Domains

Domains Help

What is Domain Protection?

Protecting your GoDaddy domain is an essential part of managing your online presence. You already protect your website with an SSL, so why not protect your domain, too? We have different levels of Domain Protection to keep your domain secure.

Select a question to see its answer:

How is Domain Protection different from Domain Privacy?

Domain Privacy is automatically added to all eligible domains registered with GoDaddy. Domain Privacy will automatically replace their domain contact info with substitute details from our privacy partner, Domains By Proxy®. But protecting your domain is about more than keeping your contact info private. Domain Protection helps secure your domain by preventing unauthorized domain actions, such as transferring a domain or making DNS updates, and avoiding accidental domain expiration if your credit card on file expires.

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What are my Domain Protection options?

We currently have two options available for Domain Protection, so you can choose the level of protection that works best for you.

  • Full Domain Protection: Prevent unauthorized domain actions, such as transferring away, changing nameservers and editing domain contact info. We'll make sure you're the one making those changes by notifying you and prompting you to verify your identity first.
  • Ultimate Domain Protection: Rest assured that your domain is safe, even if renewal fails due to an invalid or expired payment method. Ultimate Domain Protection includes all the benefits of Full Domain Protection, and it also helps keep your domains from canceling unexpectedly because of failed billing. We'll hang on to your domain for 90 days if it accidentally expires, so you have time to renew it manually with no redemption fees.
  • Domain Ownership Protection: Some domains aren't eligible for Domain Privacy, but they may still be eligible for Domain Protection. Domain Ownership Protection has the same coverage as our Ultimate Domain Protection and was created specifically to support these domain extensions.
    • .au, .com.au, .net.au, .org.au
    • .be
    • .ca
    • .de
    • .es, .com.es, .nom.es, .org.es
    • .eu
    • .fr
    • .gg
    • .in, .co.in, .net.in, .org.in, .firm.in, .gen.in, .ind.in
    • .it
    • .tk
    • .us

You might see some domains with other Domain Protection names, like Full Domain Privacy & Protection or Ultimate Domain Protection & Security. These are our legacy protection offerings, and you'll see them stick around until the associated domain is canceled, expires or the Domain Protection is downgraded.

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What is a high-risk action?

High-risk actions are categorized as actions that could have a negative impact on your domain or connected services, including transfers, DNS changes and turning off Domain Privacy. High-risk actions require approval before they can be completed when Domain Protection is active. Depending on your account settings, you may be prompted to enter a one-time password or a 2-step verification code.

These domain actions are considered high-risk and will prompt for identity verification.

  • Delete a domain
  • Turn off auto-renew
  • Downgrade or remove Domain Protection
  • Turn off Domain Privacy
  • Change domain contact info
    • Only applies when changing the first name, last name, organization or email address of the registrant contact info.
  • Add to CashParking
  • Unlock a domain
  • Export domain list with authorization codes
  • Transfer domain to another registrar (away from GoDaddy)
  • Transfer domain to another GoDaddy account
  • List a domain for sale via List for Sale
  • Change nameservers
  • Add, edit, or delete domain or subdomain forwarding
  • Import DNS zone file
  • Edit custom hostnames

What is the Activity Log?

The Activity Log is designed to help you see what high-risk actions were taken on your domains with Domain Protection. You can see what changes were made, when they were made, and the current status of those changes. View specific entries by filtering the Activity Log with options like Date, Activity, and User.

Can I change my Domain Protection plan?

Yes, you can change your protection plan at any time. You can upgrade your protection to gain additional security features, or downgrade your protection to remove features. Your eligible domains will always have Domain Privacy available, regardless of your Domain Protection plan.

Note: Domains that are part of a bundle cannot change their Domain Protection plan.

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How will people be able to contact me?

People can contact a domain owner by submitting a request from the GoDaddy WHOIS results page after searching for a specific domain. We'll keep the domain contact info hidden when Domain Privacy is turned on, but contacts and inquiries can be submitted by selecting the Contact Domain Holder option at the bottom of the WHOIS results page. The domain holder will receive the inquiry via email but their contact details stay private and secured.

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How can I verify domain ownership?

We recommend adding a TXT record to your DNS zone file to verify domain ownership. This is the best option to maintain your privacy while proving your domain ownership. Or, you can turn off Domain Privacy, which will display all domain contact info.

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Related steps

More info

  • If you've decided to invoke Nominet's WHOIS opt-out policy, your contact information visibility will be determined by that policy, regardless of what protection level you have through GoDaddy.
  • Review your domain contact info to make sure your details are accurate and up-to-date.