That was a common racket a long time ago, but pretty much every widely recommended registrar offers free whois privacy now. At least when they're allowed to, some TLDs forbid obfuscating the whois information.
[1]: https://www.registry.in/system/files/Terms_and_Conditions_fo...
I have two .in domains with namecheap and whois data is all "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY" despite namecheap not allowing me to add domain privacy when I purchased the domains.
In fact Namecheap explicitly state that they can't provide privacy services for .in domains on this page: https://www.namecheap.com/security/what-is-domain-privacy-de...
- “Privacy service”, which is these funky named LLCs replacing your data in the WHOIS
- Just the redaction, which replaces almost all data with REDACTED FOR PRIVACY (except for registrant's country, state, and organization name).
No idea why or how any of this works! Apparently, Porkbun does both: on my another domain, aedge.dev, it shows REDACTED FOR PRIVACY and replaces org name with “Private by Design, LLC”. For notpushk.in, it does show my country (RU... looks like I haven’t updated my address in a while lol) but everything else is redacted, too.
Spaceship on the other hand doesn’t bother and returns only this tiny response:
Domain Name: lunni.dev
Registry Domain ID: 4AF9AE073-DEV
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.nic.google
Registrar URL: None
Updated Date: 2025-03-10T13:01:35Z
Creation Date: 2022-12-11T02:30:54Z
Registry Expiry Date: 2025-12-11T02:30:54Z
Registrar: Spaceship, Inc.
Registrar IANA ID: 3862
Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@spaceship.com
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.6027723958
Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
Name Server: coco.bunny.net
Name Server: kiki.bunny.net
DNSSEC: unsigned
URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: https://www.icann.org/wicf/
>>> Last update of WHOIS database: 2025-03-17T17:11:09Z <<<
Porkbun docs on WHOIS privacy options: https://kb.porkbun.com/article/97-new-whois-privacy-settings...
b) You need a valid postal address where you can receive mail but this doesn't have to be your home address. A PO box is fine.
c) You don't need to have a phone number in your Imprint.
The base requirement of commercial operations having to have valid contact information (that can be used for legal communication) is pretty sensible. The details could be a bit friendlier towards individuals running purely personal sites.
A freelancer's sites are also considered commercial use.
And such sites without imprint have been fined & taken down.
If you engage in commerce, you need to publish enough contact information that others could serve you a court summons.
Between the countless DB leaks and numerous infostealer campaigns, and considering that anyone who has you in their contacts list is extending the exposed surface area, it's untenable. Other events like marriage and home ownership further complicate any attempt to keep your name and address private.
Not saying you shouldn't opt for domain privacy, just giving a reality check. To really enforce your privacy you have to have multiple phone lines and a shell company, at the least. And really, even that isn't enough unless you can also commit to being a hermit.
It's a useful filter, a seller without identifiable people and location is a big red flag.
Except for the guy who tried to sell me annuity liquidation. Yes, if the person gets unalived earlier than expected, you win.
In related news, I saw someone buy $150 worth of lottery tickets, as I was on the way to a large hospital to visit a sick friend. The lottery guy I am sure lost, and the hospital guy (profit-care) won, while the ward was understaffed( a profit-center). And 7 out of 8 fare collection machines were out of order ( deferred maintenance as a profit-center). I get the distinct feeling that corporate America, just does not even care in the slightest.
For the organization that managed the WhoIs? The horse left the barn so long ago, it's great great great grand-children are old and gone. Long gone.
Call me 1-800-555-1212.
the idea is to have individuals accountable while not annoying owners.
in that sense it makes _perfect_ sense and works as intended.
a proper solution ingredient would be trustworthy and affordable pseudonymity, and that can be lifted by court orders only. but then who guarantees the independence of courts? and the fairness of laws?
we're in a tough ride.
Im one of those that think that developers are hiding too much, which makes things like vs code extension viruses rampant.
I wont force you to not be anonymous, but if you are going to run your software on my device I want some accountability. Our salaries should also reflect that.
Im sure that this will be unpopular though.
How do you come to that conclusion?
>vs code extension viruses rampant.
So far I haven't encountered a single actual virus, and if you're referring to the recent Material Theme debacle, there was never any malicious code involved, only third party libraries with obfuscation.
Be careful about concluding things like that.
The TLD has a requirement that you publish your info. That doesn't mean they have any way of verifying it. If someone could prove that the info was false then they might lose the domain, but they also lose the domain if someone can prove that they're operating a scam. So the scammers just make up fake info and all the requirement is doing is impacting the privacy of honest people who want a .us domain.
Either way, your aversion to anonymity of developers is interesting. It's a discussion for a different thread, but I think an important one.
It’s one thing if you have a PO Box, and it’s consistently used in your various documents and registrations. I get wanting a firewall to direct availability.
But if I can barely find evidence you exist other than your software, or if you operate a fairly large scale service and you haven’t filed a yearly required corporate report (a specific example I recently came across), then those are red flags to me. Not immediate showstoppers necessarily, but if you’re trying to get me to make a purchase, I probably won’t.
It’s fine if you have domain privacy turned on, but you’re selling me software or services you have got to offer some kind of evidence that you have some kind of business nexus someplace. In a business context, I’ve got to know that for avoiding sanctions violations at the least.
My personal take is that we need a society with a lot more trust.
How do you trust that food from McDonalds is safe? How do you trust that Samsung hasn't empowered parties to control the mic on your phone? How do you trust Wells Fargo to hold your deposits? How do you trust the kennel to walk your dog?
Trust is really really hard. So a lot of people choose to adopt a zero trust philosophy.
Except they still eat at McDonalds and buy Samsung and bank at Wells Fargo. But they drop their dog off with Aunt Lawana now, instead of the commercial kennel.
Do you remember when Sony installed rootkits? Do you remember when Windows got compromised every 5th day for two years straight? Do you remember when HP broke every HP printer with a firmware update? Do you remember when the whole world got put on pause because an "anti" malware software pushed a flawed update? Do you remember when a certain credit-rating bureau got breached and exposed the PII of, well, everybody?
Do you remember that every one of these companies went on to post record profits?
Trust is really really hard to figure out.
Dear User,Our system has identified an unpaid toll charge linked to your vehicle. To avoid additional fees or service disruptions, please settle this matter within 12 hours.
https://e-zpass.org-qrh.xin/indexshtml"
Best of luck trying to get an unknown Chinese registrar to stop their spam. My carrier does not even have a clue. My routers now block anything *.Xin. Anything and everything.
If you go by the book e.g. Cloudflare not every field (e.g. state and country) is hidden. So not exactly.