Look up your own domain first
WHOIS is the public directory of who holds each domain name. There's a newer system called RDAP that does the same job, and ICANN, the body that sets the rules for most domain endings, now treats it as the replacement. People still say WHOIS, so we will too.
- Go to lookup.icann.org and type your domain name.
- Find the section about the registrant. That's you, the person who holds the name.
- Read each line slowly. Where you see a word like "redacted", that detail is hidden. Where you see your real street or phone number, it's public right now.
Country endings set their own rules. If lookup.icann.org shows nothing useful for yours, try the lookup on that registry's own site. It's normal for this page to look like a wall of technical terms. You only care about the registrant lines.
Learn what can show without privacy
Since 21 August 2025, ICANN's Registration Data Policy has set what happens for generic endings like .com and .live. Your registrar (the company that sells you the name) must hide personal details where the law requires it. Where the law doesn't, hiding is allowed but not required. So what you see depends on your registrar and on where you live. That's why step one was looking, not assuming.
| Detail | When the registrar hides details |
|---|---|
| Your name, street, postcode, phone | Hidden |
| Your email | Replaced by a masked address or a web form that reaches you |
| Your city | The registrar can choose, so it might show |
| Your state or province, and country | Still published |
| Organization, if you filled it in and agreed to publish it | Published |
| The domain's dates, registrar and name servers | Still published |
In a small town, state plus city may say more than you'd like. Registrars also have to offer you the chance to publish hidden details by consent, so don't tick that box without reading it.
Leave the organization box empty unless you mean it
This is an easy mistake for a hobby broadcaster to make. You see a box called Organization and type "Riverside Community Radio". Under the policy, your registrar has to tell you two things about that box. The name will be published if you agree, and the organization will count as the holder of the domain.
So if the station is just you, leave it blank. The domain then stays clearly yours. If the station really is a club or a charity and should own the name, fill it in and accept that it's public. That's often the right call for a group, because the name won't vanish with one volunteer.
Check that your extension allows privacy
The extension is the bit after the dot. Our domains page says WHOIS privacy works where the extension supports it, and that wording matters, because some don't. The clearest case is .us. Its privacy services policy bans anonymous and proxy registrations outright, so the record has to carry your own accurate details.
Country endings make their own rules, so don't guess. If your home address has to stay private, check before you buy, not after. Ask us whether the ending you've picked supports privacy. If it doesn't, the simple fix is usually to choose another ending.
Turn privacy on, and read what changes
Registrars offer two kinds of service, and they're easy to mix up:
- Privacy service: you stay the domain holder. The public record shows the service's contact details.
- Proxy service: the service itself is the holder, and it licenses the name to you.
Either way, the service's details are published in your place. With a registrar's own or accredited service, that should include the city, state and country lines, so check those too when you repeat your lookup. With a proxy, you're relying on someone else being the legal holder, so read the terms before you agree. After you turn it on, repeat your lookup and confirm your details have gone. Allow a little time for the record to update.
Keep your real details correct behind the curtain
Privacy hides your details from the public, not from the company providing it. It's tempting to skip all this and type a made-up address. Don't. ICANN's contract with registrars says a holder who deliberately gives false details, deliberately fails to update them within seven days of a change, or ignores a question about them for more than 15 days can have the domain suspended or cancelled. Your website, your stream link and your email at that name would go with it.
Keep a contact email on the domain's record that you'll still be reading in five years, ideally one that isn't at that same domain. Renewal reminders and requests to confirm your details go there. If you move house, update the record, even though nobody can see it.
Know who can still ask
Privacy isn't invisibility. Registrars must have a way to take reasonable requests for hidden data and answer them, and ICANN runs a request service for people with a legitimate interest, including police and intellectual property lawyers. If someone complains about your content or says your name breaks their trademark, your details can reach them through those routes. Don't treat privacy as a shield for something you'd rather not stand behind. None of this is legal advice, and the rules do change.
Close the other leaks
A hidden record won't help if your address is sitting somewhere else. Take ten minutes to check these:
- Your site's contact page and footer. An email address is usually enough.
- Anything you've posted with your home address, such as a station page, an old flyer or a sponsor pack.
- Your earlier public record. If your address was showing before you turned privacy on, others may already have copied it, and turning privacy on won't reach those copies.
- Your email. Send mail from your own domain so you aren't handing out a personal address. Mailboxes come with our website plans.