You may have heard of or even used a reverse phone number lookup service. They’re very popular all over the world these days. People are willing to pay good money to a business for a reverse phone number lookup.
What is a reverse phone number lookup service exactly? Like the name suggests, it allows you to look up the person calling you from an unknown number. You get pertinent details about the person, including name and approximate location.
ZLOOKUP is one such reverse phone lookup service. While they specialize in phone lookups, they also offer a handful of other services. They’re relatively new to the scene and haven’t built up a reputation just yet.
Wondering if the relatively-unknown ZLOOKUP is legit? Should give their services a try? Is your personal information in any danger? We find all that out for you in this review!
ZLOOKUP – An Introduction
ZLOOKUP is a company based out of San Jose, California. Their team is passionate about communication, telephony, technologies, and people. Their aim is to make the world more connected and transparent for everyone.
They haven’t been around for a long time. Their domain is less than 2 years old. Also, they strangely don’t have a presence whatsoever on review sites. But, after research, we believe them to be a legitimate company.
ZLOOKUP claims to be different than the other free phone lookup services around, such as Spydialer. For one, they offer phone lookup services for completely free. For another, their lookup services actually work – at least according to them.
With ZLOOKUP, you can find not just US-based numbers, but also international ones. The site is supposed to let you lookup phone numbers in less than a minute. They also offer some additional services.
ZLOOKUP – Services Offered
ZLOOKUP offers a selection of information retrieval services. All services are free, as promised – though there are “premium” reports you can buy. We’ll get into that later. For now, here’s an overview of the services offered:
1. Reverse Number Lookup
The reverse number lookup service is the mainstay zlookup.com. Using cutting-edge technology, ZLOOKUP is able to search through millions of listed numbers to find the owner of the unknown number.
To use the reverse number lookup service, all you need to do is enter the unknown number into the dial pad on zlookup.com. The website will do the rest. Finding US-based numbers is free. You may have to pay to lookup international numbers.
2. Free SMS:
You can send a free SMS to any American number. The service also allows you to send messages to international numbers. The message limit is 120 characters, less than the usual 160 character limit. 40 characters are reserved for advertising.
To send a free SMS, you have to select the “SMS” option on the simulation ZLOOKUP phone. Then, enter the message, verify you aren’t a robot, and click on send. Note that it takes approximately a minute to send a message.
3. Status
If you just sent out a free SMS, you can generate a status report. You get to see a delivery receipt and a read receipt. Also, you get to see the approximate time your message was read by the recipient.
To check the report status, you need to select the “STATUS” option on the ZLOOKUP simulation phone. The report will display on the simulation phone’s screen.
4. Free Calling:
Finally, you can make free calls to both national and international numbers. You don’t need the country code for international numbers – you can select it from a provided drop down list.
To dial an international number, select the “CALL” option on the simulation phone. It’s the final option on the phone. Once selected, enter the number. Wait until they put you through. Calling is free initially, but you may need to buy extra credit.
5. Service Exclusive to Law Enforcement
ZLOOKUP has a strict user confidentiality policy. Sometimes, though, it’s required to share user information with law enforcement. Of course, this rarely happens.
For when it does happen, though, ZLOOKUP has made a special email available for officers of the law. Why are we telling you this? If you use ZLOOKUP, your information may be shared with police officers if they ask for it.
ZLOOKUP – Pricing and Plans
ZLOOKUP promises to provide high-quality telecommunication services for free. Does it live up to its promise? For the most part, yes, it does.
You can look up numbers for free, make free calls, and send out free SMSs. ZLOOKUP keeps telling you that you won’t have to provide them with debit card or credit card details. They claim in writing they’re not in it for the money.
However, ZLOOKUP later offers paid in depth reports about the numbers they turn up. They may not share a person’s full address, for example, and ask you to pay for it.
Also, ZLOOKUP requires you to have call “credit” to make a call on their website. You can generate credit by sharing the website with your friends. You can also purchase credit.
The duplicity rubs us the wrong way, seeing as ZLOOKUP goes to such lengths to advertise itself as a fully free phone number lookup service.
The ZLOOKUP Refund Policy
Purchased a report from ZLOOKUP, but didn’t receive the information you were looking for? We’re sorry to say you won’t get your money back. ZLOOKUP has a strict no-refund policy.
If you pay them, your money is gone. In most cases, you will get an adequate report in return. Sometimes you won’t, though, for reasons beyond ZLOOKUP’s control.
