# What will happen if I distort my real name when I register a domain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825 "2007-12-04T20:20:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/1 "2007-12-04T20:20:27Z")
I don’t care if my address and phone is out there, I just don’t want people to associate it with my name. Will they really take the domain away if you haven’t broken the law, or anything? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/2 "2007-12-04T20:34:27Z")
Godaddy (and probably others) has a way to register a domain without your info on the whois page. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/3 "2007-12-04T21:04:51Z")
It is my understanding that under ICANN rules governing domain registration, you can lose your domain registration ownership if it can be proved the contact information you state is not truthful. [QUOTE=Joey P] Godaddy (and probably others) has a way to register a domain without your info on the whois page. [/QUOTE] And there are web site tools that can find this information regardless. ---
**Author:** ![aptronym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47774/32.png) [@aptronym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aptronym)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/4 "2007-12-04T21:08:33Z")
What if you create a company and register your domain to that company? ---
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/5 "2007-12-04T21:25:14Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Godaddy (and probably others) has a way to register a domain without your info on the whois page. [/QUOTE] I know there are services, but you have to pay; and while what they 're asking is not outrageous, it’s still several times the cost of the domain yearly. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2007, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/6 "2007-12-04T23:50:31Z")
Bluehost (my hosting company) offers private registration. Free. Domains are reasonably priced, too. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/7 "2007-12-05T00:36:49Z")
[QUOTE=zeno] I know there are services, but you have to pay; and while what they 're asking is not outrageous, it’s still several times the cost of the domain yearly. [/QUOTE] No, Godaddy, which is a popular domain registrar, offers private registration free. They heavily promote that fact. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/8 "2007-12-05T04:50:00Z")
[QUOTE=zeno] I know there are services, but you have to pay; and while what they 're asking is not outrageous, it’s still several times the cost of the domain yearly. [/QUOTE] Godaddy charges $6.99/yr to make it private. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/9 "2007-12-05T05:03:26Z")
Godaddy offers private registration for free only if you are registering 5 or more domains at the same time. Otherwise there is a fee. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/10 "2007-12-05T13:36:23Z")
[QUOTE=davidm] Godaddy offers private registration for free only if you are registering 5 or more domains at the same time. Otherwise there is a fee. [/QUOTE] What??? I have more than five domains with Godaddy – not registered at the same time, but now always renewed at the same time – how do I get my privacy free? I’ve been registering new domains with Bluehost recently solely because that additional $7/year starts to add up with a lot of domains. ---
**Author:** ![zeno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zeno/32/15040_2.png) [@zeno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zeno)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2007, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/11 "2007-12-05T15:24:48Z")
I went ahead with the godaddy private registration, as it was cheaper than I thought. I thought it was like $25 a year. ---
**Author:** ![kushiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bbce88/32.png) [@kushiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kushiel)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2007, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/12 "2007-12-06T20:36:32Z")
Doesn’t Dreamhost let you set it up so that they use their info for Whois for free? I mean, I guess theoretically they could try and claim ownership or something then, but Dreamhost is known as a reputable company in the web hosting world and would lose their customer base if they tried a stunt like that. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2007, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-will-happen-if-i-distort-my-real-name-when-i-register-a-domain/428825/13 "2007-12-07T02:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=Balthisar] What??? I have more than five domains with Godaddy – not registered at the same time, but now always renewed at the same time – how do I get my privacy free? I’ve been registering new domains with Bluehost recently solely because that additional $7/year starts to add up with a lot of domains. [/QUOTE] Call their customer service and ask about it. I’ve found that if you’re a good customer they’ll go out of their way to make you happy.