Intelius, a company that runs background checks on people via everything from iPhone apps to screening phone calls, today launched TrueRep, a new subscription service designed to help consumers track and control their online identity and reputation.
The Bellevue, Wash.-based maker of DateCheck &8212' a smartphone app that lets subscribers rapidly search public records for information for a background check on their dates (and a winner at DEMOfall 09) &8212' now essentially lets you run a background check on yourself.
The beta launch today will help people track their online &''footprint&'' and gain greater control over the information available about them through public records, social networking profiles and other sources that could affect someone&'s reputation.
TrueRep does this by assigning subscribers a &''Reputation Score,&'' which only they can view. The score is tallied based on 15 different parameters created by Intelius from an subscribera4‚¬a4„s public profile, and the company will then score a person on three key areas: stability, trustworthiness and safety. TrueRep then explains to each subscriber what their score means and how they can influence it based on personal preferences.
Intelius&' intense focus on scrutinizing the reputations of just about everyone, everywhere has not come without controversy. Founded by Naveen Jain, the infamous former chief of Infospace who left the company in disgrace after multiple violations of insider trading laws, Intelius was under the gun in 2008 when TechCrunch alleged the company was scamming millions from users through a subscription-service-posing-as-a-survey grift.
Regardless of the rumors buzzing around Intelius&' IPO that year, it has managed to bounce back by offering a full suite of &''information-based&'' products for both individuals and businesses alike. To date, the company says it has 12 million unique customers who use its information to reconnect, with 30 million unique users visiting its sites each month.
The company is currently allowing both existing and new customers to test out its newest tool, with new customers able to sign up via Intelius&' website for $9.95. The beta period will last until this spring, during which time TruRep will add more features and tools, the company said.
a4‚¬AEach of us has a digital footprint that begins to take shape the day our first baby pictures are posted on the web,a4‚¬¯ said Jim Adler, chief privacy officer at Intelius. a4‚¬AAs that digital identity grows with public records and commercially available information added year after year, the pool of information from which people can formulate a judgment about us continues to evolve. We have reached a point where we can no longer ignore our digital persona but must be aware of it and take steps to control our reputation, online as well as off.a4‚¬¯
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Companies: Intelius, techcrunch
People: naveen jain
Companies: Intelius, techcrunch
People: naveen jain
Riley McDermid is a contributing reporter to VentureBeat. She was previously the online editor at institutional investing and trading forum Markets Media, which she joined in 2008 from Dow Jones/MarketWatch in New York. Her work has appeared in the The New York Times, the Associated Press, Portfolio Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and Barrona4‚¬a4„s. She has won awards from the American Society of Business Publishers and Editors, the Magazine Association of the Southeast, the Mississippi Press Association and the Atlanta Press Club, and was a finalist for the Pacemaker Prize for excellence in news reporting.
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