What is domain privacy?

Domain privacy or Whois ID Protect keeps your personal contact details out of the public record when you register a domain. In this guide, we explain what it is, what it protects, and why it still matters today.

What is domain privacy?

When you register a domain, the registry records contact details for it – a name, address, email, and phone number. This information can appear in the public WHOIS directory. The ID Protect replaces your personal details with protected, forwarded contact information. As a result, anyone who looks up your domain sees the privacy service instead of your home address or personal email.

Why domain privacy still matters

Since GDPR, many registries now hide some WHOIS data by default. However, that protection is not universal. Business and organization registrations, in particular, often still publish full contact details. Where an extension supports it, the ID Protect fills those gaps and keeps your details out of the public record.

In practice, it helps you:

• Cut down on spam, cold calls, and scam emails that harvest WHOIS data.
• Keep your home address and personal email off the public internet.
• Reduce the risk of social-engineering and domain-hijacking attempts.

What domain privacy does not change

Importantly, privacy does not affect who owns the domain – you remain the legal registrant, and your site, email, and DNS work exactly as before. It only changes what the public sees in WHOIS. You can turn it on or off at any time.

How to add domain privacy at JetHost

To add ID Protect to an eligible domain, just contact our team – open a ticket through Client Area → Support Tickets and let us know which domain you want protected.

Need more help?

Want to check or enable domain privacy on your domains? Open a ticket through Client Area → Support Tickets and our team will set it up for you.