Is Domain Privacy Protection Necessary?

When you register a new domain name, one of the first options you’ll see during the checkout process is whether or not to add domain privacy protection.

You’re already paying for your domain and web hosting, so before you agree to another expense, you want to be certain: is domain privacy worth it?

While the cost of domain privacy protection is relatively low (Typical Hosting charges $9.95 per year), money is still money, and you don’t want to pay for anything you don’t need.
Here’s a rundown of everything you need to know when deciding whether domain name privacy is necessary for you.

What exactly is Domain Privacy Protection?

Domain privacy protection, also known as WHOIS protection, is an add-on service that allows you to keep your name and contact information private.

Every time a domain name is registered, the domain registrar you use is required to provide information about the new site owner to the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) WHOIS directory. This ensures that if a website violates the law, the website owner can be identified. However, it means that anyone who owns a website risks exposing sensitive personal information to the entire internet, such as your physical address, contact information, and email address.

If you are not comfortable with this, domain privacy protection allows you to have your registrar submit their contact information instead of yours.
It keeps you in compliance with ICANN’s requirements without revealing your personal details to the rest of the world.

5 Reasons Why Domain Privacy Is Necessary and Valuable

Each website owner can decide whether domain privacy protection is required, but for a few compelling reasons, many people believe it is well worth the cost.

1. You don’t want strangers to know where you live.

Strangers on the internet are not always benign. Trolls prefer to remain hidden behind a screen, but this is not always the case. If your physical address is publicly available on the internet, anyone who finds your website can locate you in person.

This advantage is significant for website owners who do not have a physical location. Do you want strangers to be able to track you down online when you are using your home address? Even if your website is about a minor subject (but especially if you intend to publish anything controversial), this is a real risk. The risk is lower for businesses that use their head office as their listed location the risk is smaller, particularly if your address will be listed elsewhere on the web. In those cases, this particular benefit may not be particularly valuable, whereas the others may be.

2. Domain privacy protects against spam.

How many times a day do you receive phone calls from unknown numbers? What about emails selling products you’d never consider purchasing—much less from a cold email?
Spam is an unavoidable part of life.

It’s bad enough that you’re having to put your email address and phone number out there for anyone to see. Listing your contact information in the WHOIS database virtually guarantees an increase in spam calls and emails. It makes you a prime target.

While there are certainly worse things in the world than spam, who wants to waste time deleting spam emails or answering spam calls? Domain privacy protection will not prevent you from getting spam, but it will significantly reduce the amount of spam you receive.

3. Domain privacy protection keeps scammers from obtaining your contact information.

Spam is one thing, but people selling things you don’t need are generally annoying. Scams are the only thing worst than spam. Scammers can easily contact you if your contact details are readily available.

But that isn’t the only issue. Scammers are always looking for as much information about people as they can. When they know a lot about you, they appear more convincing. The WHOIS directory contains data such as who your domain registrar is and when your domain is due to renew, in addition to contact information. A savvy scammer could use that information to pose as your domain registrar and trick you into paying the wrong business’s renewal fee.

Domain privacy protection is the best way to avoid becoming victims of such scams.

4. Domain privacy conceals your identity from competitors.

Anyone who owns a business or is considering starting one will most likely conduct market research on the industry. Competitor research is a common step in the process. Including your information in the WHOIS directory makes it easier for competitors to find information about your company.

The WHOIS database is a convenient way for people to connect your websites, particularly if you own several. Domain privacy is worthwhile if you want to keep your businesses separate in the eyes of competitors, or if you don’t want to make it easy for them to learn so much about your company.

5. It is inexpensive in comparison to the benefits you receive.

Perhaps none of these advantages would be worth it if they came at a high cost, but you don’t have to spend hundreds of dollars to improve privacy and reduce spam.

Domain privacy protection is indeed very affordable when weighed against the benefits. For around $10 per year, you can protect yourself and your reputation while avoiding the irritation of other spam. That’s likely less than you paid the last time you chose to eat out.

Domain Privacy Protection Is Priceless

Even if you’re on a limited budget, you should be able to afford domain privacy protection. The cost is already justified by the time saved from accepting spam calls and emails. When you consider the risks it protects you from, the cost of domain privacy becomes far more reasonable.

Typical Hosting customers can add domain privacy protection when registering a new domain or to an existing domain in a matter of minutes. It is quick, cheap, and provides significant benefits.

Thank you for reading,
Simon M.
Typical Hosting.