When you register a domain, ICANN (the global domain authority) requires registrars to collect and publish your contact information in the WHOIS database. This means your name, email, phone number, and address could be publicly visible to anyone who searches for your domain.
What is WHOIS?
WHOIS is a public directory that stores registration information for every domain name. Anyone can look up a domain at who.is or by typing whois yourdomain.com in a terminal.
Without privacy protection, a WHOIS lookup on your domain would show:
- Registrant name (your full name)
- Email address
- Phone number
- Physical address
- Domain creation and expiry dates
- Registrar name (Hordanso)
Why Enable Domain Privacy Protection?
- Prevent spam — without privacy, your email is harvested by bots and you receive domain renewal scam emails
- Stop unsolicited calls — your phone number is scraped by telemarketers
- Protect your home address — important if you run a business from home
- Reduce phishing risk — scammers use WHOIS data to craft targeted phishing attempts
How Domain Privacy Works
When you enable Domain Privacy Protection through Hordanso, your personal contact details in WHOIS are replaced with Hordanso's privacy proxy contact information. Legitimate emails sent to the proxy address are forwarded to your real email.
How to Enable Domain Privacy on Hordanso
- Log in to clients.hordanso.net.
- Click Domains > My Domains.
- Click Manage next to the domain.
- Look for the Privacy Protection option and enable it.
- If privacy is not enabled at the current plan, you may need to add it as an add-on — contact support.
Note: Domain privacy is automatically disabled during a domain transfer. Remember to re-enable it after the transfer completes.
Limitations of Domain Privacy
- .ng and .com.ng domains have restrictions on privacy — Nigerian NiRA regulations require real registrant data to be accessible for legitimate purposes
- Privacy does not hide your domain ownership from law enforcement or legal processes — registrars must provide data when legally required
