It used to be that everyone had a standard phone in their home and locating a number or address was a matter of opening the yellow pages and locating the name. This has become more difficult now that cell phones are widely used and many people do not even have landlines, and if they do their number may be unpublished.
Even with the widespread use of caller ID on most landlines, a lot of numbers may come up without an identifying name and there are ways for callers to stop their name from appearing. Reverse phone lookup providers have stepped up to these changing demands to provide a very timely service to modern phone users.
There are two typical uses for these directories.
Searching for Names
If you are getting calls from someone and only a number shows on your ID, or you want to figure out cell phone callers, reverse phone lookup directories can assist in finding the name listed to the number of concern. Just by entering the number you will be able to identify whoever is initiating those phone calls in question.
People needing such services include those who need to check up on a number often phoning their spouse or children's cell phone, since there is no accessible directory for cell phone numbers. Others may use lookup directories when they want to find a name listed to a home phone that may be unpublished. If you have a phone number but are uncertain who it belongs to, a reverse phone lookup directory can assist you.
Finding Addresses
The other typical function is to locate an address for someone, whether you know the name of the person or not. Once you gain access to the information linked with a particular number most directories will deliver additional information as well, such as the address of the landline or an address connected to a cell phone number.
This may not be a common need for some people, but it does have its uses in quite a few situations. For example, take a parent in a rush to locate a teenager who has run off or has not returned home 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 places the teenager may be located.
More common circumstances may be searching for addresses to send out party invitations to your child's friends. If you have a phone number you can get their address and mail out the invitation without calling and tracking down other busy family.
Lookup websites can also deliver a connection to other kinds of information, like income brackets and previous addresses, and one site even gives a map with an general pinpoint of the most current location. There is a nominal price 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 unavoidable because this kind of information is not easy or free to research, collect, and store, so dispensing it immediately to people such as you must also collect a fee to make up for such operational expenditures.
There probably will never be a public directory for cellular numbers, and even if there were it is probable many of the numbers would be unpublished just like many landline numbers today. The best way to get access to such phone numbers is to give a minor charge either to complete a one time phone number lookup or to join a lookup directory if you will need to access the directory long term.