Last updated: 24th May 2018
From the 25th May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 becomes enforceable. This means Registries and Registrars around the world will redact their whois outputs with EU registrant data.
Please Note: Whois-Search does NOT store or maintain whois data and we query each registry live.
We have updated our Privacy Policy with the information we do store.
Summary of Registry changes:
Thin gTLD Registries (.com and .net)
A thin registry only includes technical data sufficient to identify the sponsoring registrar, status of the registration, and creation and expiration dates for each registration.
.COM and .NET are examples of Thin Registries and the underlying registrant whois data is stored by each ICANN registrar.
From the 25th May 2018 European ICANN registrars will restrict whois outputs directly on their whois servers.
This follows a Temporary Specification for gTLD Registration Data adopted on 17 May 2018 by ICANN Board.
From 24th May 2018 Whois-Search will only display the shorter Internic Technical Whois on our website. To obtain further registrar whois (even if redacted) you will need to visit the registrars website via the link on top of the whois:
This domain is registered with GoDaddy.com
Note: Registrars based outside the EU will still have European customers and registrants who are protected under GDPR. Therefore most US based ICANN registrars are expected to redact the whois for EU customers.
Thick gTLD Registries (.info .biz .org and all new gTLDs)
Thick registries maintain the registrant's contact information and designated administrative and technical contact information, in addition to the sponsoring registrar and registration status information supplied by a thin registry.
.INFO .ORG .BIZ and New gTLDs are examples of Thick Registries.
From the 25th May 2018 these Thick gTLD Registries will begin redacting their whois output following the same ICANN proposal.
Whois-Search will not restrict the output of these Registries and each back-end registry will redact their whois output for GDPR.
For example:
Backend Registry: Afilias
Affected TLDs: .info, .mobi, .pro, .poker, .pink, .black, .red, .blue, .kim, .shiksha, .promo, .lgbt, .ski, .bio, .green, .lotto, .pet, .bet, .vote, .voto, .archi, .organic, .llc.
Policy: Effective 25 May 2018, Afilias will minimize the data displayed in the public WHOIS for Afilias-owned TLDs and will begin displaying ONLY operational technical data (not contact data).
European ccTLD Registries (.uk .de .nl etc)
Each European Country Code top level domain (cctld) registry maintains it's own whois database within Europe.All ccTLDs will have their own policy on whois output for GDPR.
Whois-Search will not restrict the output of these Registries and each ccTLD registry will redact their whois for GDPR.
For example:
ccTLD Registry: Nominet UK
Affected TLDs: .uk, .co.uk, .org.uk, .me.uk, .net.uk, .ltd.uk
Policy: On 22nd May 2018 the .UK WHOIS will no longer display the registrant's name or address, unless they have given permission to do so.
For registrants who wish for their data to be published in the WHOIS, Nominet will provide appropriate mechanisms to allow them to give their explicit consent.
