BeenVerified

BeenVerified is an online information-services brand focused on consumer-initiated background checks, people searches, reverse telephone lookups, and related public-record discovery. The service allows a user to search for information associated with a person's name, email address, or telephone number and presents results drawn from public records, social-web sources, and privately licensed databases containing public-record information. Access is paid, with the reference material describing one-month and three-month billing options rather than a free general-access model. The business was founded in 2007 by Josh Levy and Ross Cohen, while the BeenVerified service was launched in 2009. The founders have described an early strategic change from serving small businesses toward a consumer-facing background-check model. In its initial form, the company also offered StandOut, a service intended to let people review and verify information about themselves. StandOut could generate an embeddable online seal that users could employ as a form of personal or professional presentation, while also helping them understand information that prospective employers might find. BeenVerified developed a mobile-first extension of its offering soon after launch. In 2009 it introduced the Background Check App for Apple's iPhone, connecting smartphone users to the company's web-based search service. The application used identifying information such as names and email addresses and could be used to search people in a user's contacts. In 2010, the company released a sex-offender tracking application for iOS and Android. That product combined public sex-offender registries with geolocation and augmented-reality features to display the reported locations of registered offenders. In 2011, BeenVerified added NumberGuru, a free reverse-phone-number lookup application. The company later extended caller-identification and reverse-lookup functionality to the Apple Watch in 2015. The brand's growth was publicly recognized through its inclusion at number 26 on the 2013 Inc. 5000 ranking. The supplied reference material also reports $13.7 million in revenue for 2012, although that figure should be read in its stated historical context and is not a current financial disclosure. The company promoted its services through national television advertising and unconventional outdoor placements, including advertising on garbage trucks. BeenVerified's model depends on making dispersed information easier for consumers to search, rather than creating official government records or performing traditional investigator-led checks. This positioning gives the service utility for identity discovery, personal research, reverse lookup, and preliminary screening, while also creating privacy and accuracy concerns typical of people-search businesses. The company provides an opt-out process for individuals seeking removal of their information. The reference material notes that this process has attracted scrutiny and that BeenVerified works with companies to remove information when requested. The available material does not establish a specific regulatory finding, lawsuit outcome, or other discrete scandal. Its principal identity remains that of a paid consumer information platform with web and mobile products.

BeenVerified originated in 2007 with Josh Levy and Ross Cohen and launched its named service in 2009. The company initially explored a small-business-oriented proposition before shifting toward consumers seeking accessible background and people-search information. Its early StandOut product was designed to help individuals inspect and present information about themselves. It offered an embeddable verification-style seal and was intended to show users what employers might potentially discover about them online. The company's principal service developed into a paid online search platform. Users could submit a person's name or email address and receive compiled information from public records, social-web sources, and privately licensed databases containing public-record material. The service was not positioned as a government records portal; instead, it aggregated and organized information for consumer research. The available description identifies one-month and three-month billing plans. BeenVerified also established an opt-out route for people seeking removal of their information, an important operational feature for a business dealing with personal data. Mobile products became a central part of the company's expansion. In 2009, BeenVerified released the Background Check App for iPhone, enabling users to start searches from a smartphone and, according to the reference material, search people represented in a contact list. In 2010, it launched an iOS and Android application that used sex-offender registries, geolocation, and augmented reality to display the reported locations of registered sex offenders. In 2011, the company released NumberGuru, a free reverse-phone-number lookup service. It later extended caller-identification and reverse-number-search functionality to Apple's Watch platform in 2015. BeenVerified also invested in unconventional and mainstream customer acquisition. Its promotion included national television advertising and placements on garbage trucks. The company reached a reported revenue level of $13.7 million in 2012 and appeared at number 26 on the 2013 Inc. 5000 list. The reference material characterized it as the fastest-growing company in New York within that ranking. The company's history reflects the broader development of consumer people-search services: information once scattered across public offices, directories, websites, and licensed databases became searchable through a single commercial interface. That convenience also brought privacy, accuracy, and removal concerns. The supplied material notes scrutiny of BeenVerified's opt-out process but does not identify a specific lawsuit, regulator decision, settlement, or confirmed data breach. Later corporate ownership, current leadership, headquarters, and current financial performance are not established by the supplied sources.

