Finding someone’s contact information using just their email address can be tricky, especially if you want to do it for free. Email addresses themselves don’t contain much identifying information – but there are still a few techniques you can try to track down the person behind an email address.
Search Google
One of the simplest ways to find someone by email is to just search for them on Google. Try searching for their full email address in quotation marks. You may find their name or other information in search results.
For example, if you search for “[email protected]”, you may find John Doe’s social media profiles, resumes, or other pages that contain that email address. This can reveal their full name and potentially other contact details like their phone number or address.
You can also try searching for parts of their email address. Search for just their name (“john doe”), username (“jdoe”), or domain (“@email.com”) to cast a wider net. Be sure to browse through several pages of results, as relevant information could be buried.
Search Facebook
If your search engine attempts weren’t successful, try searching for the email address on Facebook. Log into your Facebook account and use the search bar at the top of the page to look up the email address.
If the email is associated with a Facebook account, you’ll be able to see their name and potentially other public information they’ve added to their profile. You may also be able to send them a message through Facebook Messenger if you can’t find their phone number or other contact details.
Use Email Lookup Services
There are a number of free email lookup services that can help associate an email address with someone’s name or other identifying details. Some popular free options include:
- EmailSherlock
- LookupEmailAddress
- EmailHippo
- KnowEm Username Search
These services work by scouring public sources like social networks, forum profiles, and leaked databases to find information connected to an email address. They typically just require you to enter the email address in question.
The results can vary widely depending on the individual email address. You may get just a name, or you may get a full profile with a name, location, employer, social media profiles, and other contact information. It’s worth trying a few different email lookup services to compare the results.
Use People Search Sites
People search sites like Spokeo, Intelius, and PeopleFinders gather all kinds of public data into searchable online directories. You can enter someone’s email address into these sites to look for any matching records.
If they find a match, these sites can provide a wealth of information including full name, age, current and past addresses, phone numbers, relatives, criminal records, and more. Much of the data comes from public sources like phone books, court records, and social networks.
While these sites can be very helpful for tracking down someone from an email address, many of the more detailed records require a paid subscription. But you may be able to get basic name and location information for free.
Use Email Header Analysis
If you have access to an email message sent from the address you are searching for, you can use email header analysis to potentially extract more clues about the sender.
Email headers contain technical routing information about a message. But they can sometimes also contain a sender’s IP address, name, or other identifying details that aren’t always visible within the email body itself.
You’ll first need to view the full email header. In Gmail, click the down arrow next to the reply button and select “Show original”. Other email services have similar options to reveal the raw source of a message.
Once you can see the header, look for fields like:
- Return-Path: Contains the sender’s email address
- Sender: May include a name
- X-Originating-IP: Shows the sender’s IP address
You can then research the IP address or name fields through search engines or IP lookup services to potentially discover more information about the sender.
Use Business Email Finder Tools
If the email address you have is a business email for a company domain, specialized tools like VoilaNorbert can lookup up company and employee information based on an email address.
For example, if you have an email like [email protected], VoilaNorbert may be able to determine that it belongs to John Doe who works at Acme Inc. It searches business directories, LinkedIn profiles, and other sources to find match company email addresses with names and titles.
Hunter.io is another tool that focuses specifically on finding and verifying professional email addresses at scale. You can enter a single email to get associated name and company data.
Ask Mutual Connections
If you and the email address owner have any mutual connections or contacts, you can try asking around to see if anyone has additional contact information for them. Post on relevant social networks, message boards, or contact individuals directly for assistance.
For example, if you’re trying to identify a [email protected] address, you could post on your own social media saying “Does anyone know John Doe or have contact info for [email protected]?”. Or you could reach out to shared connections one-on-one.
If the email user is a business contact, you could also ask around within your company to see if co-workers have any additional details on them.
Use a Disposable Email
If you want to interact with the email address owner directly without revealing your actual identity, you can sign up for a temporary disposable or burner email address. Popular options include Guerrilla Mail, Mailinator, Temp Mail, and Trash Mail.
From your burner email, try sending a message to the target address saying something like “Hi, we met at [event] and I wanted to get back in touch. Could you remind me of your name and best phone number to reach you at?”. See if they reply back with any identifying information.
