If you would like to look up information on an unknown email address, you may be wondering if free reverse email lookups exist. The answer is yes. There are a number of different websites that offer free reverse searches in regard to e-mail addresses, but before you attempt to find any of them, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before you set your hopes to high.

The first thing you need to know is that the vast majority of free reverse e-mail searches will not be able to help you find much information regarding the owner of the address you are searching. The reason is because their technology and database is extremely limited. This is due to the number of e-mail providers that exist, and because electronic mail users are permitted to opt-out of their web mail provider's directory. As a result, most free directories are incomplete and unhelpful, since they will only be able to return information if it can be found within their database.

Secondly, you need to realize that there are currently numerous email providers, and millions of e-mail subscribers, so you cannot assume that all free reverse search sites will include every subdomain in their databases. Therefore, you should find out if the site you are using includes the web mail provider you are investigating (I.E. aol, hotmail, yahoo, etc.), because if it doesn't your search will be unsuccessful.

When all is said and done, if you want to find information for free about an email address owner, you will need to use a premium lookup that uses web 2.0 technology. This technology delves deep into the World Wide Web to retrieve the information associated with the electronic address you are looking up. Like other free searches, simply enter the email into the provided query box, and check for results.

However, unlike other free lookups, premium searches take time and it could be an hour or longer before all details are found. The good news is that the search will continue even if you close the site or turn off your computer, so all you need to do is check back later.

Nevertheless, it is important that you know that free web 2.0 reverse email address searches are difficult to find, even when you lookup "free web 2.0 directory" in a general online search. Moreover, these premium sites will only be free for a limited time. Eventually, you will be required to pay a nominal fee per search or pay for a membership if you wish to use these services.

Finally, despite the fact that you will likely not have luck finding out any details with the average non-premium search, this doesn't mean you shouldn't try conducting an investigation with regular free reverse email lookups, because you may find something, and all it costs is your time.