When it comes to finding people on the internet, it’s not a matter of If, but simply of matter of when and how. The web is a sprawl that has flung itself all across the globe and forced itself into every nook and cranny of the world. A very select few have managed to escape its world dominating iron grip.
Okay, perhaps we are getting a bit ahead of ourselves. It may sound like a horror movie plot but it’s not all bad. Social media platforms, internet apps and the likes only collect information that the user allows access to, willingly and by complete consent.
This is where Pipl comes into the picture.
If you want to search for a particular individual across the ocean of this intricate world, you need a very powerful yet specialized search engine. Something that can take a name, an address, an institute, a place of employment and use that information to pinpoint exactly what you’re looking for among the hundreds of thousands of online platforms and webpages containing publicly accessible user information.
Now, you may probably be wondering, why do we need this obscure search engine when we have a giant like Google.
We hate to break it to you, but Good ol’ Google ain’t good at everything. Searching names and people finder are two of the jobs Google isn’t so good at.
In recent years, there have been quite a few innovative people search engines, like Spock, making headway in the web sphere. However, Pipl has managed to leave an indelible mark as it currently leads by a great margin in attracting unique user traffic.
What Makes Pipl Different?
A people finder search engine’s primary source of information is social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn with further peeks into blog mentions.
It also has access to public records which can surprisingly drudge up a lot more information than we thought possible. This includes birth records, property records and SEC filings. Employment records are typically private as is the policy of most organizations unless the contents are deliberately made public by the individual in question.
Pipl, apart from all these tools at its disposal, also has a few extras up its sleeve. The Deep Web is a source of potentially limitless information, spread around in a chaotic universe. Pipl accesses it at will and soaks up vital information that it deems relevant to the Pipl search query.
Pipl Search Deep Web
This makes Pipl unique as hardly any other people finder website or people search engine browse the deep web. The pages of the deep web cannot be indexed by search engines. They are an amalgam of scattered pages that have no links to each other. The reason for this is that, unlike the surface web where pages link to URL’s of other webpages that create an interconnected sprawl, the deep web does not have links between its pages.
This makes it very difficult to even get a proper estimate of the size of the deep web, but it is believed to be infinitely larger than the surface web.
So how does Pipl collect information from the deep web pages that have no links. Well, they have to guess the URLs. Pipl programmers have developed special algorithms that sniff out these URLs. How exactly they work is an ingredient they wish to keep to themselves but suffice it to say, it works remarkably well.
Complex language analysis tools are then utilized which allows the Pipl people search engine to sift through the vast assortment of data and filter out the most relevant information.
Trying to obtain relevant results becomes a real problem in the deep web. Since there are no links to any of the pages, it becomes very difficult to gauge how important a web page is.
Pipl also has the ability to search email addresses and usernames. Furthermore it can use a reverse phone number lookup to find people who’s phone number you possess but not much else. Finding people by their phone number alone is pretty difficult unless they have an internet presence.
Results
The results are summarized and displayed on a single page with all the irrelevant information sifted out.
You get a comprehensive summary of their social media presence, through top sites like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Professional networking sites provide their career history. Their contact information both from online and offline sources is listed.
Pipl can find the demographic information of the individual pertaining to the gender, age and language of the individual in question. It can get a complete history of their education: their academic qualifications and the institutes they attended in the past or are currently attending.
Lastly, it also provides publicly available images and videos to complete the profile.
Potential Applications
Pipl wasn’t just created so that people could snoop around just for the heck of it. It has tremendous real life applications especially in the field of business.
Identity Verification
For the purposes of employment, where a large amount of applicants apply for a job post, it can be fairly difficult to gauge the trustworthiness of every individual.
Search engines like Pipl allow us to run quick background checks on all the applicants without too much of a hassle. Thereby allowing recruiters to shortlist candidates as quickly and effectively as possible.
A worthy tool for most HR departments to thin out the herd.
It is also often used to verify the identity of people over the internet that we become socially or romantically involved with. It’s very easy to fake your identity during online social interactions and a lot of people suffer a lot of hurt and angst when later confronted with the truth.
To avoid such cases, a simple Pipl search with the name and location of the person will likely save you a lot of trouble down the line.
Avoiding Financial Fraud
Pipl’s database is vast, consisting of over three billion profiles, all of which can be accessed by a mere click. Before getting into a business transaction with a particular individual, a Pipl search can be most helpful.
Pipl collects and integrates information from a variety of sources, merging them together and creating a profile that is as accurate as possible.
