How to Use a Free Reverse Phone Number Directory

Looking for an unknown phone number is like searching for a needle in a haystack! But don't worry, there are few free reverse phone number directories, that can do this job for you. Providers of cell phone connectivity and landline connectivity are very large in numbers. Each of them has subscribers numbering in millions. Still no cell phone company provides a cell phone number directory, which can make finding owners of certain numbers easy. Looking for an unknown phone number is like searching for a needle in a haystack! But don't worry, there are few free reverse phone number directories, that can do this job for you. The reason for not providing these directories is twofold. One, they want to protect the privacy of the cell number owners. Secondly, cell phone owners tend to change their numbers more frequently and therefore maintaining a database and keeping it updated is a tough task.

Thankfully, there are certain free cell phone and landline number directories, that are available online and do this task. They are called reverse phone number directories, as they are exactly opposite of conventional directories. Conventional phone number directories list the numbers of people in a specific area, by arranging them alphabetically according to names and the number against it. Whereas reverse phone number directories are a sequential list of numbers with the name listed against them. Reverse phone number directory is also called a crisscross directory, gray pages directory or sometimes a reverse phone lookup directory. So often, it happens that we find a number written on some old paper chit without a name or are troubled by blank calls. In such cases, a free reverse phone number directory comes in handy. In this Buzzle article, I provide you with information about ways in which you can reverse lookup a landline or cell phone number online.

History of Reverse Phone Number Directory
Reverse phone number directories have been available online, for many years, in USA. It was mandatory for the telephone companies to supply them to public libraries as well as to law enforcement agencies. As the number of telephone subscribers increased by leaps and bounds, this need for reverse phone look up directories became inevitable.

Finding a Landline Number
Reverse phone number directories for landline numbers are generally provided by companies that provide the telephone connectivity. Most national telephone companies provide this facility by default. Some phone companies supply each subscriber with a comprehensive reverse phone number directory in hard copy, on request. They supply separate directories for residential and commercial phone number listings. Now, these reverse phone directories are even available online. Most of them charge a nominal fee for looking up the names from numbers. Some sites, however, do offer the reverse lookup service for free.

Some telephone companies agree to exclude the name of a subscriber from these listed directories for reasons of privacy. They charge a certain nominal fee for excluding the number. So it's not necessary that every number will be listed in these directories.

Finding a Cell Phone Number
Cell phone numbers have not yet been made available on hard copies of reverse phone number directories by the telecom companies. This was due to the public concern expressed, regarding the privacy of cell phone owners in USA. However, certain online sites still exist that offer this facility of reverse look up as a paid service. A no charge reverse phone number directory is also provided by some sites which you can find if you just google it.

Since there is no central unified listing of cell phone numbers in the USA, these sites can't guarantee finding every number's owner for you! I would advise you not to waste your precious time in searching for a free reverse cell phone lookup service. Instead, you can opt for sites offering a paid service, which can provide you with assured and accurate information within minutes. Check out the best reverse phone lookup services.

So chances are that if you are looking for the owner of a landline number, then free reverse phone number directories can come to your rescue. Same cannot be said for cell phone numbers, as there is no complete directory for it in USA!