BeenVerified: iPhone App Offers Free Background Checks

A new iPhone app is causing quite a stir because of its ability to perform a background check on nearly anyone within a matter of seconds. While the app would be a tremendous resource for checking out a romantic prospect or a new co-worker, the opinions of most people change when the tables are turned and the background checks are being done on them.

Still, BeenVerified is a friend to almost any employer. The only stipulation is that individuals may only conduct up to three free background checks per week for the app to still be considered free. For an additional $8 per month, you can subscribe to the BeenVerified service and receive unlimited background checks. (Source: pcworld.com)

BeenVerified CEO: The Data is Already There

When the issue of privacy was first raised, BeenVerified CEO Josh Levy responded by saying, "A BeenVerified background check contains information collected from thousands of public records and publicly available data where the average person would not even know where to begin. All of the information found in our reports is already out there and accessible to anyone."

Levy continued, "It is not a violation of privacy to aggregate the data and present it in one place. The average person would not even know where to begin finding all of this public information and we help present public records in a way that maximizes the usefulness of the information." (Source: yahoo.com)

Personal Details Retrieved Within Seconds

Those who have used the service cannot believe how fast personal information is collected. One curious user who performed the background check on himself reported that his full and middle names, age, list of known addresses and known relatives were among the data retrieved within seconds.

Also, the app recognized that the user was a member of various network sites including Facebook, Flickr and Pandora.

Success Despite Controversy

With all the mixed feelings towards the app, the controversy has seemingly not stopped its success.

Since its release, nearly 400,000 users have downloaded the app, with one million checks being run so far. The company is already working on Version 2.0 of its background check app and is about to release a version for both Blackberry and Android in the near future.