Social media is arguably the best way to meet people; it’s already one of the most popular methods.

But finding certain people on them is what’s challenging—I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it!

Other than looking somebody up by their name, there are various other approaches to choose from.

Here are 13 different methods of finding social media accounts:

1. The ways to accomplish a social media search by name!

It may be a bit predictable, but one of the best ways to find someone’s social profiles is by their name!

This includes first names, surnames, usernames, and/or other aliases.

On the platform you want to find them on (let’s use Instagram as an example), search for that person by name.

In this case, if their name has been mentioned in their handle or at the very least in their bio, results will show up.

Here’s a quick demonstration: if a person’s name is Jane Doe, you can try to look them up on Instagram in these ways:

• Jane Doe (full name);
• Jane (only a first name);
• Doe (if nothing else shows up by now, use their last name if that’s the only info you know);
• DoeLovesSpaghetti (an example of a username this person might be using on other social media platforms).

If you know this person’s full name or other existing usernames, then you will have a less difficult time finding them—however, know that attempting to find a person’s socials by only their first or last name alone is problematic!

2. Look through the pages of your results one by one.

If you find absolutely nothing, don’t give up yet—some profiles are more hidden than others.

It’s a wearisome process but think about manually searching for the person on different platforms.

Type their name in, and have at it!

If you at least know their name, you’re going to be shown a lot of profiles of people who are using that name.

Scroll through the many pages until you find the person you’re looking for—their profile might be at the beginning or the very end, but that mainly depends on the mutual connections you two share.

But hey, a name is better than nothing!

3. Make the most out of Google Search.

Luckily, Google helps us look up social media without having to do strenuous work.

Let me show you some tricks!

• On Google Search, type the social media platform’s name and the person’s together: Facebook.com Jane Doe.
• You can also type in Jane Doe socials—all of their socials should pop up.
• If you somehow only know this person’s phone number, you can try writing it down on the search bar—if they’ve made it public on their profiles, you’ll find them.
• You can try the same thing if you know their email address!
• Fill in any useful information on Google Advanced Search for maximum accuracy.

Google and other search engines are very reliable when it comes to finding people’s socials—we simply need to make the most out of them!

4. You can try a reverse image search if you have their picture.

If you have this person’s selfie, you can search the web with it!

This can be done in reverse image searching sites, like:

• DupliChecker;
• TinEye;
• PimEyes, etc.

All we need to do is run the image through the reverse-searching tool and scroll through the results—if the picture is being used on any social media accounts, then they will show up.

Facial recognition features will do wonders by pinpointing accounts using similar pictures.

Google also has a similar function: click on the camera icon in Google’s search bar.

Drag the image, and see what Google has to say!

5. Find people’s socials by entering their information on people-searching sites!

Third-party sites are a great option for social media searching: they let you put information you already know to good use!

Enter an email address in the field to uncover the results of SwindlerBuster’s extensive search across more than 50 social and web platforms will find for you.

Enter their name:

Enter their age:

Select their gender:

Male

Female

Find Social Media Profiles

For example, if you want to know what accounts are associated with a specific phone number, email address, or person, such sites will get the job done:

• SocialCatfish;
• Spokeo;
• Intelius;
• BeenVerified (and others).

Let’s say the only thing you know about a certain somebody is their phone number:

On the site of your choice, pick the Reverse Phone Lookup option, and write down their phone number.

If this person has created accounts using their phone number, then the report will contain said accounts!

People-lookup sites are usually not free of charge (because of the complex searching mechanisms), but there are free alternatives, like NumLooker and SocialSearcher.

They’re free, so there’s no harm in trying.

6. If the social media site you’re searching on has search filters, absolutely use them.

It would be a waste of time if we didn’t use search filters—we would only be making our job harder.

If you’re looking for someone’s Facebook account, don’t forget to use the filters:

Go to Facebook, click on Search, and write the person’s name.

Click on See All, and go to Filters—set any available information you might have, such as:

• The city in which the person lives;
• Their school;
• Their workplace;
• And any friends you might know.

This method is great for specifying your search; if you don’t know a lot about someone, you can use these filters as a start!

