When purchasing a domain name, it's essential to provide accurate contact information. Failure to do so could lead to the termination of your domain registration, as it would violate the domain registration agreement set by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), the global governing body for domain registrations.
ICANN mandates that your contact information be accessible to the public via a public WHOIS database. This database is often targeted by spammers and telemarketers, which can result in unwanted contact and even potential identity theft or fraud.
Privacy Protection serves as a safeguard, replacing your publicly visible contact details with alternate information. This service is particularly beneficial for those concerned about privacy and security.
For customers in the UK and the EU, it's worth noting that the GDPR already offers a level of privacy protection, making this service less critical. However, Privacy Protection can still offer the added benefit of allowing individuals to contact you securely without revealing your personal data, which can be useful for business inquiries and other legitimate contacts.
When you order privacy protection for just £3 ex VAT per year, we replace all your publicly visible contact details with alternate contact information so that when a WHOIS query is performed on the domain, an alternate mailing address, email address and phone number are displayed. Importantly, you retain full ownership of the domain and have full control of it via our client area at all times.
Anyone who tries to contact you using the alternate email address or phone number provided in the public WHOIS database will be directed to an Online Contact Form which will in turn email the message to you.
The majority of domains are eligible, with the exception of .eu, .asia, .ca, .au, .de, .es, .in, .nl, .nz, .ru and .us. Privacy Protection is additionally unavailable on .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk and .uk, however an alternative 'Whois Optout' is available for these domains, providing the domain is registered to an individual and not used for business purposes.
For customers based in the UK or the EU, domain privacy protection is generally not strictly necessary due to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The GDPR provides robust privacy safeguards that limit the public disclosure of personal information in WHOIS databases.
However, opting for domain privacy protection can offer additional benefits. It allows individuals to contact you through a secure online form without revealing your personal data. This can be useful for business inquiries, networking opportunities, or other legitimate reasons someone might wish to get in touch with a domain owner.For new domains, you will be asked during checkout whether you wish to add Privacy Protection, if the domain is eligible. If you have an existing registration, you can enable privacy protection from your client area.
Letters and packages delivered at the Postal Address would not be accepted. This is detailed in the whois results itself. If people email or phone they will be directed to an online form they can use to contact you, and correspondence to this address will be forwarded to you. Your email address is never exposed.
Yes - this service simply protects your privacy, it does not change who owns your domain name.