Owed.

For creators and partners

Say true things. They convert better anyway.

If you're making a video about Owed, here is exactly what you can claim and what you can't. The overstated version gets your post flagged and gets us pulled from the App Store, so this list protects both of us.

Claims

Fine to say

  • “California is holding more than $15 billion in unclaimed property.”
  • “1 in 3 people who search the state's database find something.”
  • “I typed my mum's name and it found four records.”
  • “It searches the state's own public database.”
  • “Checking is free — you only pay to see every match.”
  • “You claim it yourself, on California's site, for free.”

Every line is verifiable from the app or the State Controller.

Never say

  • “1 in 3 Californians have unclaimed money.”
  • “This app got me $5,000.”
  • “Owed pays out your money.”
  • “Guaranteed to find money for you.”
  • “It keeps searching for you in the background.”
  • “Government-approved” or “official state app.”

Each of these is false or unprovable. The first one is the easiest to get wrong — see below.

The three that trip people up

“1 in 3” counts searchers, not Californians.

The State Controller's figure is about people who visit its database — a group that already suspects it's owed something. Turning that into “1 in 3 Californians” silently converts a searcher rate into a population rate, and that is the version that draws an FTC complaint. Say “1 in 3 people who search.”

Owed does not monitor in the background.

Saved names stay on the phone and never reach our servers, so nothing can search while the app is closed. What the subscription buys is a weekly reminder plus one-tap re-checking. “It watches for you” and “it alerts you when money appears” both describe a product we deliberately did not build.

A match is a record, not a payout.

A result means a name in California's file that matches the one typed. It may belong to someone who shares that name, and the state decides every claim. “It found $4,000 under my name” is fine. “It got me $4,000” is not, unless the state actually paid you — in which case, please tell us.

Numbers you can put on screen

$15B+Held by California, per the State Controller's own live counter at sco.ca.gov.
14,484,328California records Owed searches — every one of $100 and above.
$13.4BWhat those records add up to. Use this if you're describing what the app searches rather than what the state holds.
WeeklyHow often the state republishes, and how often our copy refreshes.

Your link

You'll get a short link like getowed.app/c1. Use that one everywhere — bio, caption, story — and we can see exactly what your audience did. Before launch it opens the waitlist; from 1 August it opens the App Store. Same link, no swap needed on your side.

Need a link, the press kit, or the app early? support@getowed.app.