Comparison

Intelius Search vs SaferCar

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Intelius Search

Access public records instantly with this app. Search by address, phone, or email to uncover details like owner information, location history, and property data. Get the information you need without extensive online searching.

Highlights
  • Public records access
  • Search by address, phone, or email
  • Reverse phone number lookup
  • Property search
  • Location history
  • Social media profiles
Features
Read full description

Get access to public records at your fingertips with the Intelius App. Search by address, phone number, or email address to quickly find the information you need. Download the Intelius App to start searching. REVERSE PHONE NUMBER LOOKUP Are you receiving calls from an unknown number? Find the owner of a phone number with a quick search on the Intelius App. A Reverse Phone Lookup could find an owner’s name, possible images, location history, social media profiles, and more. Get to the bottom of that mystery number with a simple search. PROPERTY SEARCH Moving soon? Before you sign the dotted line on your new home, do your research with a property search. Get info on the go with the Intelius app so you can look up properties while out on the housing hunt. Find property value, ownership history, possible neighbors, neighborhood crime statistics, and more with an Intelius Property Search. DOWNLOAD THE INTELIUS APP TODAY! Why waste time scouring the internet or filing public records requests? Stay informed on the go with the Intelius App. Intelius does not provide “consumer reports” and is not a “consumer reporting agency” as defined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). You may not use the products or services of Intelius to determine one’s eligibility for credit, housing, insurance, employment, or any other purpose subject to the FCRA.

About

SaferCar

Stay informed about automotive safety recalls directly from the official source. Enter your vehicle's VIN or details about tires and car seats to receive background notifications for any safety recalls affecting your owned equipment. Access NHTSA's 5-Star Safety Ratings and car seat tools.

Highlights
  • Vehicle recall notifications
  • VIN entry for multiple vehicles
  • Recall alerts for tires and car seats
  • NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings
  • Car seat installation tools
  • Background operation for alerts
Features
Read full description

SaferCar is your connection to automotive safety recall information directly from the official source—the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Every year, NHTSA manages millions of recalls affecting vehicles, tires, car seats and related equipment. SaferCar will notify you about any safety recalls affecting your vehicle or equipment as long as you leave it running in the background. With the SaferCar app, you can: • Enter a vehicle identification number (VIN) for as many vehicles as you own. Your virtual garage will accept VINs for cars, trucks, vans, SUVs, motorcycles and more. • Enter any related automotive products you own that could be subject to safety recalls, like tires, car seats and trailers. • Opt-in to receive notifications on your mobile device for each of the vehicles and products you’ve entered. • Know you’ll be better informed should any recall impact your vehicle or related equipment. • Check out NHTSA 5-Star Safety Ratings, and our online car seat tools that help you find the right seat, understand ease-of-use and check to make sure it’s installed correctly. • Know that NHTSA will never store or share your user data. To protect your privacy, NHTSA doesn’t store your device or VIN information on a server in order to send you a notification when a new recall is issued. This means SaferCar needs to run in the background so it can check for recall updates periodically from your device. If you force quit SaferCar, immediately reopen the app. From Apple: You should force an app to close only if it’s unresponsive.

Screenshots

Intelius Search4 screens
SaferCar3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Intelius Search at 4.5 against SaferCar's 2.9. Intelius Search also leads on review sentiment (58% vs 21%) and ratings volume (10K vs 114). SaferCar's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 10) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.1). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Intelius Search sells 9 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. SaferCar asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Intelius Search holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Intelius Search has 10K ratings behind it against 114, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Intelius Search's written reviews are positive against 21% of SaferCar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Intelius Search ships an update every 3 months, SaferCar every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 16, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Intelius Search versus SaferCar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIntelius SearchSaferCar
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (10K ratings) — better2.9 (114 ratings)
Positive reviews57.9% of reviews — better20.8% of reviews
Number of ratings10K — better114
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 6 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
Best chart rank#112 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.113.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size42 MB71 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperPubrec, LLCNATIONAL HIGHWAY TRAFFIC SAFETY ADMINISTRATION

Customer experience

Intelius Search

All ratings9,954 ratings
Positive86.1%
Neutral4.5%
Negative9.4%
Written reviews126 reviews
Positive57.9%
Neutral6.3%
Negative35.7%

SaferCar

All ratings114 ratings
Positive43.9%
Neutral9.6%
Negative46.5%
Written reviews72 reviews
Positive20.8%
Neutral12.5%
Negative66.7%

User reviews

Intelius Search

From 10K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate and comprehensive information
  • 👍 Easy to navigate interface
  • 🔒 Useful for safety and security
  • 🔍 Helpful in finding lost friends and family

