A reverse phone directory is simply a backwards sort of phone book or listing.

In a standard phone book or listing, both online and off, a phone number or address is found by looking up an individual or business name. However, in a reverse phone directory, a name or address is found by looking up a phone number!

Not A Product Of The Internet!

A lot of folks think that reverse phone services began with the internet - not so.

Telephone companies in the United States have been providing certain institutions with printed reverse phone directories for many decades. These printed directories were provided to police departments, other law enforcement offices, and public libraries.

During this time, if you knew about the existence of these directories, you could probably ask for the assistance of the local librarian to help you find a number.

As record keeping and data gradually became available electronically, and subsequently, more and more accessible, the reverse phone directory services we see online today were born.

New technology for new technologies

Coupled with the widespread uses of cell phones as a primary number and the availability of caller ID to almost everyone, the technology of reverse phone lookups began to breed controversies regarding privacy laws. Information on landlines has been available for a long time buy using various directories, including the 411 service directory.

Although people could request not to be listed in such directories, and sometimes can pay a fee to remove their listing, landline information has been easy to get for many years.

Cell phone information has been harder to get, however. Many companies supported the creation of a 411 directory for cell phone numbers, but outcry from consumers and consumer protection organizations have put a stop on this type of thing.

The fact that no public reverse number directory or lookup directory for cell phone numbers exists makes the fee based directories very popular. For many people, paying the small fee to use a reverse lookup directory to find information is well worth it, because the information is not readily available anywhere else.

Why Do People Use Them?

People now use reverse lookup directories online for a variety of reasons. This includes searching for long-lost family members and friends, finding the source of an annoying prank call or telemarketer call, or even confirming address or other information related to a telephone number.

These databases are simply telephone listing sites and are completely legal.