Applies to: Domains

Domains Help

What is Domain Privacy?

Domain Privacy keeps your identity safe by limiting the contact info shown on a public WHOIS directory. Registrant contact info will be substituted with details from our Domain Privacy partner, Domains By Proxy®, when Domain Privacy is On.

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What is Domain Privacy?

All eligible domains registered with 123 Reg have the Registrant contact info automatically replaced with substitute details from our privacy partner, Domains By Proxy®. Registrant contact info will be on the domain itself, but it won't be available to the Registry or shown on a public WHOIS directory when Domain Privacy is On. The domain still belongs to you — except now, you and Domains By Proxy® will be the only ones who know it.

What Domain Privacy levels are available?

There are 3 different Domain Privacy level options available, so you can customize how much contact info is shown on a public WHOIS directory.

  • On: All contact info is hidden for this domain and replaced with details from our privacy service provider, Domains by Proxy®.
  • Limited: Some contact info is shown for this domain, including the Registrant Organization, State/Province, and Country. No other contact details will be shown.
  • Off: All contact info is shown for this domain. These details will be publicly available and could be used for phishing or spam, even if you turn Domain Privacy back on.
Note: Registrant Organization is hidden by default, but you can choose to display it when adjusting Domain Privacy settings to Limited or Off. When shown, it becomes the Registered Name Holder per ICANN policy.

You can change your Domain Privacy level at any time in your 123 Reg account. If your domain has Domain Protection, you'll need to verify your identity before changing the Domain 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 Registrant of a domain name. This information, including the Registrant name, phone number, address and other details, is shown on a public WHOIS directory.

Note: Effective August 21, 2025, only Registrant contact details are required and publicly displayed for most domains, depending on registry and ICANN requirements. Other contact information may be collected but won't be shown in WHOIS records.

Is my domain eligible for Domain Privacy?

Domain Privacy is available on most domains registered with 123 Reg, but some domain extensions aren't eligible. You can still protect these domains and the Registrant contact info 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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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 might 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 123xyz@domainsbyproxy.com. 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 123 Reg.

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 shown a public WHOIS directory and can be seen and potentially used by anyone. Setting Domain Privacy back to On or Limited will hide or replace your contact info, 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.

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