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Inaccurate or outdated information
  • 💰 Expensive subscription and per-report fees
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with extensive personal details
  • 🤯 Overwhelming amount of information provided

SaferCar

From 114 App Store ratings

What we love

  • ✅ App recognizes valid VINs
  • ✅ Recall information is useful
  • ✅ Barcode scanning works sometimes
  • ✅ App updates quickly
  • ✅ Good for tracking recalls

Room to improve

  • ❌ VIN lookup errors
  • ❌ Vehicle selection limited
  • ❌ App crashes frequently
  • ❌ Requires app to be open
  • ❌ Poor user interface

Bugs and requests

Intelius Search

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes or freezes frequently
  • Inability to cancel subscriptions easily
  • Misleading 'free' trial offers

Requested features

4 requests
  • Search by school or college attended
  • Ability to lookup social media usernames
  • More transparent pricing structure
  • Improved data accuracy and verification

SaferCar

Reported bugs

58 issues
  • VIN Lookup Error
  • App crashes on opening
  • App freezes after prompts
  • App won't open with iOS 14
  • App flickers and disappears
Show 53 more
  • Initial load stuck on 'what's new' pop-up
  • App crashes repeatedly
  • App won't launch
  • App instantly closes
  • VIN entry fail is persistent
  • Cannot scan VIN
  • Too many characters in VIN message
  • VIN already in use error
  • Recall details not accessible by tapping
  • App shows incorrect vehicle year
  • Search tool broken, fixed list only
  • Cannot add second car
  • VIN not recognized
  • Models not available
  • Cannot find VIN entry option
  • App doesn't work after iOS 14 update
  • App crashes when trying to launch
  • App stops working with iOS 14
  • App crashes upon launch
  • Database not up to date
  • VIN not recognized for motorcycle
  • Cannot add vehicles or devices
  • Home icon doesn't direct to home page
  • App doesn't take VINs
  • VIN lookup fails every time
  • Backend problem prevents VIN submission
  • Cannot add older vehicles
  • VIN entry fails
  • App doesn't find truck
  • App can't find any vehicles from VIN search
  • App cannot find camper van VIN
  • App crashes on opening
  • App doesn't work
  • App crashes repeatedly
  • App won't open
  • App crashes when trying to launch
  • App crashes
  • App doesn't work after iOS 14 update
  • App crashes when trying to launch
  • App stops working with iOS 14
  • App crashes upon launch
  • Database not up to date
  • VIN not recognized for motorcycle
  • Cannot add vehicles or devices
  • Home icon doesn't direct to home page
  • App doesn't take VINs
  • VIN lookup fails every time
  • Backend problem prevents VIN submission
  • Cannot add older vehicles
  • VIN entry fails
  • App doesn't find truck
  • App can't find any vehicles from VIN search
  • App cannot find camper van VIN

Requested features

12 requests
  • Allow searching for any vehicle recalls, not just owned ones
  • Remove vehicle tracking limit
  • Allow users to write notes for vehicles
  • Adjust notification times
  • Improve VIN barcode auto-identification
Show 7 more
  • Allow VIN identification from cropped photos
  • Improve contrast and placement of 'add vehicle' button
  • Add a 'My Garage' section that doesn't replace the home screen
  • Allow adding more than one vehicle
  • Enable VIN pasting
  • Server-side recall checking for privacy
  • Allow users to search for any vehicle recalls, not just owned ones

In-app purchases

9 purchases

Intelius Search

Subscriptions3
  • Intelius Premier Subscription$9.991 Month
  • Intelius Premier Subscription$19.991 Month
  • Intelius Search All Inclusive$24.991 Month
One-time6
  • Full Profile$1.99
  • Phone Profile$1.99
  • 1 Background Check2 variants$19.99
Show 3 more
  • 1 Background Report$19.99
  • Premium Data Bundle$19.99
  • 3 Background Checks$49.99
None

SaferCar

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Intelius Search free?
Intelius Search is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SaferCar free?
SaferCar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Intelius Search or SaferCar?
Intelius Search is rated higher. Intelius Search averages 4.5 out of 5 from 10K ratings, while SaferCar averages 2.9 from 114 ratings.
Do Intelius Search or SaferCar have ads?
Neither Intelius Search nor SaferCar shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Intelius Search or SaferCar?
Intelius Search ships an update every 3 months, and SaferCar every 6 weeks. Most recently, Intelius Search was updated on October 16, 2026 and SaferCar on October 17, 2026.

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