Not long ago, everyone had a standard phone in their home and searching for a number or address was a matter of opening the white pages and searching for the name. This has become 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 unlisted.

Even with the development of caller ID on most home phones, some numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to prevent their details from appearing. Reverse phone lookup directories have responded to these changing demands to provide a very valuable service to modern phone users.

There are two typical uses 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 help you find out the name registered to the phone number in question. Just by typing in the number you will be able to identify whoever is behind those bothersome phone calls.

People looking for such services include those wanting to check up on a number often phoning 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 want to find a name connected to a home phone that may be unlisted. Anytime you have a phone number but don't know who it is connected to, a reverse phone lookup website can deliver the information.

Searching for Addresses

another typical use is to find an address for someone, whether you know their name or not. Once you gain access to the information associated with a certain phone number most directories will give other sorts of information as well, which includes the address of an landline or an address listed to a cell phone number.

This may not be a common need for some people, but it does have its uses in some situations. Such as a parent in a rush to locate a teenager who has run off or is still out well past curfew. If they can find phone numbers from the teenager's bedroom or cell phone a reverse phone lookup could quickly reveal addresses and names of locations the teenager may be located.

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

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 estimated pinpoint to the business or home's location.

There is a nominal price for any up to date reverse phone lookup service, but if your business or personal situation requires accurate information it is money well spent in the long run. The fee is necessary because this variety of information is not simple or completely free to research, collect, and save, so issuing it as needed to people like you must also collect a fee to make up for these operational costs.

There probably will never be a phone book for cell phone numbers, and even if there were most likely many of the numbers would be unlisted just like many home phone numbers today. The only way to gain access to these phone numbers is to pay a minor charge either to complete a one time phone number lookup or to join a lookup directory if you will be using the service on a regular basis.