Domain Privacy

Domain Privacy is a service provided registrars that prevents registrants' information from being listed in the WHOIS database. Registrars most commonly provide anonymity to the registrant by registering domains by proxy, listing the companies details in the WHOIS and providing a forwarding service.

ICANN requires that each registered domain provides identifying and contact information, including name, address, email, phone numbers and administrative and technical contents.Proxy services enable registrants' to meet this requirement and maintain anonymity.

ICANN Requirements

Up until the 2013, privacy and proxy services fell outside the scope of the Registry Accreditation Agreements (RAA).

The 2013 RAA requires that privacy and proxy service providers:

• Disclose service term (including pricing), on its website and abide by such terms;
• Publish an abuse/infringement point of contact;
• Disclose the business contact information on its website and/or registrar's website;
• Publish and abide by terms of service and description of procedures on its website and/or registrar's website, such as handling of abuse or trademark infringement reports, communication handling, conditions of ending service, Whois data publication conditions, and access to support services.

Origin of Private Domain Services

The public WHOIS database was created in the early 1980s, before ARPANET had become the internet we know today. It was originally intended to be used as a directory service for resolving technical issues with ARPANET. While the primary use of WHOIS has shifted to become commercial in nature, the protocols have remained relatively unchanged.

When the internet gained popularity, WHOIS became a service used by law enforcement, companies seeking to protect intellectual property and individuals trying to contact registrants with interest in purchasing their domains. While these uses may seem reasonable, the database also attracts data miners, that use the listed information for unethical, or even illegal purposes.

While these uses range between ethical and unethical, they reflect the changed internet landscape that led to a demand for privacy/proxy services. Registering a domain by proxy prevents registrants' information from being easily accessible to the public.