Have you heard about this new Australian web site which does reverse phone lookups? All you do is enter a phone number and it provides the name and address of the person it belongs to. This kind of thing has been available in the US for a while but it’s a fairly new service available here in Australia (although reverse lookup CDs have been available in the past).

I don’t normally like to post off-topic but there has been a lot of talk about it in the Australian media recently and there is a lot of controversy surrounding the site due to privacy concerns. So I was interested to hear your thoughts, what do you think, is it a good or bad idea?

What is it used for?

The idea behind the site is that you can find out who is calling you. I think the 3 main uses would be:

1. Find out the name and address of prank callers. I can’t say I’ve had a prank call in years but if someone started hassling you, you could find out who it is straight away. I’m not sure what you would then do with that information but knowledge is power.
2. Avoid telemarketers. This is a great idea. If you know the number belongs to a telemarketer or business you don’t do business with, you don’t have to bother answering or you can block the number on your phone.
3. Put a name to missed calls. Find out who has been calling you and then decided if you want to call them back or not.

What else could it be used for?

The concern a lot of people have is that it’s an invasion of privacy and the site might be used by stalkers. If someone gets hold of your number, they can then find out where you live and end up knocking on your door. That’s certainly not something I want. Also, you need to be logged into Facebook to see the results so other concerns have arisen as to what information the site gathers from your Facebook account.

At first I was like ‘OMG people can find my address!’ and that is the kind of comment I read when but in reality stalkers are going to find you anyway. It’s not that hard to follow someone home and if they have your name, obviously they can find your address if it’s listed in the white pages. So how much of a concern is this site?

I don’t like the idea of just anyone with my phone number finding out where I live but that’s why I don’t give my number to many people and keep it unlisted. Secondly, I suggest you don’t put private information on your Facebook profile and don’t connect to web sites using Facebook if you’re not sure about the site in question. That’s a simple way to stay under the radar if you wish but people who really want to find you are going to find you.

I’m still a bit undecided if this is a good or bad thing. A lot of people are up in arms about it but if someone has your number they usually already have your name so they can find your address anyway, this site just makes things easier. Keep your number private and be careful what you put on sites like Facebook and you should be fine. Not to mention there have been reverse lookup CDs available in the past and, as far as I know, nothing bad came of it.

Of course a lot of people are complaining about the site so I’d love to know what you think. Should the site be censored shut down or do we accept that this information is in the public domain and ignore it or do you love the idea and look forward to blocking telemarketers from calling you?

Visit Reverse Australia here to see it for yourself.