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Did you know that your domain is revealing your personal information unless you have specifically added on extra coverage to protect yourself?
We live during a time when people are constantly oversharing tiny details of their lives. I know about babies, proposals and breakups of more people than I care to know about but hey! That’s just how it is nowadays.
With this increase of sharing, a lot of people are starting to become more and more aware of what information they are putting out there. And if you own a domain, you will want to read this.
If you haven’t privatized your domain, and I were to look it up right now, I’d be able to find out your full name (first and last), email, phone number and full address (that’s house number, street number, postal code/zipcode, city, province/state).
Now, luckily I’m harmless and the most I’d ever do with your address is send you a million wallet size photos of my dog (she’s really cute, ok?), but not everyone is going to be as thoughtful with your personal information.
How To Check If Your Domain Is Revealing Personal Information
First step, let’s check whether your personal information is being revealed by your domain. Head over to register.com/whois.rcmx and type in your domain name, and take a look at the information that shows up.
If you are able to view your information, then yes! Everyone else can view it as well.
At first you might think to yourself that it’s no big deal. But when you think about how often you are on social media, posting about what you are doing, you are opening yourself up to a huge risk by leaving this information out in the open.
The fact that I could post on Instagram one day about being out for dinner, makes it obvious that I’m not home, which means someone out there now knows where I am (out for dinner) and where my empty house is…
If you are someone who posts a lot on social media as well, you have leave little traces of your personal life online. Such as the type of decor you have at home, nice electronics etc…and you are opening your house up to potential threats. Not to mention yourself. It is not worth having your personal information blasted online.
What To Do If Your Domain Is Revealing Your Information
Ok now what?!
First, be thankful that you found this post and next, go to your domain provider and ask them to add domain privacy to your account.
Mine cost me $2/month to privatize and it was the BEST $2 I ever spent.
If you don’t know where you bought your domain from, contact your hosting provider and ask them to point you in the right direction!
Prevent Your Information From Being Revealed
If you haven’t quite purchased your domain yet and you are just about to get a website created, you’ll want to make sure to add on the extra domain privacy that you are offered when purchasing your domain. If you are in the beginning stages of planning a website, don’t forget to check out what you must have before hiring a web designer.
And that’s all!
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Dana Nicole is an award-winning freelance writer for MarTech/SaaS who was rated one of the best SaaS writers by Software World. She specializes in writing engaging content that ranks high in search engines and has been featured in publications like Semrush, ConvertKit, and Hotjar.
Dana holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and has over 15 years of experience working alongside national brands in their marketing departments.
When Dana’s not working, you can find her dancing en pointe, cooking up new recipes, and exploring the great outdoors with her two big dogs.