How to Find Someone's Email in 2025 – Free, Fast & 100% Legal

Elsa Updated on Jul 1, 2025 Filed to: Parent Control

Have you ever met someone, forgot to ask for their email, and now you're searching everywhere but can't find it - and it feels way too awkward to ask again? Don't worry. You don't need to be a hacker, a stalker, or buy shady tools off Telegram to find their email.

Whether you're trying to reach someone for work, outreach, collaboration, or networking, there are easy, legit, ethical ways to do it. Most of them are completely free and don't require much technical skill, you just need to know where to look.

That's why we've put together the 7 easiest ways to find someone's email in 2025. And yes, these are the same methods marketers, recruiters, and journalists use every day.

Is It Legal to Find Someone's Email?

Yes, of course it's legal to search for someone's email online - unless you're doing something shady with it. You can legally find someone's email if it's publicly available or if you're reaching out for a legitimate reason like networking, pitching, collaboration, or even just sending a thank-you email.

Here's what to avoid if you don't want to end up in someone's spam folder or worse, blacklisted:

  • Do not scrape data using shady bots or automated tools.
  • Do not spam people or add them to your email list without consent.
  • And definitely do not pretend to be someone you are not.

If you stick to these easy, basic rules and keep your outreach transparent, it's going to be a breeze.

7 Easy Ways to Find Someone's Email in 2025

1 Use Google Like a Detective (Works 70% of the Time)

Sometimes the simplest methods end up being the best. Google is still the queen of all search engines, and you just need to know how to use their search strings the right way.

Try these search strings: "John Smith" + "company.com" + email site:company.com "contact" "John Smith" "First Last" + "email address"

If the person has ever published their email in an article, blog, PDF, press release, and you know which file type it is, then you can use this filetype filter down here: filetype:pdf "John Smith" + email

google search strings 1

And if they have ever put their email in the comment section, then you can actually go ahead and write the search string: site:youtube.com [their name] "@gmail.com" (or swap with @hotmail.com or @yahoo.com however you want to go about it).

This way you can find even the most obscured emails.

2 Find Emails on LinkedIn (Even Without a Connection)

LinkedIn is still one of the best places out there that you can go to find professional emails because all the professionals are there and they are looking for connections. So there is a very high chance that you will find their emails if you know their company or their first and last name.

Here is how to go about it: Search for their LinkedIn profile on Google or on LinkedIn itself. In LinkedIn, you can filter by companies. Then you can go to the profile and click Contact Info. If it is public, it will show up.

find emails on linkedin 2

Or you can check their About section. Some people drop their email there casually and don't add it in the contact info itself. Or you can look through their old posts. Many professionals attach pitch decks or resumes or "hiring now" kind of posts and add their emails in there.

And if you want to make your task easier there, use the ContactOut Chrome extension to see instantly if there is an email for that profile on LinkedIn. And use Lusha if you want to find hidden emails of that account - but there are only limited free lookups, so we hope you're not searching for 100 people in one day.

3 Use Email Permutators + Gmail Verification

If you know their name and their company domain, perfect. Now you can use email permutations. Big word, but I will explain.

So basically, you try to search for a few formats like these: firstname.lastname@company.com f.lastname@company.com firstname@company.com

You can use Google to search for them. And if you can't find it like that, you can use free tools like Email Permutator Plus. And you can use Hunter Email Finder, which is more preferable, because Hunter lets you put a domain in there and whatever you know about the person's name.

use email permutators 3

You can search, and it will pull out the emails from the database and make it way easier for you to find that person's email.

Then you can paste the auto-guest emails into Gmail that you get from Email Permutator Plus. If it autofills the profile picture or name - boom - this is the one.

Just don't send emails to 15 permutations at once, that's spammy, and you will most likely end up in a spam folder. Use your logic to test the most likely ones.

4 Use Free Email Lookup Tools That Actually Work

We know you have searched for email lookup tools, but here's the thing. The best ones are actually really expensive, and you mostly wouldn't come to this blog post if you wanted to use those.

