To do or not to do – WHOIS Privacy, that is the question

Here’s a topic that seems to be pretty hotly contested lately – should you keep your WHOIS information private or make it public? Last week Shane tweeted this question:

I responded by saying that I’ve had the same question for years – why make it harder for someone to buy a domain from you? Now, over the few days I’ve been thinking about it more and reading other opinions on the topic and I have to be honest, I’m not sure what I think any more.

Yesterday Theo from DomainGang shared his thoughts on the topic:

I can see both sides to this. The reality is, if someone really wants to buy your domain name they will do what it takes to get a hold of you. At the same time, if you’re using a solution like Efty that generates a for sale landing page on your domain, it’s pretty darn easy to get in touch with you. Anyone that wanted to buy a domain from you would likely visit the domain itself first, see your for sale page, and make an inquiry.h

At the same time, I don’t quite understand what the risk is of having public WHOIS information. I could also see a scenario where a really interested buyer would reach out on your landing page and send you an email which could signal a higher budget, thus giving you the seller more information.

All that being said, I really am not sure where I stand on this any more and I typically like to use data to make decisions…but I don’t have any data here. So I thought I’d hear what everyone else things. It’s the age old question – should you keep your WHOIS information public or keep it private?

I want to hear from you, comment and let your voice be heard!

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton