What WHOIS Privacy does and doesn't protect

It's worth being clear about the scope of privacy so you set the right expectations.

Privacy DOES protect you from: - Bulk scraping of your email and phone by spammers - Unsolicited marketing and fake 'domain renewal' scam letters that harvest WHOIS - Casual exposure of a home address on a personal or hobby domain - Identity-linking by anyone who simply runs a WHOIS lookup

Privacy does NOT: - Change who legally owns the domain — you're still the registrant - Hide your details from lawful legal process (courts, valid disclosure requests) - Affect your DNS, email deliverability or website in any way - Replace good security practices such as a strong account password and 2FA

In short, privacy stops your details being broadcast; it doesn't put the domain beyond the reach of legitimate legal channels, and it never affects how the domain functions.