring FCRA compliance

If you need background checks for business purposes like employment or tenant screening, you must use an FCRA-compliant service. Using Intelius for these purposes could expose you to significant legal liability.

For sales and marketing professionals, Intelius can be useful for personal research and due diligence, but it's not designed for systematic lead generation or contact enrichment at scale.

Intelius Accuracy: Setting Realistic Expectations

No background check service delivers 100% accurate information, and Intelius is no exception. The platform aggregates data from public sources, which means:

• Information may be outdated (public records aren't updated in real-time)
• Records can be mismatched, especially for people with common names
• Some data points may be missing or incomplete
• Address and employment histories may contain gaps

According to Intelius's own response to customer complaints, their "reports are best used as a starting point for further research, rather than as verified or confirmed records." This is an important caveat—treat Intelius results as investigative leads that require verification, not definitive facts.

That said, many reviewers note that Intelius tends to produce more accurate and comprehensive reports compared to some competitors, particularly for educational background and address history information.

Historical Concerns and Legal Issues

Transparency requires acknowledging Intelius's troubled history with consumer complaints. In 2010, the Washington State Attorney General sued Intelius over deceptive marketing practices, resulting in a $1.3 million settlement. The lawsuit alleged that consumers were unknowingly enrolled in subscription services through partner companies during checkout.

Intelius has also faced class action lawsuits over similar practices, with settlements totaling millions of dollars. While the company has made changes to address these issues, it's worth being vigilant about exactly what you're signing up for and checking your credit card statements carefully.

When Intelius Makes Sense (And When It Doesn't)

Good Use Cases for Intelius:

• Reconnecting with lost friends or family members
• Personal due diligence before online dating meetups
• Researching new neighbors or community members
• Finding contact information for personal purposes
• Property research and address verification

When You Need Alternatives:

• Employment screening: Use an FCRA-compliant background check provider
• Tenant screening: Again, FCRA compliance is required
• B2B sales prospecting: Dedicated sales intelligence tools like Lusha or RocketReach are better suited for professional contact discovery
• One-off contact verification: Try free tools before committing to subscriptions

Free Alternatives for Basic Background Research

Before paying for Intelius, consider what you actually need. For many use cases, free or lower-cost alternatives can deliver similar value.

If you're in sales, recruiting, or marketing and need to find or verify contact information, Galadon's free Background Checker provides comprehensive background reports with trust scores—without the subscription commitment. It's designed for B2B professionals who need quick verification without complex pricing tiers.

For finding professional email addresses, our Email Finder tool lets you locate someone's business email from their name and company or LinkedIn profile. And if you need to verify that an email is valid before sending, the Email Verifier instantly confirms deliverability.

Other public resources worth exploring before paying for services include:

• County court websites: Many jurisdictions offer free access to court records
• State sex offender registries: Free public access in all 50 states
• LinkedIn: Professional backgrounds and employment history
• Google advanced search: Using operators to find public information

How to Cancel Intelius If You've Already Signed Up

If you've subscribed to Intelius and want to cancel, here's what to know:

1. Intelius customer support is available via phone at (877) 564-3253 during business hours (typically 7 AM - 4 PM Pacific, weekdays)
2. You can also cancel via email or support ticket
3. Note that some reports indicate a cancellation fee of approximately $8, though this may vary
4. Canceling your subscription does not remove your personal data from their database—that requires a separate opt-out request

The Bottom Line on Intelius

Intelius is a legitimate, established background check service that can provide useful information for personal research purposes. It offers comprehensive reports with access to billions of public records and has improved its practices significantly since earlier controversies.

However, the confusing pricing structure, aggressive trial-to-subscription conversion, and limitations on business use make it less than ideal for many users. The fact that you can't use it for employment or tenant screening—the most common business applications for background checks—significantly limits its professional utility.

For B2B professionals who need occasional background research on prospects, partners, or contacts, starting with free tools often makes more sense than committing to monthly subscriptions. Whether you use Galadon's Background Checker or other free resources, you can often get the verification you need without the complexity and cost of traditional paid services.

If you do decide Intelius is right for you, approach the signup process carefully: read all terms, understand exactly what you're being charged for, and set a calendar reminder before any trial period ends.