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 phone book and searching for the name. It is often more complex now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unlisted.
Even with the development of caller ID on most home phones, a lot of numbers may show up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to block their details from showing up. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing demands to provide a very useful service to modern phone users.
There are two typical functions for these services.
Finding Names
If you are getting calls from someone and only a number is revealed on your ID, or you want to identify cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup directories can assist in finding the name listed to the phone number in question. Just by typing in the number you will have access to whoever is behind those phone calls in question.
People in search of lookup directories include those who need to identify a number constantly phoning their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no public directory for cell phone numbers. Others may use lookup directories when they need to know a name connected to a landline that may be unpublished. Anytime you have a number but don't know who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can deliver the information.
Searching for Addresses
The other common use is to find an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you gain access to the information associated with a specific phone number most directories will give additional data as well, which may include the address of an home phone or an address connected to a cell phone number.
This may not be an everyday need for most people, but it does have its benefits 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 find phone numbers from the teenager's bedroom or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly uncover addresses and names of places the teenager may be located.
Other circumstances may be looking for addresses to send out party invitations to your child's peers. If you have their phone number you can access their address and easily deliver the invite without calling or tracking down other busy people.
Lookup directories can also deliver access to other kinds of information, such as income brackets or previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of where the home or business is located.
There is a nominal price for any up to date reverse phone lookup directory, but if your business or personal life demands accurate data it is money well spent in the end. The charge is unavoidable because this kind of information is not simple or free to research, compile, and protect, so distributing it on demand to others such as you must also collect a fee to make up for such serviceable costs.
There probably will never be a public directory for cellular numbers, and even if they were compiled it is probable the majority of the numbers would be unlisted as is the case with many home phone numbers today. The best way to gain access to such numbers is to pay a minor charge either to complete a one time phone number search or to join a lookup service if you will need to access the service on a regular basis.