5 Ways to Look Up Someone’s Age or Birthday

Michelle Wilson - May 8, 2019

Age is a touchy subject. As people have more and more birthdays, they’re less likely to want to freely throw around their age. If you’ve recently met someone—say, a new coworker, neighbor, or date—out-right asking “how old are you?” can be a little awkward.

Instead of facing uncomfortable reactions that accompany that question, many people instead try to look up someone’s age discreetly on the internet. Now, you might be thinking that this is serious stalker status. But sometimes, it’s better to find out someone’s age on your own rather than embarrass the person in question.

Whatever your reasons for being so curious about someone’s age, here are a few ways to look up someone’s birthday without having a cringe-worthy conversation.

Method #1: Hit Up Social Media

Sites like Facebook were most likely not initially intended to offer personal information to millions of people and scores of advertisers. But, luckily for you, that’s what the site has become. Until Mark Zuckerberg decides to chill out with the information sharing, you can use social media to your advantage.

To find out a person’s age, take a look at their “about me” sections on various social media platforms. People often have to list their birthday when signing up for social media accounts, so you might be able to find it under the sections detailing personal information. On LinkedIn, you can see what year a person graduated from high school and college, which might give you a close estimate of their age. Just make sure you’re viewing privately, or they’ll be able to see that you looked at their LinkedIn profile.

If you can’t find their birthday there, you could also scroll down their timeline and see if you can find any clues. Keep an eye out for “happy birthday” posts—some annoying uncle might have straight up said “Happy 40th birthday! You’re officially over the hill now!”

Method #2: Bring Up Horoscopes

If you want to know more about someone’s date of birth AND personality, this method will work perfectly. Start up a conversation about your daily horoscope, and that will naturally transition into a conversation about Zodiac signs. Ask if they know their sign, and that will give you some insight into the exact date range they were born in. Better yet, ask them if they were born on a cusp (right near the transition of one sign into another) and they might give you their exact birth date.

This method is best if you’re trying to find out someone’s birthday because you want to surprise them with a gift. If you want to find out what year someone was born, ask them if they know their Chinese Zodiac. Known as Sheng Xiao, the Chinese Zodiac is a twelve-year cycle that assigns each year an animal. If the person you’re asking isn’t sure, ask them what year they were born and you can easily find out if they were born in the year of the monkey, snake, rabbit, etc.

Method #3: Find Common Ground

Sometimes the easiest way to gauge someone’s age is to learn more about their background. This method is very easy to bring up in casual conversation. Ask fun questions like these:

• What was the first election you voted in?

• What year, make, and model was your first car?

• How old were you when you got your first cell phone?

• What was your favorite show as a kid?

• What was the first concert you went to?

• What year did you graduate from high school?

• How old are your parents?

You may not get any super-detailed answers about the person’s date of birth, but this is a good method to find out more about someone’s general age.

Method #4: Talk About Your Own Age

Getting old is no fun. Everyone can sympathize with that. A good way to learn someone’s age is to bring up your own. Talk about your upcoming birthday and the annoying family dinner you have to go to. Bring up the fact that you regularly wake up with lower backaches—something that never happened in your twenties.

Chances are, the person you’re curious about will be able to relate, and might even commiserate with their own aging stories. If you talk about the subject long enough, they might drop their age and birthday.

Method #5: Use an Online Background Check Service

If you want to cut your search time in half, online background checks are the way to go. With just one search, you can find out everything you’d ever want to know about someone—including their exact date of birth, past employment, former addresses, phone number, arrest records, and a lot more.

And the best thing about this method is that it’s affordable. With a low monthly payment, you get access to all of the above information about someone—and unlimited searches on anyone else you’re curious about. Don’t waste time on awkward conversations and strategic “get-to-know-you” questions. Get a CheckPeople subscription and make your life a lot easier.

How to Get Limitless Searches

Of course, sometimes it’s easiest to just straight up ask “how old are you?” But we get it. Sometimes a less confrontational approach is the best course of action. Join CheckPeople to get unlimited access to everything you wish you knew about a new date, coworker, friend, family member, or even yourself.