Navigating the dating world can be difficult. It’s hard to ascertain a potential partner’s true intentions and whether they’re in it for true love or if they have other intentions. It’s even more difficult when you’re online dating. Many people often make the mistake of giving everyone the benefit of the doubt. But it’s important to treat background research as due diligence in early-stage relationships, especially if you’ve never known the person and don’t have any mutual friends. Here are some pointers on conducting a background check on someone you’re dating.

Look up their criminal records.

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They say that love is blind, but you certainly don’t have to be. You don’t want to associate yourself with someone only to find yourself surprised after some odd years that they’re not who you thought they were. Surveys state that around one in five Americans have a criminal record. So, you may be making a huge mistake if you’re cohabiting with your partner without any idea of their criminal history.

The best way to be certain if your partner isn’t part of this statistic is to check their records in all 50 states. But that can be a difficult task to achieve on your own. Thankfully, digital options like Pro People Search exist so that you can look up people and their criminal records. It can afford you the easiest way of researching your partners. The platform has various access levels based on the sources it pulls data from. Usually, any form of surface search should bring up significant results but you can enlist the advanced search option if you’d want to go deeper.

Advanced options include well-detailed background reports. And you can use the platform to look into anything that falls under public records. This includes marriage records, birth records, social media profiles, and more.

Check sex offender registries.

Background checking often brings up arrests, convictions of felonies, misdemeanors, court records, warrants, sex offenses, and incarceration records. It’s a good idea to be specific with your search, and checking their sex offender status can be crucial. A sex offense is a serious crime with no in-betweens. And even the smallest crime should be treated with all strictness. That’s why all U.S. states consider this to be public information. And you should take advantage of this public data to learn more about someone you could potentially be dating.

Find their social media profiles.

Background checking doesn’t just apply to criminal background. It’s essential to be in tune with their interests or online convictions. Your partner might be sweet, but finding out they are part of a sworn online racist community might be a red flag for you. And the earlier you catch that, the better. You can search your partner’s social media profiles to ensure you’re making a sound choice.

Get more information simply from their names.

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It’s essential to be like-minded with your partner on most topics, and the internet can help you better understand their interests and hobbies. Beyond social media posts, you can find articles about their achievements by typing their name and location into a search engine. This can be crucial to your background-checking efforts. So, don’t hesitate to type your partner’s name and city into the search engine to see what comes up.

Sometimes, the people you date may have records and other parts of their past. If you’re not comfortable with talking about your histories just yet, doing a background check is the best way to prepare yourself. You can learn more about them simply by entering their names into the search tool of your choice.

All in all, these tips should help you background check your partner, grounding your perceptions about them.

By Manali