WHOIS is a public lookup protocol that shows registration details for a domain: registrar, creation/expiry dates, and (subject to privacy redaction) registrant contact information.
What it’s useful for
- Checking a domain’s expiry date directly
- Verifying you (or a client) actually own a domain before troubleshooting DNS
- Basic due diligence on a domain before purchasing it secondhand
Privacy note
Since GDPR and similar regulations, most registrars redact personal registrant details by default, showing registrar/proxy information instead — so WHOIS is less useful for identifying a domain’s actual owner than it used to be.
FAQ
Why does WHOIS show a registrar’s name instead of the actual site owner?
Privacy/proxy protection services intentionally substitute their own details to shield the registrant’s personal information from public view.