There are a variety of reasons you might want to find out someone’s age without coming right out and asking: it might be a first date, or a new co-worker, a new neighbor, or maybe someone applying to be your child’s babysitter and you’re worried about running afoul of the law by asking.

If finding out their age is important, you have to think outside the box to try to determine how old they are. Here are a few ways you can use to try to find out how old someone is online or in person.

1. Use social media.

Social media, and especially Facebook, can be a great way to learn how old someone is. Facebook gives the option of putting in your birthdate, but even without that, you can still learn a lot. Try scrolling through their posts. Things they share, comments, and interests can all give you clues about their age.

2. Ask about their friends.

Most people tend to have friends who are in the same general age range as themselves. Asking about their friends can tell you how old they are by learning about their friends’ lives. If they describe friends who are all getting married and starting families, they’re probably in their twenties or thirties. If they’re talking about friends who have grandchildren, figure forties, fifties, or sixties. While this is no guarantee, it can give you a pretty good estimate.

3. Check them out on LinkedIn.

LinkedIn will send a notification that you’ve viewed their profile, unless you’ve changed the settings for that, so use this one with caution. It will not give you a birthdate or an exact age, but there are still clues to be found:

• Look for the year they graduated high school. Subtract 18 years from that and you’ve roughly got his age.
• Look at the work history. Depending on how thorough she was, you may be able to find a rough estimate of age based on the dates she worked at each job.
• Read the job descriptions. Technology has changed rapidly over the years and reading job duties and functions may also give you a hint as to how old someone is.

4. Use public records.

Searching public records and databases online can dig up a plethora of information about anyone. Using sites such as this one allows you to get not only someone’s age but also their phone number and background. It can be a useful way to not only find out someone’s age without asking but to also confirm other details they’ve given you.

5. Ask about their parents.

Asking someone about their parents may be a bit awkward, depending on the circumstances. But it can help you determine how old they are. If their parents have passed on, the conversation may fizzle out. If not, however, you can ask questions such as:

1. How old are your parents? This would allow you to then roughly guess the person’s age, assuming their parents gave birth when they were in their twenties or thirties.
2. Where do you parents live? Again, you can roughly guess ages based on this answer. If they live in a nursing home, they’re probably much older. But if they still work, they’re not that old at all and neither is the person you’re talking to.
3. Do you parents have other kids? Finding out if there are older or younger siblings can also help you figure out their age.

6. Complain about your own age.

You can indirectly bring up someone else’s age by bringing up your own. Complain, seriously or as a joke, about your own age. For example:

• “Ugh! I can’t wait until I’m old enough to drink!”
• “Gosh, ever since I turned XX, I feel so old.”
• “Man, when I was in my twenties, I could party all night. These days, I’m lucky to stay up until nine.”

These invite the person you’re speaking with to commiserate with a, “Yeah, me too!” or “Tell me about it.” Alternatively, they might say something like, “Oh, if you think it’s bad now, wait until you’re XX.” Either way, you’ll get a hint about their age. Again, it may not give you a specific answer, but it should be enough to put you in the ballpark.

7. Bring up past memories.

Obviously, you don’t have any shared memories with this person or you’d know how old they are. But there are other memories you can bring up. You can use technology, TV, music, movies, and many other things to try to figure out their age. Say things like:

• “My first cell phone was a ____. What was yours?”
• “I remember when my parents took me to see ____ in the theater. It was my first movie in a theater. What was yours?”
• “I love Taylor Swift! Who’s your favorite musician?”
• “My first car was a (year, make, model). What was yours?”

Again, specific ages won’t come of this, but you’ll likely get a good idea.

8. Try checking tickets and court records.

Public records searches usually turn up tons of information, but you can also check with your local courts for things like parking and speeding tickets. These often list a person’s address and birthday, so you can be certain that the ticket you’re looking at belongs to the person you’re thinking of.

When you want to find out someone’s age, sometimes it really is best to just bite the bullet and ask. But if you want to find out someone’s age without asking, these tricks can help you figure it out.