A common frustration in our modern, highly connected world is receiving a phone call from a number you don't recognize. In such instances, performing a reverse phone lookup can help you identify who is behind the mystery number, and there are plenty of reverse directories online to help you in your task. But with so many reverse directories at your disposal, it's not always easy to know which one is best for your needs. Here we will look at just four of the most useful reverse directories and what makes each one unique.

Anywho.com

Anywho.com provides you with a relatively straightforward reverse phone lookup. Essentially, Anywho.com is a reverse phone directory for the White Pages, although it also features a Yellow Pages search function if you want to reverse lookup a business. As such, it's a great resource if you are doing a reverse phone number lookup on a landline belonging to a listed individual. If you're looking up a cellphone, however, it may not provide much.

Facebook

While not a reverse directory per se, Facebook actually provides one of the most effective reverse number lookups online. One of Facebook's privacy settings enables account holders to allow anybody to search for them based on the cellphone listed in their profiles. What that means for you is that if a person has this feature enabled and has his or her cellphone number linked to Facebook, then a simple Facebook search of that number will deliver the result you're looking for.

Pipl

Pipl is a unique people search engine that can deliver some truly powerful results. Many phone directories, such as the White Pages, rely on their own records provided through public records or commercial filings. What makes Pipl different is that it also searches through search engine results, leading to many more results for you. Furthermore, you can search for not just phone numbers, but emails, usernames, or just simple names, along with location.

TrueCaller

Another really unique people finder site is TrueCaller. A lot of reverse directories are restricted in their results because they tend to only list landlines and listed numbers. In contrast, TrueCaller is a crowdsourced website, meaning it has a larger database that it searches through and many more cellphone numbers in that database. If the more traditional reverse directories aren't giving you much in the way of results then TrueCaller may be able to help you out. Even better, you can download their app on your smartphone so that you'll be able to quickly uncover the identity of the person calling you even while you're on the go.

There are so many online reverse directories for conducting a reverse phone lookup that it can be easy to feel a little overwhelmed. As the above list shows, however, not all reverse directories are the same and many of them offer unique features that are unavailable on other platforms. By finding the reverse directory that is best suited to your needs you will have a much better shot at getting the information you're after in your reverse phone lookup.

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