When you register a domain, your contact details are recorded in the domain's registration directory (WHOIS). Depending on the domain ending and the registrar, some of them can be shown to anyone who looks the domain up. Domain privacy, also called WHOIS privacy, replaces them with the details of a privacy service, so your name, address, email and phone number aren't shown. Messages sent to the privacy email address are forwarded to you, so you still receive important notices about your domain.
Domain privacy is arranged by the company where your domain is registered. Some registrars include it in the price and others charge a yearly fee, and a few domain endings don't allow it at all. Look in your domain's settings or your registrar's help pages.
.uk domains
If you're an individual who owns a .uk or .co.uk domain for personal, non-business use, you can opt out of having your details shown in WHOIS for free. Ask your registrar for the WHOIS opt-out. It isn't available to businesses, including sole traders.
Good to know
- Privacy doesn't change who owns the domain; you remain the owner.
- Keep your real contact details accurate at your registrar. Verification and renewal emails go to them, and a domain whose details aren't verified can be suspended.
- Some registrars ask you to turn privacy off before you transfer a domain away.