Next Generation of TrueRep Empowers Individuals to Add Comments to Background Checks on Themselves

November 15, 2011

Tools

For the First Time, Individuals Can Clarify the Public Records Presented in Intelius Reports

MENLO PARK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Intelius, a leading source of online consumer background checks, at Privacy Identity Innovation’s pii2011 Venture Forum, today launched TrueRep Remarks, a new feature added to its TrueRep online reputation management service available at www.TrueRep.com. This feature gives people a voice that they previously lacked to clarify publicly available information about themselves. With TrueRep Remarks, individuals can write comments about certain information contained in an Intelius online background or criminal report. When third parties purchase those Intelius reports, the Remarks are included.

The TrueRep Remarks feature does not modify the public records data used in background reports. Instead, it enables individuals to explain or put into context information regarding their name, address and phone history, and listed relatives and associates, as well as any criminal offenses. Previously, there was no way for the subject of an Intelius background check to add content to the report. TrueRep uses an identity verification process to help ensure that only the person the report is about can make Remarks.

“As a leader in the people search space, we’re excited about TrueRep Remarks, which to our knowledge is an industry first,” said Prakash Kondepudi, Senior Vice President for Consumer Services Business at Intelius. “This feature enables individuals to be represented more completely and allows purchasers of our reports to get not only the information contained in the public records, but also any comments the subject of the report wishes to make about that information.”

According to new research conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of Intelius in September 2011 among over 2,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and older, a majority of U.S. adults have concerns about information others may find when searching for them via the Internet. Key findings from the Intelius survey include:

Over half (57%) of U.S. adults are at least somewhat concerned that others will find misleading information about them online.
Half of U.S. adults (50%) are at least somewhat concerned about information that exists about their past (e.g., criminal records, address history, phone records) online.
Over half of U.S. adults (58%) are at least somewhat concerned about their reputation being damaged by negative information available online about a person who shares their same name.

“This survey confirms that consumers are concerned about the information in their background report, and they want a voice in clarifying or explaining that information,” said Jim Adler, Chief Privacy Officer at Intelius. “People want to find out what information is available about them, have some control of that information, and have tools to manage their online reputation. TrueRep is designed to provide these capabilities.”

Jim Adler will be speaking about TrueRep later today at Privacy Identity Innovation’s pii2011 Venture Forum as part of a panel session hosted by Kara Swisher of All Things Digital.

TrueRep can be used for free, as well as through a paid VIP subscription. At this time, the Remarks feature is only available to paid subscribers.

ABOUT TRUEREP

TrueRep is an online service and website that gives individuals tools to view publicly and commercially available information about themselves and to help them build a positive online reputation. TrueRep is free and features a proprietary Reputation Score that helps users understand and track improvements to how they may be perceived online. It also offers a privacy feature that allows users to suppress two addresses and one phone number from appearing in people search or background reports ordered from Intelius websites.

TrueRep VIP, a subscription service currently priced at $9.95 per month, provides additional reputation management tools, including access to that user’s professional listings, criminal records, and civil judgments, as well as the TrueRep Remarks feature. TrueRep VIP users can also create content for a personal webpage that is designed to appear high in search results on their name.

Those interested can learn more about TrueRep by visiting www.TrueRep.com.

SURVEY METHODOLOGY

This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Interactive on behalf of Intelius from September 27-29, 2011 among 2,226 adults aged 18 and over. This online survey is not based on a probability sample, and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Michael Lindenberger (mlindenberger@sparkpr.com).

ABOUT INTELIUS

Intelius is a leading information technology company that connects people with each other and with the information they need to make personal and professional decisions. Intelius is on a mission to make the world's information person-centric by empowering individuals to ensure they are represented accurately online. Led by Founder and CEO Naveen Jain, and with more than 12 million unique customers, Intelius is one of the top 100 most-trafficked sites on the Internet, according to comScore/Media Matrix. For more about Intelius, visit www.intelius.com/corp.