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Setting up domain privacy protection

When you register a domain name, your contact details, name, address, phone number and email, are stored in a public database called WHOIS. Domain privacy protection (sometimes called WHOIS privacy) replaces those details with generic proxy information in public lookups, so your personal information isn't visible to anyone who searches for it.

Why it matters

Without privacy protection, anyone can look up your domain and see your personal contact details. In practice, this mostly leads to a flood of spam calls and emails from marketers and scammers targeting new domain owners, but it can also be a genuine privacy or safety concern if you run your business from home or don't want your address publicly attached to your name.

What stays visible

Privacy protection hides your details from public WHOIS lookups, but it doesn't affect who owns the domain. Mind Byte and the domain registry still hold your real contact details on file, they're just not published. You'll still receive important account and renewal notices as normal.

Turning it on

  1. Log in to your Mind Byte account and go to Domains

  2. Select the domain you want to update

  3. Find the Privacy Protection setting and switch it on

  4. Save your changes

Changes to privacy settings typically take effect within a few hours.

A note on .com.au domains and other Australian domains

Some country-specific domain extensions, including .com.au and other .au domains, have registry rules that limit or don't allow WHOIS privacy, since local registrants are required to keep certain information available for verification purposes. If privacy protection isn't available for your domain, this is usually why.

Frequently asked questions

Is domain privacy protection free?

This depends on your registrar. Mind Byte includes it at no extra cost, however others may charge a small annual fee.

Will privacy protection affect my website or email?

No. It only affects what's shown in public WHOIS lookups. Your website, email and DNS settings all continue to work exactly as before.

Can I turn privacy protection off later?

Yes, it can be switched on or off at any time from the same domain settings page.