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

Even with the invention of caller ID on most home phones, many numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their name from showing up. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing demands to offer a very valuable service to modern phone users.

There are two common uses for these directories.

Searching for Names

If you are receiving calls from someone and only a number shows on your caller ID, or you need to figure out cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup services can assist in finding the name registered to the number in question. Just by typing in the number you will be able to identify whoever is responsible for those phone calls in question.

People in search of this service include those wanting to check up on a number often texting their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no phone book for cell phone numbers. Other people may use this when they want to find a name connected to a landline that is unpublished. Whenever you have a number but are uncertain who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can assist you.

Locating Addresses

another common use is to locate an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you gain access to the contact information associated with a particular number most services will give additional data as well, which includes the address of the landline 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 desperate to find a teenager who has run away or is still out long after curfew. If they can come up with 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 situations may be searching for addresses to mail out party invitations to your child's friends. If you have their phone number you can get their address and easily deliver the invite without calling or tracking down other busy parents.

These services can also deliver a connection to other sorts of information, such as income brackets or address histories, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of where the home or business is located.

There will be a minor fee for any up to date reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life demands accurate information it is worth the money in the end. The fee is necessary because this sort of information is not easy or completely free to research, collect, and store, so dispensing it as needed to consumers such as you must also include a fee to account for such serviceable 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 just like many home phone numbers today. The only way to obtain access to such numbers is to give a nominal fee either to complete a one time number lookup or to join a lookup service if you will need to access the directory long term.