Today the whole world is connected to the Internet and the old ways of communication like writing letters and notes seem to be signs of the past. Even in formal corporate settings, email has taken over as the preferred type of communication. Email not only provides a written record of a conversation, but these electronic exchanges also leave a traceable trail. However, like an overflowing rolodex, it can be difficult to keep track of all your contacts, from friends and family to business associates and professional acquaintances.

If you find yourself in such a bind, it can be helpful to have a way to find people by their email addresses. Unfortunately, there is no publicly available directory for email addresses like there are the white pages for phone numbers. A quick web search will throw up many companies that claim they can help you do a reverse email address lookup, but most of these companies just want to charge your credit card for a monthly subscription.

Fortunately, it’s simple and quick to find someone by email if you know what to look for. If you remember where they have their emails, for example, if they are in Gmail, Yahoo or Hotmail. If they listed their address as public when they created their account, their address can be found in a directory on these sites.

More commonly, most people want to remain anonymous on the Internet. Therefore, they are not listed in any provider directory. In this case, you will need to search some databases that specialize in collecting email addresses. The companies you want to look for are those that will only charge you a small one-time fee for this service. Make sure you are not asked to sign up for a subscription service.

Once you have located the person you are looking for and have signed up for the service, you will immediately receive a report with information about the person you are looking for. Sometimes this information will also include a home address and phone number.