And the free ones usually don't work that well, or some even don't work at all. They're just there for the show.

So we have scoured the entire internet to find the best tools for you as of 2025 that have free plans and give you actual results.

ToolFree Plan?Best ForStandout Feature
Hunter.ioYes (25/mo)Work emails Domain search + verifier
Voila NorbertYes (50 on signup)OutreachClean UI, export options
Snov.ioYesBulk prospectingChrome extension + verifier
Clearbit ConnectYesGmail usersAuto-fills contact info
ContactOutYesLinkedIn sourcingHigh accuracy for work emails

We highly recommend Hunter.io and Snov.io for this part because they have proven records.

And remember that these tools work best for work or professionals' emails. For personal emails, Google search is still the best option.

5 Check Their Website & Social Profiles

One thing you should never do is underestimate old school stalking methods. Okay, we are not technically stalking here, but we are using the same methods.

So if they have a personal website, go to their About, Contact, or Footer sections. You will most likely find their email there.

And if you don't, try WHOIS lookup if they own a domain. You can use who.is or ICANN Lookup for that.

check social profiles 5

And if you don't find their emails there, go ahead and check out their social media, like:

  • Twitter bio
  • Instagram bio (especially if they are a content creator or influencer)
  • GitHub profile (if they are a developer)

Sometimes people just drop it in plain sight - but not where it should be.

6 Try Company Email Directory Pages

If you know which company they work in or they have worked in in the past, some companies still have a Meet the Team page or section or a security page listing their employees' emails.

company email directory pages 6

So you can try this Google trick: site:company.com + "staff" + "email" site:company.com + "team" + "contact"

This works great for universities, agencies, and NGOs who tend to put their employee lists out for everyone to see.

7 Use Contact Forms or Social DMs to Ask Politely

Okay, last but not least, we have the ultimate method, which may sound a bit desperate to some people, but trust me, it is not.

When everything else fails, go to the honest path. Send a polite message via their LinkedIn DM, Twitter, Instagram DM, or Reddit, wherever you could find on social media.

Or if you found them on their personal website, go to their website's contact form and send a polite message.

Remember to keep it short and start with:

  • Who you are
  • Why you are reaching out
  • Ask for permission to reach them via their email

And if you have to email about something really brief, just give a very short description or trailer/teaser in the message.

Here are bonus tips if you want to increase your chances of getting a response back:

  • Make sure to use personalized subject lines, nothing vague, nothing boring
  • Be attractive and keep your message short and relevant
  • After you get their email, use tools like MailTag to see if your email was opened and read

Conclusion

Don't overthink it, use what works. Most people aren't hiding their email - it's just that it isn't where it should be, and it's scattered across the internet.

With a bit of strategy and the right tools and the easy methods we have shown here, you can easily find it without paying a dime or crossing any ethical lines.

Start with Google by default, then tap into LinkedIn if they're a professional, and use these extra smart tools only if needed. And if it still doesn't show up? Just ask. We are humans, we forget things, we make mistakes. So it is normal. The human approach works the best in 2025.

If you want more helpful blog posts like this, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter and see you in our next blog post.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I find someone's email for free?
Elsa
Elsa

Google search strings, LinkedIn search, and free tools like Hunter.io or ContactOut.

Can I find someones email from LinkedIn?
Elsa
Elsa

Yes, of course. You can find anyone that is a professional's email in LinkedIn. Check their contact info and use extensions like ContactOut for instant search.

What is the best free email lookup tool?
Elsa
Elsa

Hunter.io and Snov.io are the most reliable free email lookup tools with decent free plans.

Is it legal to find emails online?
Elsa
Elsa

Yes, as long as you are using public data and you are not using the emails to cause any harm or do any malicious activities, you are good to go.

What if I still cant find their emails?
Elsa
Elsa

Try reaching out via their DM or contact form and ask politely. Refer to the blog post section above to know the best method to go about this.

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Elsa has worked on a number of iOS & Android solutions, she can always find her way around almost any application. She is an accomplished, skilled and versatile writer with more than 7 years of technical article writing experience.
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