WHOIS privacy — free on every eligible domain
Your name, address, and contact details should not be freely searchable by anyone with an internet connection. At Airfree Clouds, WHOIS privacy is included at no extra cost.
Background
What is WHOIS?
When you register a domain, ICANN (the internet's governing body) requires registrars to collect contact information — your name, address, phone number, and email. Without privacy protection, this information is published in a publicly searchable database called WHOIS. Anyone can look up a domain and see your personal details.
Without WHOIS privacy — anyone can see:
Registrant Name: Jane Smith
Registrant Email: jane@example.com
Registrant Phone: +61 400 000 000
Registrant Address: 42 Example St, Sydney NSW 2000
How it works
Three steps to full privacy
Enable at registration
WHOIS privacy is enabled by default on all eligible domains when you register through Airfree Clouds.
We replace your details
Our privacy service substitutes your contact information with our proxy details in the public WHOIS database.
Forwarding stays intact
Legitimate correspondence sent to the proxy email address is forwarded to your real address. Your domain stays reachable.
Data masking
What the public sees vs what you provide
| Field | You provide (private) | Public WHOIS shows |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jane Smith | Airfree Clouds Privacy Service |
| Street address | 42 Example St, Sydney | PO Box 1234, Sydney NSW 2000 |
| Phone number | +61 400 000 000 | +61 2 0000 0000 |
| Email address | jane@example.com | proxy-abc123@privacy.airfreeclouds.com |
Country-code TLD restrictions
Some country-code TLDs (ccTLDs) are required by their registry to maintain public WHOIS data. These TLDs do not support WHOIS privacy: .au .com.au .de .fr .nl. For these domains, the registry directly publishes registrant data and we have no control over it.
FAQ
Common questions
Does WHOIS privacy affect who legally owns my domain?
No. You remain the legal registrant. WHOIS privacy only replaces your contact details in the public database with those of our privacy service.
Can the real owner still be identified?
In response to a valid legal order (court order, law enforcement request, or ICANN dispute), we may disclose your details. Routine marketing or spam targeting cannot access your information.
Does WHOIS privacy affect email deliverability?
No. WHOIS privacy has no effect on your domain's DNS records, MX records, or email deliverability. It only changes what appears in the WHOIS lookup.
Which TLDs support WHOIS privacy?
Most generic TLDs (.com, .io, .org, .net, .co, .app, .dev, .ai, .online, .store) support privacy. Some country-code TLDs (like .au) have mandatory public WHOIS and do not allow it.
Register your domain with privacy included
No add-ons. No upsells. WHOIS privacy is free on every eligible domain.