Most other information retrieval businesses have a fair refund policy. ZLOOKUP doesn’t, and it’s something to be aware of before purchasing from them.
ZLOOKUP – Effectiveness
How good is the phone lookup service? What about the data accuracy? Unfortunately, the ZLOOKUP service falls far short of expectations on all counts.
First, let’s take a look at the phone lookup service. After you input a number, you’re made to wait for 60 seconds until they look up the number. There is no status bar or countdown timer to indicate how much time has passed.
The wait is understandable – if they actually turned up a number! Most of the times, the service doesn’t. The page remains stuck at “Please wait for 60 seconds or refresh and try again”. When you refresh and try again, and hope for the best.
The SMS service works fine for American numbers, though it has an atrociously long wait time. If you try to send out an international message, however, you’re out of luck. The website will throw up a 221 error.
What’s a 221 error? We’re as clueless as you are. Suffice to say your message won’t get delivered. You will, however, be asked to share the service with a friend for credits. Without a delivered SMS, there’s no “STATUS” report.
Finally, we get to the free calling. It works for local numbers, if you’re lucky. Most of the times, it’s unresponsive. Don’t even bother dialing an international number. If you do, be prepared to be directed to another website.
ZLOOKUP – Customer Service
What about the customer service? The customer service is poor. They don’t have a number listed on the website. They don’t have a contact form either. Tucked away in the About US section, you’ll find a single email address.
ZLOOKUP asks you to direct all customer service requests to [email protected]. They encourage you to feel free to contact them for any inquiries or to share your feedback on their services, ensuring a positive NPS score benchmark.
How to Use ZLOOKUP
Want to try out ZLOOKUP? Using the ZLOOKUP service is fairly simple. You need to visit www.zlookup.com with any internet-enabled device.
Once there, you’ll see a simulation smartphone with a dial-pad. The smartphone has four tabs at the top: “Lookup”, “SMS”, “STATUS”, and “CALL”. Choose the option you want to try out.
If you chose “Lookup”, simply choose the country code of the number from the drop down list and then enter the unknown number. Wait for 60 seconds for the ZLOOKUP server to search for and retrieve records.
To send an “SMS”, click on “SMS” and enter your text in the blank field. You’ll need to make it shorter than 120 characters. Verify you’re not a human and click on send.
To check the sent/delivered/read receipt of your text– and provided you successfully and recently sent said SMS from the website– click “STATUS”.
Finally, you choose “CALL” to place a call. Choose the country code and enter the number of your contact. Wait until they patch you through.
Note that ZLOOKUP may ask you to sign up for an account. You may also be asked to pay for a premium report with extra information.
How Does ZLOOKUP Work?
ZLOOKUP has direct API access with all mobile operators based in the US. They also maintain their own database. Every day, they update this database for newly added numbers.
When you input a search query, ZLOOKUP’s server will compare the number with the numbers in its database. If a match is found, it will be displayed to you. Occasionally, for paid reports, ZLOOKUP displays matches from other sources.
For calling, ZLOOKUP uses the VOIP protocol to patch you through to the target caller.
ZLOOKUP alternatives
ZLOOKUP – The Good, the Bad, the Average
Let’s breakdown ZLOOKUP’s service, so you can evaluate them at a glance:
1. The Good
- Free unlimited phone lookups: ZLOOKUP allows you to search for and retrieve information an unlimited number of times for free.
- Free SMS and calling: You can send out free SMSs and make free calls, for the most part, from their website.
2. The Bad
- Doesn’t work half the time: The ZLOOKUP service doesn’t work half the time. It’s also slow, so be prepared to wait and be frustrated if you try it out.
- No-refund policy: If you happen to purchase a report from ZLOOKUP and dislike it, don’t expect a refund.
- Poor customer service: They don’t have a listed phone number or a mobile app. They don’t have a customer service form either. You just have to email them and wait patiently for a reply.
- Unwanted texts from zlookup.com: Sometimes, ZLOOKUP will send you unwanted advertising texts. While you can opt out from this, it’s annoying and eats up your precious time.
3. The Average
- User interface: We like the innovative simulation phone you use for phone lookups, SMSs and calling. But it gets stuck, there’s no status bar, and it’s also not very easy to use.
Our Verdict – Worth a Look-See
ZLOOKUP is worth checking out – but only because it’s free. We don’t recommend you purchase a report from them. There are better information retrieval businesses out there that give you bigger bang for the buck.
Also, think twice before sharing any personal information with them. While they seem to be a legit company, an almost complete lack of an online presence – apart from the main website – is always a red flag.
