Broker profile
PeopleByName
- Redact removes listings automatically
A Florida reverse phone lookup that also keeps a free People Directory, browsable by surname, where each listing shows a name, street address, age and phone number. It claims 1.38 billion records and says it's been running since 2008. No legal entity is named in its terms, its privacy policy or its BBB file, and the only addresses are two PO boxes. It isn't on California's data broker registry, and the BBB rates it F. Removal runs on the Record ID printed on each listing.
PeopleByName overview
At a glance
- Data published
- Substantial
- Re-listing frequency
- Recurring
- Complaint record
- Pattern of complaints
- Opt-out friction
- Moderate
- Operator opacity
- Hidden
- Prior data incidents
- None documented
Each broker is scored 1 to 4 across the six dimensions above; higher means more exposure, and the overall gauge is their average.
What each dimension means
- Data published: how much and how sensitive the personal data they put out.
- Re-listing frequency: how quickly you reappear after opting out.
- Complaint record: the volume and pattern of complaints across BBB, Trustpilot, and Sitejabber. No listing, or a listing with no reviews, counts against the broker.
- Opt-out friction: how hard the removal process is to complete.
- Operator opacity: how hidden the operating company and its principals are.
- Prior data incidents: history of breaches or leaks of the data they hold.
- Category
Reverse phone lookup · people directory
- Operator
PeopleByName.com · no legal entity named
- Based in
Florida · PO boxes only
- Self-claimed scale
1,379,043,021 records · 600 million names
- Running since
2008, per its About page
- BBB rating
F · 4 complaints / 3yr, 3 unanswered
- State registrations
None on file
- FCRA covered?
No
Background
Background
The site never gets past its own brand when it says who runs it. Its terms and privacy policy speak for "PeopleByName.com", the About page credits unnamed partners with starting it and dates the service to early 2008, and the BBB file lists a Customer Service Manager without a name.
- Name in the terms
PeopleByName.com
- Named people
None
- BBB file opened
July 11, 2018
- Paid tiers
Single reports · a $29.99-a-month membership, per its FAQ
Phone lookups are the business. Type a number into the homepage and it offers the owner's name and address from what it calls 1.3 billion phone records across the US and Canada, and members can add a background check. The free side is the People Directory, an alphabetical index of named listings that the site also feeds to search engines through its sitemaps. That index is what the removal form covers.
Data Published
Data types
Sensitive: elevated identity-theft, doxxing, or safety riskStandard public-record field
Free on every directory listing
- Full name
- Street address with city, state and ZIPSensitive
- AgeSensitive
- Phone number
In paid reports, per the site's FAQ
- Address historySensitive
- Phone number history
- Date of birthSensitive
- RelativesSensitive
- Background check, where one is availableSensitive
Where it says the data comes from. Its terms name phone books, social networks, marketing surveys, real estate listings and business websites.
Other people's searches are on show as well. A public Recent Lookups page streams the numbers visitors are checking as they check them, last two digits starred, each beside a city and state.
Contact
Contacts & links
- Operator
PeopleByName.com
- Support email
- Phone
- BBB-listed address
PO Box 91 Boca Raton, FL 33429-0091
- Address for arbitration notices
PO Box 670781 Coral Springs, FL 33067
- Removal form
- Contact form
- BBB profile
Network
The InfoTracer hand-off
No sister sites are documented, but one other broker does appear on PeopleByName's own pages. Its contact form lists Help with my InfoTracer.com account as a subject, and picking it brings up InfoTracer's logo, its support line and a link to its help desk.
A customer-service link, not an ownership record. In the form's own code that subject is filed as a background-check question, so someone who bought a background check here gets sent to InfoTracer for help. It doesn't show who owns either site, and InfoPay, Inc.'s California filing, which lists InfoTracer among thirteen domains, leaves out peoplebyname.com. Removal is separate as well, since InfoTracer runs its own opt-out.
Reputation
Trust signals
Four BBB complaints came in between September 2025 and June 2026. The one about billing got a reply. The three about removal requests that went nowhere didn't, and failing to answer them is the first reason the BBB gives for its F.
Removal requests that go unanswered, with the listing still up a month later
Follow-ups through the contact form and the support email ignored as well
A $1 trial that turns into a monthly charge
Paid lookups that come back with little more than a name
Litigation
Litigation history
No FTC or state attorney general action, and no court case, names PeopleByName as a party.
Its terms bind anyone using the site to individual arbitration and a class-action waiver.
FAQ
Q & A
Who runs PeopleByName?
Nobody the site names. Its terms and privacy policy speak for "PeopleByName.com" without naming a company behind it, the only addresses are PO boxes in Boca Raton and Coral Springs, Florida, and the BBB file lists no officers. It isn't registered as a data broker in California, or in any state Privacy Rights Clearinghouse tracks.
Can I get my listing removed?
Yes, for free. Find yourself in the People Directory, copy the Record ID from the top-right corner of your listing, and send it through the form at peoplebyname.com/remove.php along with up to four more. The PeopleByName removal guide walks the three screens.
How long does removal take?
The confirmation screen says it usually takes less than 24 hours, and an email is promised once it's done. Three complaints on the BBB file describe requests that never went through, so look for yourself again after a couple of days.
Is PeopleByName covered by the FCRA?
No. Its terms say it isn't a consumer reporting agency and bar using its data for credit, insurance, employment or tenant screening.
Take yourself off data broker sites
Redact scans 120+ data broker sites from your device, finds where your details are listed, and submits the removal requests for you. If a broker relists you, it files again.
September 10, 2026 · Built on the May 27, 2026 write-up, whose removal walk has three step screenshots. Rechecked live today against the site's contact, terms, privacy, FAQ and About pages, its BBB and SmartCustomer listings, and California's data broker registry. The recheck added the Coral Springs PO box from the terms and the InfoTracer routing on the contact page, moved the BBB count to four complaints with three unanswered, and cut the lawsuit, criminal and divorce record fields, which neither the directory nor the FAQ lists.