How do I hide my domain WHOIS information?

When you register a domain name, your contact information (name, address, email, phone number) is published in the public WHOIS database. Domain privacy protection replaces your personal details with proxy information so your data is not publicly visible.

01. What WHOIS Privacy Does

With privacy enabled, anyone who looks up your domain via WHOIS lookup sees the privacy service's contact information instead of yours. Your name, address, email, and phone number are hidden from spammers, marketers, and anyone else browsing the WHOIS database.

Emails sent to the masked WHOIS address are typically forwarded to your real email, so you still receive important domain-related communications.

02. Why You Should Use It

• Reduce spam - WHOIS data is harvested by spammers. Hiding your email address significantly reduces junk mail.
• Prevent domain slamming - Scammers send fake renewal notices to domain owners found in WHOIS. See Domain Slamming - Beware.
• Protect personal information - Your home address and phone number do not need to be publicly searchable.
• Business privacy - Competitors cannot easily look up who owns a domain.

03. Limitations

• Not available for all TLDs - Some country-code TLDs (.us, .ca, .uk, etc.) have registry rules that limit or prevent privacy protection.
• Must be disabled for domain transfers - When transferring a domain, you may need to temporarily disable privacy so the transfer approval email reaches you. See Transfer Authorization Email Issues.

Quick Recap

1. Enable ID Protection in your client area under Domains > My Domains
2. Hides your name, address, email, and phone from WHOIS lookups
3. Reduces spam and domain slamming
4. Not available for all TLDs (.us, .ca have restrictions)
5. Disable temporarily for domain transfers

Protecting your domain registration privacy · Last updated March 2026 · Browse all General articles