7. You might have some sort of mutual connection with this person, so go through your suggestions.

This is what social media does, after all! It helps people connect with others.

• If you know this person from somewhere—say, school or work, then there’s a possibility they have shown up in your suggested list.
  
• Like Instagram’s Suggested for You section! Just go to your Instagram Notifications and scroll down until you find it.
  
• Or you can discover more users who follow the same people as you do by going to your profile and clicking on the 3rd icon, right next to Share Profile.

Instagram isn’t the only social media platform that has this feature: so does Snapchat.

Go to the Add Friends section (the top right icon), and see if you can find them in Quick Add.

If you have a lot of mutual friends with this person, their account will most definitely get suggested to you!

8. If you know their other social media profiles, look around for any handles.

If you’re just trying to find more of their social media accounts, look around the profiles you already know of.

People tend to link their socials to their alternate profiles—they put them on their bio or About Me sections.

There’s a good chance that once you find one of their socials, you’ll find the other ones.

9. Check their school’s or work’s official page—see if that person is following it.

They may or may not be, but it’s worth checking.

• If you know where this person works and goes to school, check those establishment’s official accounts.
• Go through the followers list and search their name to see if they’re following it!

It’s pretty straightforward and easy—it gets tough once you realize official pages of businesses have thousands (or even millions) of followers.

The more information you know about this person, the better—instead of manually scrolling down the list, type their name in the search bar. 

10. If there’s a chance of your friends knowing them, go through their followers too!

If there’s even the slightest chance of any one of your friends knowing this mysterious person, go through their friend list.

They might have the same classes, or even be friends.

Heck, they might even be relatives—the point is that if you really want to find this person, spare no effort!

There has to be someone who’s acquainted with this person, especially if you all go to the same school or work in the same environment. 

11. Upload your contacts on certain social media apps if you have their phone number saved.

If you, by any circumstances, have their phone number saved but not their social media, then don’t worry—we can do something about it.

We can give social media apps access to our contacts; this way, we’ll be recommended people we know.

• You can enable this function on your phone’s Settings > specific social media app > Contacts > enable.
  
  For example, if you want to add people from your contacts on Snapchat, go to your Phone’s Settings Center, go to Apps, pick Snapchat, and grant access to Contacts.

You will now be recommended people whose numbers you have saved on your phone!

12. Ask others if they know this person.

You can ask the people around you (friends, classmates, co-workers) if they know the person whose social profiles you desperately want to find.

As I said, someone will most likely step forward and tell you their handles.

But, think about it, is this the way you want to find their social media accounts?

Not by politely asking for them, but by indirectly getting other people to step in?

Do you want this person (whom I assume you fancy) to know you as someone who didn’t have the courage to ask for their socials in person? Probably not…

13. This is why it’s best to just ask them!

I’m beginning to notice that humans refuse to take action if there is even a 0.001% chance of them getting rejected.

But, did you know that a healthy level of confidence is perceived as attractive? This is what a study by SPSP concludes!

I believe that out of respect and consideration for this person, it’s best you politely ask if it’s okay to have their socials.

They might be the type of person who feels really uncomfortable sharing personal information—they might not even use social media.

If you’re hoping to form a romantic relationship with them, there’s a chance they are already in a relationship, not currently looking for anyone, or not of the sexual orientation you think!

You can politely express your interest in them and ask if you could friend them on social media—they will appreciate it.

And no matter what their response is, know you picked the appropriate method.

– Can I search for somebody’s social media by phone number for free?

Yes, of course! You can carry out a free social media search by phone number using these methods:

• By writing down a specific phone number on Google’s search bar, all accounts in which that number is mentioned will show up:
  
  Facebook.com (555)-555-5555.
  
• You can use (free) reverse phone number lookup sites, such as NumLooker!
• Uploading your contacts on social media platforms will also help you find your contacts’ social media accounts.

And don’t forget: respect people’s privacy at all costs.

Not a lot of people are okay with giving out their online profiles: some find bliss in quiet.

This is another reason why I think it’s more acceptable to ask a person if you could friend them online instead of using other means.

But if you do end up finding their profiles, it’s important you respect their privacy and wishes!

Do NOT go around showing other people their profiles or persist in keeping contact even though they don’t want to!