WHOIS Protection on Domains

WHOIS database is a collection of important information such as your email address, name, domain name, IP address block and more that registrars make public after you invest in a domain. In other words, WHOIS database is like a telephone directory. On the downside, there are a lot of problems when this kind of information is made available to the public.

You can keep this information private by purchasing privacy controls. One of the major problems with WHOIS protection is that, not everybody understands why it is valuable to keep website ownership information private.

Here are two reasons why you need WHOIS protection on domains:

1. It gives you more control over your contact information
   From a professional standpoint, it is better to use private domains as it gives you more control over your contact information. Instead of providing your personal information such as personal phone number, address, or email, you can display different details on your website so that users can only use it to contact your business.
   
2. It hides designing party and website ownership details
   It isn’t necessary that the users who register the domain will be the ones using the website. Most site hosting providers and web designers go the extra mile to register the domain for their clients. Sometimes, clients don’t like it when their personal information is visible to the public on the website. Also, the information of the designing party won’t match the content of the website.

Advantages

1. It reduces spam
   One of the biggest advantages of making your domain private is that your contact information won’t be visible to a WHOIS search. The vast majority of marketers use this technique to obtain information, which is compiled into a list and sold to any organization that needs to send out mass emails. As a result of this, you will receive spam mail on a regular basis. When you make your contact information private, it will be much harder for marketers to pull your information.
2. It prevents identity theft
   As your information is private, it will prevent identity theft. It isn’t necessary that cyber criminals will always be after your credit card details. Some of them will use the information available on your website to gain unrestricted access so that they can create accounts and cause trouble in your name.

Disadvantages

1. It makes your business look suspicious
   One of the biggest problems with WHOIS protection is that your business will look suspicious to your customers. When potential customers are looking to purchase products and services from your website, they will do some background research to find out more about your business. If they are unable to find any information, they will be suspicious because they believe that your business is trying to con them.
2. Your information can still be available to the public
   Even though WHOIS protection makes your information private, there have been cases where the registrars release this information without informing the domain owner or  finding out why it is required.