Domain Privacy Revisited
Since domain privacy seems to be the hot topic on everyone’s minds I decided that maybe it was time to delve a bit deeper. This time though I am going to focus a bit more on the personal level versus the business level. First, just to make sure everyone is up to speed on things, here is a quick breakdown on domain privacy. When you purchase a domain name, your information will be made “publicly available to allow rapid resolution of technical problems and to permit enforcement of consumer protection, trademark, and other laws” (http://www.icann.org/en/faq/#whois). This is where the term WHOIS comes into play. WHOIS is a query against a database of publicly available information maintained by each of the registrars. This is where your information is stored and displayed to anyone who runs a WHOIS query against your domain. This information typically includes your name, address, phone number, and email address. In order to remain not only ICANN compliant, but also compliant with any agreements you have with your registrar when you purchased the domain, this information is supposed to be kept up to date and accurate at all times.
So how do we get around this so that our information is kept private, address and phone number hidden from telemarketers, and email address masked from those pesky spam artists? Let me introduce you to domain privacy, also known as WHOIS protection, or private registration. Essentially, when you register for domain privacy you are registering your domain in the name of a 3rd party who then accepts responsibility for properly channeling any information to you, the domain owner, without exposing your personal information. Most major registrars offer this service as an add-on when you purchase the domain. GoDaddy for example offers domain privacy through Domains By Proxy whereas BlueHost offers their own version of domain privacy in-house. With some companies you do not need to register your domain with them to purchase the add-on service, however with others you need to either transfer your domain, or purchase it through them, to allow for their privacy integration. In either case, what you end up with when someone issues a WHOIS request against your domain is the information of the company itself rather than your own. Typically this will appear as “[Company Name] Domain Privacy” for the name while the email address tends to follow more of a “domainname.com@[companyname].com”. Obviously in my examples above the Company Name is actually replaced with the name of the company through which you acquired the domain privacy.
So now that we are all presumably up to speed here, I will get back to my original point: domain privacy as it pertains to individuals versus business entities.
When you are an individual and you purchase the domain for whatever reason be it to host family pictures, show off your crafts and hobbies, or even start an edgy blog, you often times will not want your personal information floating around on the internet for anyone to see. Since you probably aren’t conducting business, or even if you are in small volumes, there isn’t much need to promote your personal information in an attempt to reassure people you are who you claim to be. Personally, I can’t remember the last domain I bought that didn’t automatically get a fresh layer of privacy added on to it. When you factor in the cost, the extra $5 or $10 a year to prevent even one tele-call or spam email can be well worth it. In short, add the privacy and spend the extra time enjoying your domain and the peace of mind the privacy offers.
Now as a business you will most likely want to keep your information public to help prove to customers you are who you claim to be and aren’t afraid to show this to people instead of hiding behind smoke screens and such. From a business perspective, there are probably not many customers who will actually check your WHOIS information but for those that do and find it to be private from the public eye, they may not feel as comfortable as they once were and turn elsewhere for their buying needs. In most cases when you registered your business you most likely also obtained some sort of office space or at least a P.O. Box for all your mailing needs. Since this information doesn’t point back to your private residence, there isn’t much need to add the privacy protection so there isn’t much harm to listing your information publicly when you consider the number of customers who may just stick around because of it.
There are however a select few businesses that would probably be a bit better off keeping their information private. In volatile (in the sense of violence) industries where you are going to make a few enemies such as being a private detective, whistle blower, or something of the like, keeping your information private protects not only your business but your employees. When it comes down to this you just need to weigh the benefits and risks and ask yourself whether you want people to be able to contact you or figure out where you are located. Like I said though, most businesses will not fall into the aforementioned categories but there are still a few others who would not classify as a volatile industry but still want to keep their information private. Certain business-to-business, or B2B, type businesses often do not need their information to be publicly available as they are not serving the general public but instead a specific set of businesses who typically look for other means of authenticity rather than a WHOIS result.
Hopefully this helps clear up some confusion and shed a little light on the matter for those interested. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me.