The downside is that the hit rate tends to be low with this method. But if you get lucky, it can reveal their name or other contact details they send in reply.
Use Email Verification APIs
Some developers and companies provide email address verification APIs that you can use to programmatically lookup details on an email. Examples include TheChecker, NeverBounce, Kickbox, and EmailMarker.
These verification APIs work by validating that an email address actually exists, and attempting to associate name and other data. Most have free tiers allowing at least some basic lookups.
You’ll need to write code to interface with their API, but this can be a powerful method to validate and enrich an email address at scale, such as cleaning a lead list.
Search Phone Directories
In some cases, phone directories like ZoomInfo and AnyWho may have listings that include a person’s email address along with other contact information like phone numbers. You can search them by email to see if any matches surface.
These services draw on public sources like phone books, business directories, and social networks to link email addresses with names and contact details. They are typically focused more on landlines rather than cell numbers.
Use Data Brokers
Data brokers aggregate and sell a wealth of consumer data including names, emails, addresses, and phone numbers. This data comes from a mix of public records, web browsing habits, loyalty programs, and other sources.
Major data brokers who may be able to lookup contact details from an email include Acxiom, LexisNexis, TransUnion, and more. However, access to their data is typically restricted to approved customers and partners only.
There are some data broker search services like Datadirect and LexisNexis SmartLinx that allow individual consumer searches, but they come at a cost. Use caution accessing consumer data ethically and legally.
Consider Law Enforcement
In more serious cases, such as harassment or fraud, you may want to file a report with the police. Law enforcement have much broader access to records and data sources that could potentially help identify an email address owner.
They can submit legal requests and warrants to internet providers, phone companies, banks, and others to obtain information on email accounts and trace their use. However, there is no guarantee even the police will be able to determine the identity, and court orders take significant time.
Carefully consider whether law enforcement involvement is warranted based on the nature of the situation before filing a report.
Hire a Private Investigator
For professional tracing of an email address or online identity, you can hire a private investigator. They have access to sophisticated databases and techniques that go far beyond open web searches.
Private investigators can identify email owners through public records, locate the geographical origin of emails, build profiles through data footprints, and more. Many also employ computer forensics experts who can analyze email header data and metadata.
Top investigation firms like Kroll and Pinkerton offer these kinds of email investigation and identity verification services. Costs typically start around a few hundred dollars but can run into the thousands for extensive email tracing efforts.
Consider Legal Action
In civil legal disputes where identifying an anonymous or pseudonymous email address owner is critical, you may be able to petition for a court order to reveal their identity. This is a complex process best handled by an attorney.
Your lawyer can send a subpoena or other discovery request to email providers and internet companies associated with the email address requesting they provide any identifying subscriber information. If this is unsuccessful, further court intervention may be sought.
Note that privacy laws like the Electronic Communications Privacy Act limit when service providers have to disclose users’ personal information. Court orders also take significant time and legal expenses.
Conclusion
Tracking down the real person behind an email address can be challenging but is possible in many cases with the right tools and techniques. Search engines, social networks, email lookup services, contact information aggregators, and messaging the email owner directly represent some of the most accessible options to try for free first.
If those fail to identify the email owner, more sophisticated methods from hiring professionals to obtaining court orders open up additional possibilities but involve greater complexity, time and cost. Overall, whether it makes sense to pursue unmasking an email address depends on the unique circumstances and level of determination.
| Method | Free? | Difficulty | Legality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search engines | Yes | Easy | Legal |
| Social networks | Yes | Easy | Legal |
| Email lookup services | Some | Easy | Legal |
| People search sites | Limited | Easy | Legal |
| Email header analysis | Yes | Intermediate | Legal |
| Business email finder | Some | Easy | Legal |
| Asking around | Yes | Intermediate | Legal |
| Disposable email | Yes | Easy | Legal |
| Email verification APIs | Limited | Hard | Legal |
| Phone directories | Yes | Easy | Legal |
| Data brokers | No | Hard | Questionable |
| Law enforcement | Yes | Hard | Legal |
| Private investigators | No | Hard | Legal |
| Legal action | No | Very hard | Legal |