discuss Public or Private? Demystifying WHOIS for Your .ORG Domain

[shaerif]

.ORG Domains and WHOIS Info - What Everyone Needs to Know!

Originally, .ORG domains were mostly used by charities and non-profit groups. But now, anyone can register one, even businesses!

Here's the important part: Can people see your .ORG domain info online?

Here's the breakdown:

Privacy Guard: Some domain sellers (registrars) hide your info automatically. Not all do this, so check with yours!
Not in the EU? Privacy rules (GDPR) don't apply to you. Your info might be public unless you ask your registrar to hide it.
Transparency is Good: Many people like seeing domain owner info (WHOIS) because it builds trust.
Basically, if you own a .ORG domain, ask your registrar if your info is public. We all want a clear and open domain world!

What do you think about .ORG domain info being public? Share your experiences!

Best,
Sharif

 

[bismisoft]

It's based on individual (domain owner's) preference, that applies to all TLDs except for few TLDs where registries don't allow privacy.

 

[shaerif]

It's based on individual (domain owner's) preference, that applies to all TLDs except for few TLDs where registries don't allow privacy.

I understand that individual preferences play a role in determining whether WHOIS information should be public or private. However, I'd like to share my personal experience with several registrars regarding this matter.

I have tried various registrars, including PorkBun and SpaceShip, and encountered difficulties in making WHOIS information public, especially for domains with .org extensions. Despite setting the preference to public, these registrars still displayed the WHOIS information as "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY."

For instance, when using PorkBun, they informed me that all domains with .org extensions are automatically set to private, regardless of the user's preference. Similarly, SpaceShip also defaulted to private WHOIS information for .org domains, despite my efforts to make it public.

These experiences suggest that some registrars have policies or technical limitations that override the user's preference for public WHOIS information, particularly for certain TLDs like .org.

I hope this sheds light on my experiences with registrars and their handling of WHOIS information.

Please, Share your experiences!

 

[Porkbun]

Despite setting the preference to public, these registrars still displayed the WHOIS information as "REDACTED FOR PRIVACY."

For instance, when using PorkBun, they informed me that all domains with .org extensions are automatically set to private, regardless of the user's preference.

That's not really what is happening here. WHOIS is split between two databases, a registry version (TLD operator, in this case Public Interest Registry for .org) and the registrar version (us, Spaceship, etc.) WHOIS privacy options only control what information is displayed in the registrar WHOIS and generally has no effect on what the registry will show. A WHOIS command will show both the registry and registrar, but most online tools will only show one or the other.

What you're experiencing is that the registry automatically redacts all WHOIS information when queried, and whatever tool you're using is only showing the registry WHOIS data, not the registrar data. If you queried the registrar directly, you should get the result you are expecting.

 

[lamtran]

Public whois will be showed on Registrar, not on the Registry. I tried it on the Porkbun.