When you purchase a domain name from a domain registrar, you are often asked to provide them with your details such as your phone number, email, etc.
It is the domain registrar’s responsibility to keep your data safe, and that is made possible through WHOIS privacy. If you haven’t heard of this term before and want to know more about it, you have come to the right spot.
In this article, I will be covering essential aspects of questions like what’s WHOIS privacy, why it is needed, and much more. I hope it helps! So, let’s begin.
Contents
Domain Privacy (WHOIS Privacy)
A publicly available database, also known as WHOIS, stores your personal data while registering for a domain name. Every WHOIS record has details about the registrant, registrar, name server, etc.
This data is essential as it is helpful during times of mishaps or other issues. ICANN requires sharing the information publicly, but it fails to see that there are many drawbacks to it.
If your personal contact information is publicly shared, it could be misused. One of the most used methods to ensure that your data isn’t available publicly is Doman Privacy.
Why Should I Use WHOIS Privacy?
Even after knowing everything, there still will be people who would question why it is essential to opt for the service of domain privacy? Here are some reasons to help solve that question.
Personal Data Privacy
As mentioned earlier, this is the first and most important reason why you should have domain privacy. Your private details that are present on the WHOIS directory can be accessed by anybody when needed, which is not only unsafe but dangerous as well.
The data is exposed and could be hacked or utilized incorrectly, which could thereby affect you and your website. For instance, if your company is planning on releasing a new item on the market and your domain name details get hacked, what could you do?
It’s a great way to ruin a small business. So, it’s advisable to buy privacy protection and secure your information.
Competition
One of the most common issues that all websites/businesses face is that of competition. The market is filled with competitors, and all wish to be at the top of the hierarchy.
When you buy a domain name and do not bother to opt for appropriate WHOIS privacy, you are somehow lowering yourself in the competition. It becomes easy for your rival business to stalk your work and do better.
The risks are much higher if you’re a small company with limited employees and other resources. Here, domain privacy is a must-have as it can prevent your competitors from knowing your information.
Risk of Data Being Sold
Now that your information is exposed and easily accessible, it could be misused and sold to third parties. These days, a common issue is “data scraping”, i.e., collecting personal contact information from various free resources and selling it.
One of the free resources is the WHOIS public directory. It’s a clear cybercrime and could affect both the victim as well as the criminal. If you wish to prevent or lessen the chances of it happening, get yourself proper WHOIS privacy.
Hacking
Only you are aware of all the effort and time spent to create your website. One small mistake could bring that whole effort down. There’s a high chance of somebody getting into your control panel and changing the website name to their name.
There have been many such cases before, wherein the whole website has got hacked within minutes, and the actual site owner has been helpless. Domain privacy helps in shielding your personal information and preventing such mishaps from occurring.
The way you look after your safety in terms of health, wealth, etc., in the same way, it is also essential to look after your domain safety.
Is it Possible to Give Fake Personal Data while Purchasing a Domain Name?
People often wonder if they could give fake data while registering and then not purchase WHOIS privacy. The issue here is that your domain name won’t get registered if your data isn’t authentic.
All the data you provide to the domain registrar gets verified, and therefore your information has to be true. Another important aspect is the very basis your business relies on is loyalty to your customers and your staff. Still, if you aren’t providing actual data, it could lead to a wrong impression.
How to Get WHOIS Privacy?
It’s pretty easy to get Domain privacy protection on your domain name. You could do this process during your registration or after. It’s clearly up to you. Here are the two ways in which you could get your WHOIS privacy at Namecheap.
Once you find your domain name and are about to register it, the domain privacy will automatically get attached to it. If you do not want it, you could unselect it, and your data will be visible to all.
On the other hand, if you had unselected the WHOIS privacy feature while registering and now wish to get it done, it is possible. You could click on the “apply privacy” option from the get-go.
What Benefits Do I Get if I Apply for WHOIS Privacy?
The list of benefits that you get showered with is endless. Domain privacy ensures that your data stays safe and secure from threats and misuse. You get better control over all your information.
It also prevents spam. When you use domain privacy, it ensures that phishing emails don’t reach your email. Also, as your data is shielded, your competitor cannot access it or sell it to anyone else.
It is like getting full-proof protection for your house to ensure that no robber can enter and cause any damage.
Conclusion
So, this was all about WHOIS privacy and its importance. I hope the article cleared out most of your doubts on the subject and helped you get a clear picture of what domain privacy is and why you should opt for it. You can also check our article on How do Registrars Work?
It will help you a lot in the long run, so if you feel that you should invest in this, I’d suggest you should. Good luck with the decision you make!