It used to be that everyone had a standard phone in their home and searching for a number or address was a matter of opening the white pages and locating their name. This has become more difficult now that cell phones are in common use and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unlisted.

Even with the widespread use of caller ID on most landlines, a lot of numbers may appear without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to block their name from showing up. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing demands to provide a very valuable service to modern phone users.

There are two common uses for lookup services.

Finding Names

If you are getting calls from someone and only a number shows on your ID, or you want to figure out cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup directories can assist in finding the name listed to the number of concern. Just by entering the phone number you will have access to whoever is behind those phone calls in question.

People in search of such services include those who need to identify a number constantly texting their spouse or teenager's cell phone, since there is no accessible directory for cell phone numbers. Other people may use lookup directories when they need to know a name connected to a landline that is unlisted. Anytime you have a number but aren't sure who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup directory can assist you.

Searching for Addresses

The other typical use is to find an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you plug into the contact information linked with a particular phone number most directories will deliver additional information as well, which may include the address of the home phone or the address listed to a cell phone number.

This may not be a typical need for some people, but it does have its uses in some situations. Such as a parent needing to locate a teenager who has run away or is still out well past curfew. If they can find phone numbers from the teenager's belongings or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly tell them addresses as well as names of places the teenager may be located.

Other situations may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's classmates. If you have the phone number you can access their address and easily deliver the invite without calling or tracking down other busy family.

Lookup websites can also give you a connection to other kinds of data, such as income brackets or previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an estimated pinpoint of where the home or business is located.

There is a nominal price for any legitimate reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life demands certain information it is worth the money in the long run. The fee is required because this sort of information is not simple or completely free to research, compile, and store, so distributing it on demand to people such as you must also include a charge to cover these working expenditures.

There likely will never be a phone book for cellular numbers, and even if they were compiled most likely the majority of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many landline numbers right now. The best way to obtain access to these phone numbers is to put up a small fee either to do a one time phone number search or to join a lookup service if you will need to access the service on a regular basis.