Sometimes, it can be difficult to find the phone number or address of someone you would like to contact. Many people aren’t fans of social media, and can find it tricky to reach out to people without their phone and phone numbers. Many people may not store their contact correctly either, so when a phone gets replaced, suddenly they find themselves without any way to contact the people they love.
In the past, people would simply look in the phone book. Local phone books allowed people to see the phone numbers and often addresses of anyone who lived in their region. It was a relatively quick and simple way. That is, as long as someone didn’t have the same name as others in the region. Common names in large cities could certainly get interesting. Today, instead of using a phone book, people turn to the internet. These phone directories that were once available in gigantic books are now being placed online. But is every directory available online? Keep reading to see some of the information about phone and address directories online.
Phone Directories
There are actually several different types of phone directories that are available and located online. The most common is the standard phone directory. These are designed to provide a phone number for a name that is given in a specific location. If these are the individual directory, they may be by city and state. What’s more common is that these directories are amalgamated together and can be essentially the entire country.
There are also specific phone directories. Directories are designed to assist in helping get through electronic help directories at major businesses to speak to a human. Others, like Infobel, are designed to find the right directory rather than be the directory themselves.
Reverse Lookup Directories
When trying to find an address or who is calling, many people use a reverse directory option online. Rather than putting in a person or business into the directory, the phone number is inputted. From there, information about the phone number is sent out. It’s a great way to find an address, or to verify that a caller is who they say they are. Most phone directories now also offer reverse lookup.
Address Directories
When it comes to looking for a person’s address, there are directories like addresses.com which bring together all of the information needed. People do need to search by state or by city in order to get results. The more precise the search, the more precise the answer.
Combined Directories
The most common type of directory these days are combined directories which have all of the features listed above. Some of these include the websites: Yellowbook, White Pages, 411.com and Superpages. These combine as many phone and address directories as are possible. Some even have quite a few international directories as well.
It’s important to note that while almost every directory is online, it’s possible that some aren’t there. Information continues to be put online, but there’s always something that’s falling behind. Also, not all phone and address directories may have full information. Many people who run purely from a cell phone may not appear in these, as their phone is not linked to a region, and unable to be found in that fashion.
Opting Out of Online Directories
A lot of directories may amalgamate information from old social media sites and things of that nature. In order to stay out of directories, merely close down or privatize social media websites. This will keep your information relatively private. It’s also good to remove old accounts you don’t need anymore.
If you want to remove yourself from online directories or searches, you can request to leave them individually. This can be more difficult because they may require proof of identity. Block out any sensitive information when giving that proof. For example, a driver's license or something of that nature should have all sensitive and personal information blocked out.
