Free Domain Name Privacy Service with Each Web Hosting Account What is Domain Privacy? A guide to finding free domain privacy with web hosting services Want to find the best domain privacy? Buy Unlimited Web Hosting for $5.95/mo. & get free domain privacy and a .com domain! Ian in Los Angeles writes to us: I keep hearing about these domain privacy services. What exactly is a domain privacy feature and should I be looking for cheap domain privacy for my new web hosting plan? Domain privacy for domain names is a very important feature if you want to reduce spam and/or risks to personal information, such as identity theft. When you register a domain name, you must supply genuine contact information according to ICAAN rules - the organization which governs the use of domain names. Whether or not you decide to host this domain name with an actual website at an affordable web host is secondary. Just to register the domain to begin with you must supply information such as your name, address, and email. What is a domain privacy service? A good domain privacy service will securely mask this very important information and substitute it with generic information provided by a proxy service operated by web hosting companies. Why would you want to use a domain privacy system? Simple - when you register your domain, the information belonging to the person/company registering it becomes available through what is known as a WHOIS database. Unfortunately, this information is also available to notorious and ill-intending marketers and even criminals who gather this now public information from your domain records and use it to spam your email account, place you on mailing lists for promotions, and even attempt to use this information for spoofing identify theft. How can a top quality domain privacy service help? The best domain privacy services help by hiding your information from this WHOIS database and substituting the contact information for say your web host. Some of the very best web hosting companies - such as HostMonster and HostPapa offer this domain privacy service for FREE with any web hosting account purchased. Domain privacy can be used for both new domains and domain transfers. Once you buy web hosting with a domain privacy feature you can turn it on or off using an online control panel. HostPapa has a nice demonstration of how your domain name will look if you use their free domain privacy service. How much does domain privacy cost? The pricing for domain privacy varies considerably. We have seen some domain privacy companies list their service for over $50 a year. We don't recommend paying for domain privacy if you are going to need web hosting as well. Quite simply, the top web hosting providers now offer domain privacy for free to their clients. This way you not only get the most affordable web hosting package on the market - such as the unlimited web space + unlimited domain name hosting accounts offered by HostMonster and HostPapa, but you also get the domain privacy benefit at no extra cost. If you need to buy web hosting for your personal or small business website, why pay twice to privatize your domain name? Might as well get a freebie with your hosting plan. Will I still own my domain name when I use a reputable domain privacy company? Yes, a domain privacy service from reliable companies like HostMonster and HostPapa simply overlay your domain name information. You are still the original owner and can have your information show in the WHOIS database at your convenience. Watch out for companies that claim to offer free domain privacy products without you needing to either buy a domain name or a web hosting account. Generally, a company must make its money somewhere else if they offer free domain privacy. In the example of the hosting companies, they make a small profit on your hosting and thus subsidize the domain privacy feature to gain extra clients. Always be careful when examining domain privacy vendors who might want to steal your domain name. That's why when you choose a hosting platform from high-quality companies like HostMonster and HostPapa you don't have to worry. HostMonster #1 - Best Free Domain Privacy Domain Name Service w/ Hosting Accounts Domain Privacy Ranking: Domain Privacy Corporate Name: Domain Privacy Service: Web Space with Domain Privacy Hosting Account: Bandwidth with Domain Privacy Hosting Account: Web Hosting Monthly Price: #1 HostMonster Yes Unlimited GB Unlimited GB $5.95/mo. Domain Privacy Commentary: One of the few web hosts to include free domain privacy with all their hosting accounts - well worth the $5.95 per month fee. Click here for more information BlueHost - #2 Domain Privacy Host Domain Hosting Rank: Domain Privacy Provider Name: Secure Domain Privacy Offering: Web Hosting Account Space w/ Privacy Features: Traffic Allowance per Domain Privacy Hosting Account: Pricing for Web Hosting Plan: #2 BlueHost Yes Unlimited GB Unlimited GB $4.95 per month Domain Privacy Comments: HostPapa is both a certified domain registrar and a leading provider of domain hosting packages. You can see an example of how your domain privacy information would show by clicking here. Click here for more information about their domain privacy feature Thank you for reading our domain privacy resources page. If you want to use our web hosting search engine to find other domain privacy companies, you can find it by clicking here. Once you review the web hosts that offer domain privacy, you can also check out our Top 10 list of hosting providers. Any feedback or questions about domain privacy + hosting can be sent to us at feedback@hostindex.com. This article is current for 2009.