Reconnecting With Long-Lost Friends: 6 Effective Ways To Search For Them Via The Internet

Ever want to reconnect with someone you haven’t seen for several years? Looking for them can be difficult, but the Internet can be a huge help.

The Internet has numerous tools that can be used to help you search for long lost friends – from Google Searches to Social Media to Picture Scanning and Reverse Imagery Searches.

For some techniques you can use to find old friends via the Internet, read on.

What Are 6 Ways To Find Long-Lost Friends Via The Internet?

Finding long-lost individuals online can be a time-consuming and frustrating task. The less information you have, the harder it can be. 

However, these are some tools which can be used to make the search easier.

1. Google Search through every possible avenue
2. Use sites devoted to People Searches
3. Use Social Media Networking
4. Use images in reverse image searches
5. Try background checks for locations
6. Try searching through shared-interest groups.

These are some steps you can try, but one step needs to be completed before anything else.

The First Step – Gather Information

Before you start searching on the internet, gather all the information you have about them that can be used in your search. 

Even the smallest detail can help narrow the results and make the difference between a dead end and breakthrough.

Google Search Through Every Possible Avenue:

The first trick you can try is a simple Google Search. Odds are, you’ll get a lot of misses and extra information, but there’s also a chance you’ll find a starting point for your search.

At the very least, you’ll be able to rule different results out, and narrow the field.

When searching through Google, be sure to use EVERY scrap of information you have. Search through things like:

• Names
• Nicknames
• Birthdays
• Ages
• Schools
• Family Members

You never know which link may be the first one you need on your path to finding the person you’re looking for.

Use Sites Devoted to People Searches:

Nowadays, there are several sites that are devoted exclusively to People Searches. Using these sites can help you find locations, names, dates and other records.

Some sites you can use include:

• PeopleFinder
• BeenVerified
• TruthFinder
• CocoLookup

These are just a few of the options available.

Note: While they aren’t traditional sites for people searching, if you have family information, age and birth date about the person you’re looking for, you can even use sites like Ancestry.com to trace locations of relatives as a starting point.

Use Social Media Networking:

Many people have a social media account of some kind. The most common ones are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, but don’t neglect the less common or older sites like MySpace and LiveJournal.

There are even sites like Medium and Etsy, Pinterest, or eBay. Though not specifically networking sites, the gathering of like-minded people is a great place to find people focused on self-expression or hopeful entrepreneurs.

Note: Don’t forget to search for friends and family through these sites as well! Even if the person you’re looking for doesn’t have an active account, a family member might.

Use Photos In Reverse Image Searches:

There are ways to scan an image and search it, through a number of sites online such as TinyEye, or even through Google Images. These are even methods you can use with your phone.

Using an old image, like a yearbook picture? There are also age progression programs available so you can get a good guess of what a person looks like today, even if decades have passed.

Use Background Checks To Track Locations:

It might seem a little extreme, but background checks don’t have to go into huge amounts of detail. Background searches can be customized to only search certain records.

You may consider this a path of last resort, but it can still give you valuable information. Just be careful not to get into too much information – be respectful of boundaries.

Try Searching Through Shared Interest Sites:

Try searching through shared interest sites. Write out clubs or hobbies you recall this individual having an interest in and search through related interests. 

Guitarist? Search music groups, specifically guitars.

Book Lover? Literary sites, writer sites, online versions of book clubs.

Do you recall a favorite group or band? Many people still enjoy the music of their younger years.

All of these can be used to search for a person or to narrow search results from other tools. Little details can help confirm an identity once you’ve found some likely candidates.

Final Thoughts:

Looking to reconnect with long-lost friends through the internet? It’s not the easiest process in the world, and often very time-consuming, but it can be very rewarding.

The key is remembering three things: Gather all the information you can and use it, be persistent in your search, and use every avenue of search you can think of, because you never know.