Developer Tools 5 min readBy DigiMetrics Hub TeamPublished
What Is WHOIS Lookup and How to Use It
WHOIS reveals who owns a domain, when it was registered, and which registrar manages it. Learn what WHOIS does and when to use it.
WHOIS is a public protocol that returns ownership and registration details for any domain name. It's the first stop when investigating a website, buying a domain, or chasing down abuse.
What WHOIS Tells You
- Registrar (the company that sold the domain)
- Registration, expiry and last-updated dates
- Name servers in use
- Owner contact details (unless privacy protected)
Look up any domain's WHOIS record now.
Try WHOIS LookupCommon Uses for WHOIS
- Verifying a domain is genuinely owned by a company
- Negotiating to buy an unused domain
- Reporting abuse to the right registrar
- Tracking when a domain expires
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Why Some WHOIS Data Is Hidden
Since GDPR (2018), most personal contact info is masked behind privacy services. Registrar, dates and name servers remain public.
WHOIS vs DNS
WHOIS tells you who owns a domain. DNS tells you where it points. Use both together to get the full picture.
Combine WHOIS with our DNS Lookup for full insight.
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