WHOIS

Why it matters

WHOIS used to show an owner's name, email and phone. Privacy rules and proxy services now hide most of this, so a lookup often shows only the registrar, creation date, expiry date and status codes. Those facts still help. A broker can see how old a name is, when it expires and which registrar holds it. Contacting the owner usually takes another route. A common mistake is trusting a WHOIS email as proof of who owns a name. It may be a forwarding address, a proxy or old data. Use it as a clue, not as proof.

Source: lookup.icann.org

Where we use this term

• How Domain Escrow Works (and Why Every Deal Should Use It)
• How Domain Transfers Work: Auth Codes, Transfer Locks, and Push vs Transfer
• How to Buy a Domain Name That Someone Already Owns
• A Brief Overview of .io Domain Names