Opting Out of Domain WHOIS for .co.uk Domains
Did you know that your personal information, such as your address, becomes exposed on the Internet through the global WHOIS search system when you register a domain name? The good news is that if you are an individual (that is, not a for-profit organisation or company) and you have the domain extension .uk (e.g., a .co.uk domain), you can opt-out of having your personal details being publicly exposed on the WHOIS. You can do this directly with Nominet, the official registry for UK domain names.
Just follow these steps:
- Go to the Nominet website and click on Online Services at the top right of the page. You will be redirected to the login page. If you haven’t used Nominet Online Services before, you must click ‘First time logging in…’ Otherwise, enter your email address and password.
Note: The email address you register or login to Nominet with must match the registered email address of your domain.
- After logging in, navigate to Your Domains. Click Domain List.
Locate the domain you wish to opt-out and click Edit next to Registrant Details.
- In the Registrant Type drop-down menu, select UK Individual or Non-UK Individual, depending on what suits your circumstances.
- You will see the next field ‘Would you like to opt out of having your details publicly available’. Select the first option: ‘Yes – Keep my details private.’
- Click Save Details. The changes should take effect in the WHOIS database within 24 hours.
Note: It is important to note that while your address will be hidden from the public with this action, your name will still be displayed as the registrant name.