How It Works

The first step is to login to ReallyWho using your Twitter or Facebook account. You can also use your Twitter and Facebook logins for identity verification on other websites, such as LinkedIn, WordPress, Blogger and your own personal websites. If you do not have one of these accounts, choose the standard login and check Create New Account.

ReallyWho searches public and commercial records using the information you provide to generate identity questions that only you should be able to answer, thereby verifying your identity. Generating the identity questions uses a process where ReallyWho does not see or save your personal information. The questions and answers are discarded after verification is complete.

After you login for the first time, you will be asked to enter sufficient personal information to locate the public and commercial records required to generate the identity questions. Your privacy is paramount, so we do not see your records or the identity questions. We do not ask for your Social Security Number, unlike most identity verification services. Also, we do not run credit checks, access your credit report or have any impact on your credit history. All our information is processed on our own servers in Cary, North Carolina.

Typical Identity Questions

If you fail to answer the first set of identity questions, you are given one more set of identity questions in the same browser session. If you logout of ReallyWho and close your browser, you can log back in and try again, but you are limited to two sets of questions in one more browser session.

There is no charge if you are unable to answer the identity questions. If you are able to answer the identity questions, ReallyWho verifies your legal name and address. Currently, ReallyWho can only verify the identity of people with a current U.S. address.

Once verified, set up your ReallyWho Profile and Verified Websites by following the instructions on each screen.

Your ReallyWho Profile is required to show your legal name and location (city, state and country only; street address is not shown). You can optionally show additional information, including a common name (nickname), job and title, education, email and short intro to help distinguish you from others with similar names. This additional information is not verified, but confirmed reports of fraud regarding this additional information are grounds for removing your ReallyWho Profile.

Typical ReallyWho Verified Profile

After you have set up your ReallyWho Profile, you can start adding Verified Websites. Websites are verified by demonstrating that you know the user ID and password for the website. Once websites are verified, you have the option to have your picture stamped with the word "Verified" to indicate that your identity has been verified by ReallyWho.

Typical Pictures Showing the Verified Stamp

Although the "Verified" stamp is protected by copyright and trademark laws, it is relatively easy to fake any form of graphical certification in a browser. Therefore, the most reliable means to verify an identity is a link back to the ReallyWho Verified Profile.

When setting up your Verified Websites in ReallyWho, you are given the opportunity to add or replace your existing personal profile link in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. with a link to your ReallyWho Profile.

Typical Examples of Links to a ReallyWho Verified Profile

For example, when visiting Lisa Evans' Twitter profile, clicking on her link will take you to her ReallyWho Verified Profile. From her ReallyWho Profile, you will see Twitter as one of her Verified Websites. If you click on her Twitter Verified Website, and you are returned to the same Twitter page where you started, you have effectively verified the identity of the person on the original Twitter profile. This Identity Loop™ is one of the most effective means of verifying identities available today on the social web.

The Identity Loop Approach to Identity Verification