How can you check the name of the phone number in UK?

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oh_ab@reddit

It's absolutely insane to think it wasn't so long ago we had phone books that listed personal numbers and names. Now that would be considered a serious data breach Did we just not care back then?

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Literally yes, the masses still have no respect for their privacy until it affects them in a way obvious enough that they finally see the obvious. People also didn't care about health and safety at all, etc. x)

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morris_man@reddit

You could not reverse search in a phone book unless you were willing to read through every entry until you found the number you wanted

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dlarge6510@reddit

That's incorrect you could do that if you paid for the service online or had the CD-ROM version of the phone book which limited the number of reverse searches. I did a few reverse searches in the day online, they gave you something like 5 and after that you had to pay for the privilege.

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oh_ab@reddit

You're right lol. Was harder to come across a random number that wasn't written on a toilet cubicle back then too! I still remember when our idea of using the phone in a different room was just stretching out that coiled cable across the house :D

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dlarge6510@reddit

Full addresses too. Name, number and address.

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IndigoQuantum@reddit

And their addresses!

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geekypenguin91@reddit

Phone book was opt in

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oh_ab@reddit

Maybe I'm remembering wrong. Are you sure it was not default opt-in, and you had to request to opt out or go ex-directory?

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geekypenguin91@reddit

I don't remember ever opting out but wasn't in the phone book

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smoulderstoat@reddit

Yeah, you had to choose to go ex-d.

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MyDadsGlassesCase@reddit

Yeah. It was opt-out. My old man was a bank manager and we had to go ex-directory for security reasons

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dlarge6510@reddit

Nobody is on the old phone book anymore. There was a massive push to go ex-directory in the 90's and 00's leaving just old ancient connections still in the phone book which rarely gets published these days. New connections default to ex-directory. As for mobiles, forget it. They were and are never more than anonymous. There has never been a phone directory for mobiles in the UK. Mobile numbers are private and anonymous, you will only know if it belongs to someone if they tell you so. I don't answer calls from any number I don't already have saved as a contact and I don't call companies that only have a mobile number.

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tfm992@reddit

Absolutely not. This would be, unless it's opt-in, a breach of GDPR and rightly so. Telephone numbers, especially mobile numbers, are personal information.

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Pathfinder-electron@reddit

If it's 07, mobile wont get you anywhere. 01 2,3 would work .

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Fun_Cheesecake_7684@reddit

Stick it in google and see what comes back.

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Finding_path762@reddit (OP)

Nothing shows up :(

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Fun_Cheesecake_7684@reddit

Chances are then it is a private number, at which point it will be restricted.

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Inoffensive_Comments@reddit

Short answer is; No. There’s too many spoofed spam calls. Numbers which are apparently from a +44 UK number, but are very clearly an off-shore call centre in India, Pakistan, or any other country.

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PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

What do you mean by name of a phone number?

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Finding_path762@reddit (OP)

The owner’s name

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PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

Yeah we don't have mandatory caller ID registration for this in the UK. Businesses can opt in, but practically no individuals are going to show up if they call you.

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sihasihasi@reddit

No, there's no central phone directory, where you can do a reverse lookup.

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How can you check the name of the phone number in UK?

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24 Comments

oh_ab@reddit

Kellegram@reddit

morris_man@reddit

dlarge6510@reddit

oh_ab@reddit

dlarge6510@reddit

IndigoQuantum@reddit

geekypenguin91@reddit

oh_ab@reddit

geekypenguin91@reddit

smoulderstoat@reddit

MyDadsGlassesCase@reddit

dlarge6510@reddit

tfm992@reddit

Pathfinder-electron@reddit

Fun_Cheesecake_7684@reddit

Finding_path762@reddit (OP)

Fun_Cheesecake_7684@reddit

Inoffensive_Comments@reddit

PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

Finding_path762@reddit (OP)

PolarLocalCallingSvc@reddit

sihasihasi@reddit

AutoModerator@reddit