What is Domain Privacy Protection?
When you register a domain, ICANN requires your contact info to be publicly available in the WHOIS database—name, address, phone, email. Privacy protection hides this behind proxy info.
Without Privacy
Name: John Smith
Address: 123 Main St
Phone: +1.5551234567
Anyone can look this up
With Privacy
Name: Privacy Service
Address: [Registrar]
Phone: +1.5550000000
Your info is hidden
Why You Want Privacy Protection
🚫 Avoid Spam
Domain spammers scrape WHOIS constantly. Expect hundreds of junk emails within days without privacy.
📞 Stop Unwanted Calls
Your phone number becomes public. Telemarketers will find it.
🏠 Protect Your Address
If you run a site from home, your home address becomes publicly searchable.
Which Registrars Include Free Privacy?
| Registrar | Privacy | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare | ✓ | Free |
| Porkbun | ✓ | Free |
| Namecheap | ✓ | Free |
| Spaceship | ✓ | Free |
| Namesilo | ✓ | Free |
| GoDaddy | Optional | $9.99/yr |
Bottom Line
WHOIS privacy should be free and automatic. If your registrar charges for it, switch to one that includes it free.
Compare Registrars →