3 Pro-Tips to Unlock Your Membership’s Full Power

Welcome to Social Catfish. You’ve just unlocked one of the most powerful identity and verification tools on the web.

But I’ll let you in on a secret: most new members only use about 10% of their membership’s true power. They run their first search, get their answer, and stop.

Whether you’ve joined our Social Search plan to find people or our Image Search plan to verify photos, the “power-user” mindset is the same. They miss the features that our most successful, long-term members use every day.

This 3-step guide will show you how to unlock the full value of your membership, regardless of the plan you have.

Pro-Tip 1: Go “Beyond” Your First Search to Protect Yourself

You’re here to check on someone else, but a “power-user” always starts by checking on themselves. This is the only way to know your own digital footprint. What do employers, new dates, or old friends see when they look you up? Where have your personal details been exposed?

• If you have a Social Search plan: Run a search on your own name, phone number, email, and address. This is your digital “home base.” See what data is public, check your data breach exposure, and find old accounts you forgot you had.
• If you have an Image Search plan: Run a search on your own profile pictures (from Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.). Scammers are lazy, they steal real, normal-looking photos to build fake identities. See where your photos are being used online.

Pro-Tip 2: Follow Every Digital Clue (The Deeper Dive)

A new user runs one search and stops. A power-user knows the first report is a map of new clues. The real power comes from following the “digital breadcrumbs.”

If you have a Social Search plan: Your report is a launchpad.

• Follow the People: Look at the “Family Relationships” and “Associated Reports”. Is the person you’re searching for connected to someone else? Click “View Report” on that new person. The clue you need might be on a relative’s or an associate’s profile.
• Follow the Data: Don’t just read the list of emails and phone numbers. Click “Run New Search” on the most likely ones. A new search on a specific email can uncover hidden social profiles or usernames tied only to that email.

Look for “Premium Data” Alerts: As you scroll, look for the “Alert: We’ve found the below premium data” banner. This is the #1 thing a power-user looks for. This data (like Criminal Records, Bankruptcies, Liens, and Judgments) is often the most critical.
Note: This alert only appears when we find this sensitive data, so if you see it, you’ve hit on an important discovery.

If you have an Image Search plan: Your report is an investigation tool.

• Follow the Websites: Look at the “Other Websites Found”. If you see multiple dating or social profiles using that same image under different names, you’ve found a major red flag for a fake identity. Click those links to investigate.
• Check the “Image Forensics” (RIS Pro): Next, use our RIS Pro add-on to see the hidden story inside the photo. This is your digital forensics tool. It can reveal:

• Hidden Data (EXIF): The original camera, date, and sometimes even the GPS location where the photo was taken.
• Text Found in Image: Scans the photo for text (like a username on a sign) that you can use as a new search term.
• Search Velocity: Shows how many times this exact image has been searched. A high number can be a red flag for a trending scam.

Pro-Tip 3: Put Your Security on Autopilot

You can’t be online 24/7, but we can. The ultimate “power-user” move is to set up 24/7 monitoring. This is how you turn your membership from a “one-time tool” into an “always-on” security system.

How to do it:

1. After you run any report (on a name, phone number, email, address, username, or an image), you’ll see an option on the top right corner to toggle on the “Tracking” or “Monitoring” for the specific report.
2. When you “Track” a report, we continuously scan for new information.
3. If we find a new data breach, a new social profile, or that image appears on a new website, we’ll send you an automated alert immediately.

This is how you get true peace of mind.

That’s it. By following these three steps, you’re no longer just running a search, you’re actively in control of your digital identity.

Welcome to the community.

If you need any additional help, our U.S.-based support team is available Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM PST.
📞 1-844-422-8347 | ✉️ [email protected]

David McClellan, Founder of Social Catfish