Free Domain Privacy keeps your identity safe by replacing domain contact info with substitute details, powered by Domains by Proxy®. When Domain Privacy is turned on, the domain contact info shown in the public WHOIS directory will be replaced with substitute details from our privacy partner, Domains By Proxy®.
Select a question to see its answer:
- What is Domain Privacy?
- What are my Privacy level options?
- Why do my domains need contact info?
- Is my domain eligible for domain privacy?
- How will people be able to contact me?
- Why should I randomize my private email address?
- Does Nominet affect my domain privacy?
- Can I choose to show my contact info?
- How can I verify domain ownership?
What is Domain Privacy?
All eligible domains registered with GoDaddy will have their domain contact info automatically replaced with substitute details from our privacy partner, Domains By Proxy®. Your contact info will be on the domain itself, but it won't be available to the Registry, or visible in the public WHOIS directory so long as Domain Privacy is turned on. The domain still belongs to you — except now, you and Domains By Proxy® will be the only ones who know it.
What are my Privacy level options?
There are 3 different Privacy level options available, so you can customize how much of a domain's contact info is visible in the public WHOIS directory.
- On: Turn Privacy on to hide all contact info for this domain and replace the contacts with details from our privacy service provider, Domains by Proxy®.
- Limited: Limited Privacy will show some contact info for this domain, including the Registrant Organization, State and Country. No other contact details will be shown.
- Off: Turn Privacy off to show all contact info for this domain. These details will be publicly available and could be used for phishing or spam, even if you turn Privacy back on.
You can change your Privacy level at any time in your GoDaddy account. If your domain has Domain Protection, you'll need to verify your identity before changing the Privacy level.
Why do my domains need contact info?
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, requires us to gather contact information for the person or business registering a domain name, known as the registrant or domain holder. This info includes your name, phone number, address and other details, which is reported to the domain registry and shown in the public WHOIS directory. Keeping your domain contact info private helps prevent unwanted spam calls and emails, and makes sure you're in control of what information is publicly available.
Is my domain eligible for Domain Privacy?
Domain Privacy is available on most domains registered with GoDaddy, but there are a few exceptions for certain domain extensions. You can still protect these domains in other ways by adding Domain Ownership Protection.
- .au, .com.au, .net.au, .org.au
- .be
- .ca
- .de
- .es, .com.es, .nom.es, .org.es
- .eu
- .fr
- .gg
- .in, .co.in, .net.in, .org.in, .firm.in, .gen.in, .ind.in
- .it
- .tk
- .us
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How will people be able to contact me?
People can contact a domain owner by submitting a request from the GoDaddy WHOIS results page after searching for a specific domain. We'll keep the domain contact info hidden when Domain Privacy is turned on, but contacts and inquiries can be submitted by selecting the Contact Domain Holder option at the bottom of the WHOIS results page. The domain holder will receive the inquiry via email but their contact details stay private and secured.
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What is a randomized email address?
When Domain Privacy is turned on, your private email address will be [yourdomainname]@domainsbyproxy.com by default. This is a fairly simple email address and could be easily guessed, which could lead to unwanted spam email showing up in your inbox. When you randomize your email address, we change the characters in front of @domainsbyproxy.com to random characters, such as [email protected]. This makes your private email address harder to guess and helps reduce the chances of receiving spam email.
Does Nominet affect Domain Privacy for my .uk domains?
If you've decided to invoke Nominet's WHOIS opt-out policy, the visibility of your contact info will be determined by that policy, regardless of your Domain Privacy or Domain Protection through GoDaddy.
Can I choose to show my contact info?
Your contact info can be shown at any time by turning off Domain Privacy. When you turn off Domain Privacy, even for a short time, your domain contact info will be visible in the public WHOIS directory, and can be seen and potentially used by anyone. Turning Domain Privacy back on will replace your contact info with substitute details from our privacy partner, Domains By Proxy®, but if someone saw your personal details while Domain Privacy was off, they could potentially use that info.
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How can I verify domain ownership?
We recommend adding a TXT record to your DNS zone file to verify domain ownership. This is the best option to maintain your privacy while proving your domain ownership. Or, you can turn off Domain Privacy, which will display all domain contact info.
Related steps
- Set up 2-step verification for the best security on your domains and account.
- Make sure your underlying domain contact info is accurate and make any necessary changes.
More info
- Turn off Domain Privacy to show your domain contact info in the public WHOIS directory.
- Some domains aren't eligible for Domain Privacy, due to registry restrictions. Review the Domain Name Registration Agreement for details.
