Lots of us get crank calls or find suspicious numbers on our caller id we don't recognize. How can you protect yourself when you don't even know who made the call?
This happens when a problem affects their life directly, or the lives of those they love, and they want to solve that problem as soon as possible. You can shop for things you need, and many things that you don't need. Have you seen how thick yellow pages are, it is much easier to use an automated search these days.
Before you have to pay though, they will usually offer you the ability to search their database for free in order to see if the directory contains the information you want. However, a reverse lookup is always the best place to start any search when it comes to identifying or finding an individual or business. You also need to remember that when using reverse yellow pages, you may not be provided with results if the business or person you are looking for is not listed in the public directory, or does not exist within the yellow pages.
To summarize, if you want to trace cell phone numbers free directories are not going to help you. If you rely on directory assistance and the white pages only, then yes you can garner privacy in that respect.