WHOIS Privacy: Hiding Your Personal Info from Scammers

What is WHOIS?

WHOIS is a public database that stores information about who owns every domain name on the internet. When you register a domain, your contact information—name, address, phone number, email—becomes part of this publicly searchable database.

What Information Gets Exposed

Without WHOIS privacy, anyone can look up your domain and see:

• Registrant name: Your legal name or business name
• Street address: Your home or business address
• Phone number: Direct contact number
• Email address: Administrative email
• Registration dates: When the domain was registered and expires

This information is freely available to anyone who searches for it.

Risks of Public WHOIS Data

Targeted Phishing

Attackers use your email and domain information to craft convincing phishing emails. They know you own the domain and can reference specific details.

Social Engineering

With your personal details, attackers can impersonate you to your domain registrar, attempting to hijack your domain.

Spam and Harassment

Your email and phone number become targets for spam, sales calls, and harassment.

Physical Security Concerns

Publishing your home address creates personal safety risks, especially for successful Shopify merchants.

Competitor Intelligence

Competitors can see when your domain expires and attempt to acquire it, or target you with competitive advertising.

How WHOIS Privacy Works

WHOIS privacy (also called domain privacy or privacy protection) replaces your personal information with the registrar’s proxy contact details:

• Your name → Privacy service name
• Your address → Registrar’s address
• Your phone → Forwarding number
• Your email → Forwarding email address

Legitimate contacts are forwarded to you; spam is filtered out. Your domain remains fully under your control.

How to Enable WHOIS Privacy

At Most Registrars

1. Log into your domain registrar account
2. Navigate to your domain’s settings
3. Find “WHOIS Privacy,” “Domain Privacy,” or “Privacy Protection”
4. Enable the feature (usually free or a small annual fee)

Through Shopify

Shopify domains include free WHOIS privacy by default. No action required.

At GoDaddy

1. Go to My Products > Domains
2. Select your domain
3. Scroll to “Privacy & Protection”
4. Enable “Domain Privacy”

When You Might Need Public WHOIS

Some situations require accurate public WHOIS:

• UDRP disputes: Accurate WHOIS strengthens your trademark claims
• Business verification: Some payment processors verify domain ownership
• Legal requirements: Certain jurisdictions mandate accurate registration

In these cases, you can temporarily disable privacy, then re-enable it afterward.

How Recon Helps

Recon monitors your WHOIS configuration by:

• Checking if WHOIS privacy is enabled for your domains
• Alerting you if personal information is exposed
• Tracking WHOIS record changes that might indicate compromise
• Providing guidance for enabling privacy at different registrars

FAQ

Q: Is WHOIS privacy worth the cost?

A: Absolutely. Many registrars now include it free. Even if there’s a small fee, the protection against spam, phishing, and social engineering attacks is well worth it for any Shopify merchant.

Q: Does WHOIS privacy affect my domain’s legitimacy?

A: No. WHOIS privacy is standard practice and doesn’t affect your store’s reputation, SEO, or customer trust. Millions of legitimate businesses use it.

Q: Can people still contact me through my domain?

A: Yes. Privacy services forward legitimate inquiries to you. You maintain control over your domain while protecting your personal details.