Protect Your Privacy When You Register Your Domain

Written by: Craig Edmonds | September 30, 2009

Protect Your Privacy When You Register Your DomainSo what exactly is domain name privacy and why would you need it?

Domain name records more commonly known as the “WhoIs” record are stored online in the public domain, which means like land registry details, the details of the registrant is available online for anyone to see and lookup.

Of course this means that anyone looking to contact you or find where you are, they simply look up your WhoIs record and take the information. It should be noted that ICANN regulations state that you are not permitted to falsify WhoIs information, so putting false information is not allowed and is risky because you can lose your domain by doing so.

The WhoIs details generally contain the full name, physical address, email address and contact phone number and fax number for you or your organisation.

However, if you want to keep your personal or company details from prying eyes, then there is a legal way of preventing people from accessing these details and that is done by requesting a “private whois” record.

A private whois basically means you voluntarily opt out of the public whois system and your public details are replaced by the details of your corresponding registrar or private whois agent. Most registrars offer this private whois service for a small fee or there are a number of third party agencies who will substitute your details with theirs.

So when someone is looking up the details of your domain, they will not see any contact details related to yourself or your company.

Why Does WhoIs exist?
ICANN, the international non-profit organization that regulates and organizes the Internet’s naming system, requires domain registrants like you to make information publicly available to help the public verify domain ownership and transfers.

The WhoIs registry also plays an important role in helping law enforcement agencies all over the world investigate illegal online activities. It also helps individuals detect if a particular domain violates any intellectual property rights.

So What Does the WhoIs System do for me?
ICANN seeks to protect both Internet users and domain owners. Making your WhoIs information publicly accessible helps your visitors confirm that you are a legitimate company, and it makes them feel safe to explore your website and give you their information.

If you belong to an industry plagued by fakes, it would be better for you to make your WhoIs record accessible by the public, on top of making sure that your website content is well-written and credible.

What if I choose to limit public access to my WhoIs information?
Limiting public access to your WhoIs registry protects you from online threats like hackers, spammers, and shady email solicitors.

If you choose to completely prevent public access to your WhoIs, make sure that you dedicate space in your website for your business’ full contact information to assure your market that you’re the real deal. By doing so, you won’t have to share technical details about your domain that hackers might abuse.

On the other hand, you can usually choose to limit what the public sees on your WhoIs record. You can make your contact details available while hiding technical information about your domain.

How do I keep my domain registration details private?
Privacy protection is a requested function. The process to limit public access to WhoIs registries varies from one domain registrar to the next. The company that registered your domain should be able to tell you how to proceed.

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Topics: Domain Names | View Comments

Posted on 30 September 2009 by Craig Edmonds

Craig Edmonds has been running his own internet company since 1999 from his base in Marbella Spain and has first hand exposure to all matters related to running a company from concept to launch and beyond.

He works very hard to maintain long term relationships with all his clients and prides himself on a high quality service.

His vast range of experience covers some of the following areas:

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Craig runs the following successful companies: Please visit his Blog at the address below or click here for his LinkedIn Profile or follow him on Twitter

Craig Edmonds has written 8 articles for Cloud Mixer

  • Craig excellent points on reasons to remove public whois records. However, there is one other user/agent that webmasters should consider.

    Google is a registrar and is thought to use that whois info in it's algos so if your info is not public it has no age data for the domain and one could argue if one were super paranoid about SE spam (donning my TFhat here) they could wonder what you are trying to hide... Google could lose trust... and that is never a good thing. I say this because I once hid my data for exactly the reasons you cite... I'll never do it again. ;-)
  • Hi Terry,

    Its very true that google does use some of the domain details in their algorithms, such as the length of registration of the domains (on my own domains I register then 10 years in advance....i can feel some subject matter for another article coming on!) however I was not aware that using private whois can affect your serps. I will have to look into that claim and test it it I think.

    However it should be noted that if you do opt for a private whois, then try to have the following pages on your site:

    - accessible contact page with all contact details
    - privacy policy (p3p compliant - hmm...however p3p project is on hold)
    - legal page (include jurisdictional info of the site owner)

    I know one of the reasons of private whois is to remain anonymous so putting all your contact details negates that but if you want to be treated legit, then you have to appear legit.

    One of the main reasons for opting to have a private whois on a domain is noted below, to avoid "whois marketeers" who use the details of whois records to send automated letters or emails.

    I personally don't have any reason to hide my own whois details and I am pretty wary of the spam and domain soliciting however I get at least one email or phone call per week from clients telling me they have either received a letter or phone call from a person or company claiming someone is going to register the .xyz equivalent of their main domain but of course the client has the option to buy it first for $250 (or some other unreasonable sum).

    This is usually a good reason to opt out of public whois.

    However I have some clients who simply don't want to be found and want to remain anonymous. I don't really need to question their reasoning but of course if one of their concerns about their business is serps plus they want to remain private then they should seriously reconsider the private who is option especially if using private whois is proven to affect your serps.
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