WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Online cell phone directory now available for nominal sum

Online cell phone directory now available for nominal sum

SAN FRANCISCO (NEWS CHANNEL) -- Think your cell phone number is private? Think again! The nation's first online cell phone directory is now available for just $15.

We talk on our cell phones just about everywhere so sometimes our conversations are a little less than private.

But until recently, the only people calling us were people we gave our numbers.

Now, a company called Intelius has an online cell phone directory of 90 million numbers -- sort of a 411 for the wireless.

"I have friends out there that I have lost contact with or never had a phone number for, and you know, this would be a way of getting in touch with them," said Nathan Hughes.

Joseph Bergen says the directory may be convenient, but at what price? "It makes it easy to find information -- which I like -- but there are privacy concerns."

One of the concerns is that no one explicitly gives Intelius their cell numbers to publish. The company gathers them from public sources like property records and sweepstakes lists.

Joe Ridout with Consumer Action says selling the information amounts to invasion of privacy. "To be able to sell peoples' cell phone information and unlisted information to anyone who wants to buy them is a fundamental violation of their privacy."

Consumer and privacy groups say another problem is that, though it just takes a few keystrokes to find a number on the website, you can't opt out of the directory online.

"Intelius requires people to use the mail, to fax requests, to make copies of drivers licenses and other things," Ridout said. "It's clearly an attempt to drag their feet and discourage as many opt outs as possible."

Trish Ebner agrees with Ridout. "That seems kind of ridiculous. I think you should have to opt in rather than opting out."

The Intelius cell phone directory is the first of its kind, but likely not the last since one in about 10 households only have a wireless phone.

Intelius couldn't comment because the company is in the process of going public, and IPO requires a quiet period in which the company is banned from promoting itself.