Start Parity
Feature by feature
The brief asks for three things: assess it, rebuild it, improve it. This page is the second one — every feature in a row, with what happened to it. 14 rebuilt as they are, 10 rebuilt and improved, 6 changed on purpose.
Every “changed on purpose” row is a switch in one config file, not a conviction — the report header can show either state live. Each carries the hypothesis I would test and what I would measure, in the order I would run them.
The search
- rebuilt as-isLook someone up by name, city and state
- rebuilt as-isLook someone up by phone number
- rebuilt and improvedTwo entry paths in one formTwo real tabs instead of five fields side by side with an “or” between them, so it is never unclear which path needs which field.
- rebuilt and improvedField labelsVisible, permanent labels above each field. Placeholders carry an example, not the field name — a placeholder disappears the moment someone types.
- rebuilt and improvedThe search page works without JavaScriptA plain form on a server route. The whole page, including results, is in the server HTML.
The report
- rebuilt as-isCriminal records section
- rebuilt as-isCivil filings and judgments
- rebuilt as-isProperty and ownership
- rebuilt as-isBusiness and employment signals
- rebuilt as-isTimeline of records over time
- rebuilt as-isA plain-language summary at the top
- rebuilt and improvedEvery line carries its sourceSource, reference number, record date, retrieval date and confidence — on every single line, enforced in the type system rather than promised in the small print.
- rebuilt and improvedWhat each source does NOT containEvery receipt names the limits of its own source. “Ownership is not residence” is the kind of sentence that stops a bad assumption before it starts.
- rebuilt and improvedMatch confidenceFree in every tier, at the very top of the report, and spelled out as a list of which identifiers agree — not as a number. This is the one piece of information that protects an uninvolved person from being mistaken for someone else.
- changed on purposeOverall person scoreRemoved. A composite number about a human being reads as a measurement and is a claim. What stays are individually sourced facts with dates.Hypothesis: unlock-to-refund ratio improves, because a score invites exactly the disputes a dated fact does not. Measure: refund rate and “wrong match” reports per 100 unlocks.
- changed on purposeEstimated income and affluence signalsRemoved. Sorting people by estimated wealth is the part of this category that draws the sharpest criticism, and it answers neither “is this who they say” nor “am I safe”.Hypothesis: no measurable effect on conversion, measurable effect on press and app-store sentiment. Measure: conversion before/after, plus review sentiment.
- changed on purposeAstrology and compatibilityKept, but below a visible fold, with no number, no bar and no percentage — and it says nothing about the person, only about the date. A compatibility figure in the same card as a docket number lends court authority to a birthday.Hypothesis: engagement with the fun section stays flat, trust in the record section rises. Measure: time on the sourced section, and “is this accurate?” responses.
- changed on purposeHow dismissed and expunged matters are countedA dismissed charge is not a flag and is not counted at the top. The line begins with the outcome: “Dismissed (2017) — driving under the influence”.Hypothesis: fewer disputes and removal requests, no drop in perceived usefulness. Measure: opt-out and correction requests per 1,000 reports.
- changed on purposeWhat the headline number countsDocuments, not attributes: “4 records found · 1 still open at the court”. Counting open matters at the top would be the more skewed measure, not the fairer one.Hypothesis: neutral on conversion. Measure: unlock rate per report view.
Account and money
- rebuilt as-isSingle report purchase
- rebuilt as-isMonthly plans with saved profiles and AI chats
- rebuilt as-isCredit packs as add-ons
- rebuilt as-isEmail sign-up with verification
- rebuilt as-isSocial sign-in
- rebuilt and improvedRenewal, cancellation and refunds stated at the point of saleThree plain lines above the button rather than a clause in the terms. The prices and the plan names are unchanged — only when and how they are shown.
- rebuilt and improvedThe cheapest per-report price is buyableIf a bundle is shown, it has a buy button. An offer a visitor can see but not buy costs trust and returns nothing.
- rebuilt and improvedEmpty file and wrong matchRefunded automatically, with no ticket and no email. This is cheaper than the support thread it replaces.
The person being searched
- rebuilt as-isOpt-out and “right to know” pages exist
- rebuilt and improvedThey are reachableLinked from the header, not only the footer, and written in the words someone would actually search for.
- changed on purposeA view of the report as the person in itAdded. The same fields, with “correct this” and “who asked” instead of “save profile”. It is the one screen in this category that treats the second party as a user.Hypothesis: correction requests rise and legal exposure falls, at no cost to conversion. Measure: corrections per 1,000 reports, and support load per correction.
Nothing on this site talks to a real data source, and every person in it is invented. See the five cases.