Not long ago, everyone had a standard phone in their home and searching for a phone number or address simply required opening the white pages and locating their name. It is often more complicated now that cell phones are in common use and many people do not even have home phones, and if they do their number may be unpublished.
Even with the invention of caller ID on most home phones, many numbers may appear without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their name from showing up. Reverse phone lookup directories have stepped up to these changing demands to offer a very timely service to modern phone users.
There are two common functions for lookup services.
Locating Names
If you are getting calls from someone and only a number is revealed on your caller ID, or you want to figure out cellular phone callers, reverse phone lookup directories can help you find out the name listed to the phone number in question. Just by entering the phone number you will have access to whoever is behind the calls of concern.
People looking for 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 Other people may use lookup directories when they want to know a name connected to a landline that is unpublished. Whenever you have a phone number but aren't sure who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup service can deliver the information.
Searching for Addresses
The other common purpose is to identify an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you gain access to the contact information associated with a specific number most directories will give additional information as well, which may include the address of an 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 in a rush to track down 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 reverse phone lookup could quickly reveal addresses as well as names of locations the teenager may be located.
More common situations may be searching for addresses to send out party invitations to your child's classmates. If you have a phone number you can access their address and easily deliver the invite without calling and tracking down other busy parents.
These services can also give you access to other kinds of data, such as income brackets and previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of the most current location.
There is a minor fee for any relevant reverse phone lookup service, but if your business or personal situation demands accurate data it is more than worth the payoff in the end. The fee is required because this variety of information is not simple or completely free to research, compile, and save, so issuing it immediately to people such as you must also come with a charge to make up for these serviceable expenditures.
There probably will never be a public directory for cellular numbers, and even if there were most likely the majority of the numbers would be unlisted just like many home phone numbers today. The best way to gain access to these numbers is to pay a small charge either to do a one time number lookup or to join a lookup service if you will be using the directory on a regular basis.