Search results
Learn what a candidate result means, why a search can return nothing useful, and how to review the original public page before deciding whether a lead is relevant.
Read the methodology →221B Help Centre
Find the right support path without sharing more than necessary.
Start with the topic below. For account-specific help, email from the address connected to your account and never send a password, full payment-card number, identity document, or private image as part of a support request.
Account and access
Use Settings for your current account and subscription controls. If sign-in or account access is still blocked, contact support from the email address attached to the account.
Open settings →Credits and billing
Review current plans and credit use before purchasing. Existing subscribers can open Settings for the billing-management options available to their account.
Review pricing →Privacy and deletion
Read the current Privacy Policy for how uploads, thumbnails, search history, service providers, retention choices, and account deletion are described.
Read the privacy policy →Abuse or unsafe use
Report suspected abuse, impersonation involving your photos, unlawful use, or a safety concern. Include only the URLs and context needed for the team to review the report.
Email an abuse report →General support
For a problem not covered here, email 221B Face Search support with the page URL, what you expected, what happened, and any non-sensitive error text you saw.
Email support →Before you act
Search helps organise public clues. It does not certify a person.
Keep any check proportionate to your legitimate need. Do not contact unrelated candidates, publish accusations, bypass privacy controls, or use a result to track, threaten, discriminate against, or harass someone.
What should I do with a face-search result?
Open the original public page and compare its visible context. A candidate result or 0–100 match-quality score is a lead for manual review, not a probability or proof of identity, ownership, intent, fraud, or safety.
Does no result mean the photo or person is genuine?
No. It only means that the search did not return a useful candidate from the material it could access. New images, limited public presence, image quality, edits, crawler access, and index coverage can all affect retrieval.
Can 221B search private accounts or hidden databases?
No. 221B is limited to candidate material from the public web. It does not provide access to private accounts, direct messages, platform-internal data, law-enforcement databases, or every page online.
How do I get help with a charge or subscription?
Open Settings to use the billing controls available to your account. If the issue remains, email admin@221b.world from the account email and include the date, amount, and a non-sensitive description of the problem.
Still need help?
Email 221B Face Search support with the relevant page URL and the minimum information needed to reproduce the issue.
Use a clear, close-up photo of one face
- Choose a head-and-shoulders portrait, facing the camera.
- Avoid group photos and tiny faces. Crop or take a screenshot around just the person’s face from a larger photo.
- Keep both eyes and facial features visible: no sunglasses, masks, hands or other obstructions.
- Use good lighting and a sharp image. Enlarging a small or blurry face does not restore missing detail.
Better photo quality can help the comparison, but does not guarantee a correct match. Use your own photo or one you have permission to use.
Your first search · a one-minute guide
An interactive explanation, using the existing saved sample. No new search runs here.
Prepare one portrait
Use a sharp, front-facing close-up. Crop out other people and keep eyes, nose and chin visible. Only upload a photo you have permission to use.
What if no candidates are returned?
A completed search can return no candidates because of photo quality, public-web coverage or inaccessible private content. This does not prove that the person has no online presence. First clear any filters, then review your photo quality. A completed search with no candidates still uses credits; a technical failure has a separate credit-restoration status. This explains a possible outcome and is not a claimed customer case.