The tiniest red flag in the data would light up for you, and give you the opportunity to get your guard up against any possible mischief. You could then conduct further investigation into the person through personal means; Pipl’s job isn’t to lawyer you up for a court of law but simply to highlight the irregularities.
Marketing
Pipl is a wonderful resource for marketers to find to their niche customer demographic and obtain their information.
You are able to find their Social media profiles, other social network accounts and linked emails which can allow you to carry out a more personalized, marketing campaign.
Technical Expertise
You may think of “background searches” as these extremely technical tasks that can only be conducted by professionals and in most cases, you’d be right. However, with Pipl, you don’t really need any IT expertise.
It is easy to use with basic computer knowledge. If you have partial information, you can upload it (phone numbers, names, addresses) and get a complete profile in return that is properly integrated for your convenience.
Pipl Pricing
Pipl has three main pricing plans depending upon the kind of information you require.
If you require basic contact information about an individual, you will be charged $0.05 per match and in return you shall be provided with the name, gender, age, landline phone number and address of the person in question.
This is assuming that the person has an internet presence. Some people are so off-the-grid that they might as well be from the fifteenth century. It is highly unusual for a person to be this reclusive. A digital footprint is almost always available.
The Social Pricing Plan has added features as it provides you with all the aforementioned pricing features plus any associates, social media handles and public images. This one will dock you $0.10 per match.
The piece de resistance is the business plan, available for $20 per match. This will provide you with their email address, their academic qualifications, educational institutes, their current and previous place of employment if any and most likely their mobile number too.
Premium Data Coverage: If the plain Piple search is not turning up enough data, you can always opt for the Premium. It costs double for every plan but in return you get access to nearly 2.3 billion extra records. It’s a whole lot more for just a little extra.
The good thing about the plans is that there is no contract; no weekly, monthly or yearly subscription. A simple pay per match which means you can try it without committing and if you like the results, you can always come back for more.
Along with the data consulting and the company’s dedicated support, you will find Pipl to be an extremely effective search engine.
Customers
With its eclectic range of real life application, Pipl serves a wide ranging community of customers. Among them are small businesses, medium businesses and even large entrepreneurial firms. Freelancers also make up a large chunk of the customer base because of their constant need to authenticate their employers.
Pipl Pro
Pipl Pro allows users to conduct an unlimited amount of searches using people’s names, usernames, email addresses and phone numbers from among the database containing more than a billion phone numbers.
It’s Bulk search feature is highly commendable.
Cons
Like any software, Pipl isn’t perfect. It is prone to inaccuracy, inefficiency and delay. While most reviewers have cited Pipl as a solid product, they have also chimed in about some of the issues.
According to users, the following are the major problems encountered while using the software.
Incorrect phone numbers: A number of users complained, that despite most of the information being correct, a lot of the phone number dredged up were incorrect.
This can be simply chalked up to the fact that people change their phone numbers and the old ones become out-of-service. Some people do not give their actual phone numbers but provide false ones if prompted on public online forums, which is understandable.
Pipl cannot obtain information illegally. It simply storms the every nook and cranny of the internet to find the required data. It’s not the software’s fault if the information present there is incorrect.
Constant questions and prompts: The second thing a lot of people complain about is the almost interrogation like technique of the questions posed while annoying prompts about the product use.
We agree that some companies can become a little over enthusiastic while trying to package their products to potential customers and this may definitely be one of those instances.
Pipl should know that it is best to let the product speak for itself and not to shove it down anyone’s throat, no matter how good it is. Nine times out of ten, it turns people off, even if the service is exceptional.
Free Trial
The free trial is a good way to get familiar with the product although it may be lacking many of the tools that the complete version has.
You may not be able to access the complete database and only end up with incomplete information that may not be really helpful.
Further details
Pipl is supported by any and all devices that run on Microsoft Windows or Apple’s Mac. It can also be entirely web based in which case it doesn’t need to be either.
Currently, it is only supported in the English language and it is a cloud hosted software.
Alternatives
Still looking for sites like Pipl? Then PeekYou, BeenVerified, WhitePages and Spokeo are some of the free alternatives to Pipl at the moment. While Pipl still holds its spot at the top of the pile, you can check out the others if it’s not working for you.
Just like Pipl, they have their free versions and paid versions. Although unlike Pipl, they are not pay per match but have weekly or monthly subscriptions which can be availed.
Pipl website: www.pipl.com
Tags: Pipl search, people finder, Pipl API, pipl.com, people search