How to Find Someone's E-mail Address

Finding someone's e-mail address is often as simple as looking in your e-mail application's address book. If, however, you lost or don't have the e-mail address, there are other methods of retrieving it. Here are some steps for reconnecting with your online friends.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Internet connection
• Computer
• Telephone

1. Telephone them and ask for their e-mail address.

2. Use previous messages to get their e-mail address. Look for a "Sender" header on the e-mail. The e-mail may also have a "From" or "Reply-To" header with your friend's e-mail address following it. Check your e-mail application's trash and saved messages folders. Also check in your e-mail application's sent folder for messages you previously may have sent to your friend.

3. Search their e-mail service's directory. Sometimes people are listed in an individual directory, but that directory doesn't release the information to the Web as a whole.

4. Google them. When searching, put the person's name in quotes and be prepared for a bunch of bad results. You'll need to filter through these to find the right person.

5. Go to a Web service that specializes in finding personal information. While a few of these services are free, most charge for the information.

Tips & Warnings

• Having a person's full name and street address narrows the search. If all else fails, you can send your friend snail mail (postal mail) and ask for his or her e-mail address.

• Some people have a personal Web page with their online contact information.

• If the person you're looking for hasn't registered his or her e-mail address, finding it can be a real chore.

• Information obtained from professional people-finding sites may be out of date, even if you pay for it.