You’ve worked hard to build your website or online brand, and you want the world to see it. But what if there’s a part of your business that you’d rather keep private? Is there any way to hide your contact information from anyone who might want it? The answer is yes! In this post I’ll explain what WHOIS privacy is and how to use it for yourself.
What is WHOIS privacy?
WHOIS privacy is a service offered by most domain name registrars that replaces your contact details with the registrar’s details in the public whois databases. The reason for this is that some people may want to avoid having their personal information available on the internet, and WHOIS privacy lets them do so.
WHOIS privacy is not a security feature, it is a privacy feature. What does this mean? Well, if someone wants to find out who owns any given domain name they can do so by searching a database called “whois” which contains all sorts of data about each registered domain name including their name and address as well as other contact details (such as email address).
Is WHOIS privacy a good idea?
If you’re not aware of what WHOIS privacy is, let’s start with the basics. The Whois database is a public resource that allows people to look up information about websites and domain names. This information includes the owner of the site, their contact information and other details related to that site. It’s particularly useful for companies trying to find out who owns certain websites so they can send them legal notices or cease-and-desist letters if they believe someone is infringing on their trademarks or copyrights.
WHOIS records are available via any search engine and can also be accessed through special tools like Domain Tools’ Domain Search tool (https://www.domaintools.com/research/whois).
Some people choose to use WHOIS privacy because they don’t want others knowing where they live or work, but this can also have negative consequences if you ever need help from law enforcement or emergency services responders in emergencies—like if there were a fire in your home! You should think carefully about whether using WHOIS privacy makes sense for your situation before making any decisions about which option is best for you:
What needs to be kept private?
To protect your privacy, WHOIS Privacy Protection shields your name, address and phone number from public view. It also hides:
- Your email address
- The domain names that you own
- The date that the domains were created or will expire (or are currently set to expire)
- The status of each domain name (active/inactive) and its administrative contact information
Do your own due diligence.
If you are considering using WHOIS Privacy Protection, it is important that you do your own due diligence. If a search engine strips away information from the results, it is possible that some critical information may be missing. For example, if someone has registered an address or phone number in their WHOIS record (which does not need to be used when registering a domain name), their personal details might not show up in a search for their domain name.
If there is any doubt about whether you should use WHOIS Privacy Protection or not, there is no harm in doing some research first and making sure your decision makes sense for your particular situation.
Conclusion
WHOIS privacy is a great option for those who are worried about their online privacy and want to protect their identity. It can also be helpful for people who do not want to be harassed by spammers, telemarketers and other unwanted solicitors. If you don’t feel that there’s any need to hide your personal information from the public and you’re not bothered by strangers contacting you via email or phone, then WHOIS protection may not be necessary for you.
