Not long ago, everyone had a landline phone in their home and searching for a phone number or address was a matter of opening the white pages and searching for their name. Things have grown more complex now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have landlines, and if they do their number may be unlisted.

Even with the widespread use of caller ID on most home phones, many numbers may show up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to stop their name from appearing. Reverse phone lookup directories have responded to these changing times to offer a very timely service to modern phone users.

There are two typical uses for these services.

Finding Names

If you are receiving calls from someone and only a number is revealed on your ID, or you want to figure out cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can assist in finding the name listed to the number of concern. Just by entering the phone number you will be able to identify whoever is responsible for the calls of concern.

People looking for this service include those wanting to check up on a number constantly calling their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no public directory for cell phone numbers. Others may use this when they need to know a name listed to a landline that is unlisted. Whenever you have a phone number but are uncertain who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup directory can assist you.

Searching for Addresses

another common function is to identify an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you gain access to the information connected with a certain phone number most services will give additional information as well, which includes the address of the landline or the address connected to a cell phone number.

This may not be a typical need for some people, but it does have its benefits in some situations. For example, take a parent desperate to track down a teenager who has run off or has not returned home long after curfew. If they can find phone numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a lookup directory could quickly tell them addresses as well as names of locations the teenager may be at that time.

More common circumstances may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's friends. If you have their phone number you can find their address and easily deliver the invite without calling and tracking down other busy parents.

These services can also give you a connection to other sorts of data, like income brackets and previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an estimated pinpoint of the most current location.

There will be a nominal price for any relevant reverse phone lookup service, but if your business or personal situation requires certain data it is worth the money in the long run. The fee is required because this sort of information is not simple or free to research, collect, and store, so issuing it on demand to others like you must also include a fee to make up for such working expenditures.

There probably will never be a public directory for cell phone numbers, and even if they were compiled it is probable the majority of the numbers would be unpublished as is the case with many home phone numbers right now. The only way to gain access to such phone numbers is to put up a minor charge either to complete a single number search or to join a lookup directory if you will need to access the directory on a regular basis.