• 2015

  Apple Watch lookup app launched

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  BeenVerified introduced Apple Watch functionality for caller ID and reverse telephone lookup.

• 2013

  Inc. 5000 recognition

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  BeenVerified ranked 26th on the Inc. 5000 list.

• 2011

  NumberGuru released

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  The company launched a free reverse-phone-number lookup application.

• 2010

  Sex-offender tracking app introduced

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  An iOS and Android application used registry, location, and augmented-reality features to show reported sex-offender locations.

• 2009

  BeenVerified service launched

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  The founders launched BeenVerified and began marketing it through national television and outdoor advertising.

• 2009

  Background Check App released

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  BeenVerified introduced an iPhone application connecting users to its background-search service.

• 2007

  Company founded

  [1]BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org

  Josh Levy and Ross Cohen founded the business that became BeenVerified.

A paid, consumer-oriented people-search and public-record information platform that combines conventional background-search methods with web, social-network, geolocation, and mobile-app functionality.

• Consumer information service · 2009

  BeenVerified People Search and Background Checks

  The core service lets consumers search for information associated with people using identifiers such as names and email addresses. Results are compiled from public records, social-web information, and privately licensed databases containing public-record material. Access is paid and has been described as being offered through one-month and three-month billing plans. The service also includes a process for individuals who want to request removal of their information.

• Mobile application · 2009

  Background Check App

  Introduced for the iPhone in 2009, the Background Check App brought BeenVerified's people-search functionality to smartphones. It used the company's online service to initiate searches and could work with people represented in a user's contact list. The application helped establish BeenVerified as a mobile-accessible consumer information product rather than a service limited to desktop web browsing.

• Mobile application · 2010

  Sex-offender tracking application

  Released for iOS and Android in 2010, this application used public sex-offender registries together with geolocation and augmented reality. Its intended function was to show users the reported locations of registered sex offenders in relation to their surroundings. The supplied sources do not establish whether the application remains available.

• Reverse phone lookup application · 2011

  NumberGuru

  NumberGuru was introduced in 2011 as a free reverse-phone-number lookup service. It extended BeenVerified's information-search model from names and people records to telephone-number identification. The supplied sources do not provide current availability or ownership details for the application.

• Wearable application · 2015

  Apple Watch caller ID and reverse lookup app

  In 2015, BeenVerified launched an Apple Watch application supporting caller identification and reverse telephone-number lookup. It represented an extension of the company's phone-search tools to a wearable-device interface.

• 2009National television and outdoor launch advertising

  United States

  At launch, BeenVerified promoted its consumer service through national television advertising and unconventional outdoor placements, including advertisements on garbage trucks.

  Outcome. The company subsequently expanded its consumer service and mobile-app portfolio; the sources do not provide campaign performance metrics.

  Source

• 2015

  Apple Watch caller-identification expansionProduct launch

  Background

  Wearable devices created another interface for caller information and reverse telephone searches.

  Action taken

  BeenVerified launched Apple Watch functionality for caller ID and reverse phone lookup.

  Aftermath

  The move extended the brand's caller-information tools to a wearable platform; later availability is not established in the supplied sources.

  Source

• 2011

  Launch of NumberGuruProduct launch

  Background

  Reverse telephone lookup offered a complementary way to identify unknown callers and connect phone numbers with available information.

  Action taken

  BeenVerified released NumberGuru as a free reverse-phone-number lookup application.

  Aftermath

  The product broadened the brand's mobile information-search portfolio beyond conventional people searches.

  Source

• 2009

  Launch of the Background Check AppProduct launch

  Background

  Smartphone access was becoming an important route for consumer search and information services.

  Action taken

  BeenVerified released an iPhone application that connected users to its background-check service.

  Aftermath

  The launch began the company's documented expansion into mobile applications.

  Source

• Shift from small-business services to consumer background checksStrategy

  Background

  The founders described a change in direction from an initial focus on the small-business market toward a consumer-facing background-check and people-search service.

  Action taken

  BeenVerified developed a paid platform allowing individuals to search public-record and related information about other people.

  Aftermath

  The consumer model became the basis for the company's web service and subsequent mobile products. The sources do not provide the date of the pivot or detailed performance measures.

  Source

1. 1BeenVerifieden.wikipedia.org
2. 2BeenVerified official websitebeenverified.com