Step 1: What subject identifiers are
Subject identifiers are pieces of information Ferretly compares between the subject record you enter and public social profile data. When a value matches, that identifier contributes to overall confidence that the profile belongs to the subject.
Example: if the subject’s name matches a profile display name during handle validation, Ferretly records a name identifier match.
In general, more matching identifiers → higher overall confidence. Ferretly weighs all matches together—not a single field in isolation.
### Identifier confidence values
Identifier | Description | Confidence weight |
|---|---|---|
--- | --- | --- |
Unique Name | Name match for a name treated as unique (fewer than 5 instances on that platform in the search set) | 50% |
Non-Unique Name | Fuzzy name match, including alternate forms (e.g. William = Bill) | 30% |
Location | Location match within about a 60-mile radius | 25% |
Company | Fuzzy company/employer name match | 25% |
College | Fuzzy college name match | 25% |
High School | Fuzzy high school name match | 25% |
Database | Handle found in a paid source or Ferretly’s OSINT database | 15% |
Username | Exact username match to another profile already associated with the subject | 25% |
Phone | Fuzzy phone match | 75% |
Exact email match | 75% | |
Image Match | Profile avatar similarity to another associated profile photo | 80% |
Other | User- or analyst-provided match (e.g. friend connection) | N/A |
Subject Provided | Profile added at creation (API/integration) or discovered as a related profile from a validated handle | 95% |
\* Unique Name is determined during Ferretly search against the candidate set for that platform. When you manually add a profile URL or import handles, unique name may not be available the same way.
Continue → Step 2
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