Sooo, just why can't I Google a phone number anymore?

And why do I have to pay someone for that information?

Just curious.

I Googled a phone number just a little while ago to determine that yes, that Craigslist car is listed by a dealership and not by owner, as the category implies.

Who said you couldn't?

You must have broke your Google. It works for me.

Almost anytime I try a phone number anymore (usually from my cell phone history) I get 1k+ links to sites trying to charge me to tell me. If it's a popular number, it'll usually be in the first few links with others saying "called twice, left no msg" or "left msg for credit card debt, called back no answer".

Anytime I get a call on my phone that I don't recognize, or I'm doing a transaction with somebody, like buying a car, or bike, etc. I google the number. It almost always gives me the info I'm looking for.

I google a-lots-a-numbers. Cellular records aren't published like home numbers were in the white pages, so their harder to trace.

I use the Reverse Lookup app on my phone for numbers I ignore/don't know. It tells you if it thinks the number is a telemarketer (based on an 'unofficial database'), city/state and carrier. I have it for android, not sure about apple. The icon looks like this;

whitepages.com. If you want to know more than you'll actually find in a phone book, well, someone's going to want to be compensated for their work.