What Is WHOIS Privacy
Posted 05th September, 2013 by Aliysa
Did you know that when you register a domain name, the registered information is accessible for everyone to browse? The WHOIS database shows details of who owns a domain, when it was registered and when it expires. When you register a domain with us we are required to submit accurate personal information of the domain owner to the registry, which is then made publicly available on the WHOIS database. To check out what information is shown on your domain go to www.whois.sc and type in your domain name.
There is of course a way round this. WHOIS privacy allows you to hide your personal details from internet users searching the WHOIS database. When you enable WHOIS privacy protection on your domain we replace your visible contact details with our information.
If you are an online business, having these details visible on WHOIS can help you build your brands credibility. Potential customers want to see that you as a business are open with the information about you. Check out our registered details available on the WHOIS database.
On the other hand, if you’re a blogger, hobbyist or non e-commerce transacting site, it's less than ideal, often completely unnecessary to have your personal contact details readily available on the web. In the past spammers and telemarketers have been known to crawl the WHOIS database, collecting and spamming domain owners who still have this information visible. As your contact information is public you're also vulnerable to identity theft and fraud.
WHOIS privacy is available from Tsohost for just £3.58 per year. It’s important to note that WHOIS privacy is not available for .UK domain names. .UK domains have WHOIS Opt-Out; for those who are not familiar with WHOIS Opt-Out it’s Nominet’s alternative to WHOIS privacy protection. The free tool hides the address and contact details (name is still shown) of the domain owner. The WHOIS Opt-Out tool is only available for non-trading individuals, who do not have any form of advertising on their site. For more information please contact our Support Team.