What is the difference between landline phone and cell phone in reverse phone number look up?

Sometimes people would like to run a reverse phone number look up to get owner's information associated with a phone number, such as name, address, etc. Of cause it is better to get this information for free. But, the actual situation is, sometimes you can get it for free, but sometimes you can't.

In a reverse phone search, if it is a home phone number, then it is very likely you can get the information for free. If it belongs to a cell phone, then probably you don't have the good luck. Why?

Because the landline phone owner's information is public information. People can get that information by going to some phone number directories, such as white pages or some web sites. When a user is signing up for a home phone service, the phone company will always ask if you would like to pay some extra fee to remove your information from the public list. Most likely you will say "no" in order to save money. Therefore, your name and phone number will be listed in the public directory. When people run a reverse phone look up by entering your phone number into a phone directory, they will find it for free.

When you sign up for a cell phone service, the cell phone company will not release it to the public. But this doesn't mean it will keep your information as a secret. It may sell your information to other reverse cell phone number lookup companies, which provide reverse phone number search services to the public by charging a certain fee. Your information is still listed in some directories. Others can't find your information in the free public phone lists even if they have your cell phone number. But they can pay and run a reverse cell phone number search to get the information they want.