WHOIS Lookup

A WHOIS lookup queries the domain registration database to retrieve information about who registered a domain name, when it was registered, when it expires, and which registrar manages it. The data is published by ICANN-accredited registrars and is used for network troubleshooting, cybersecurity research, trademark enforcement, and domain acquisition research.

Since GDPR came into effect in 2018, registrars are required to protect the personal data of individual domain registrants. Most registrars now use WHOIS privacy protection services that replace the registrant's personal contact details with proxy information. This is standard practice and does not indicate anything suspicious about the domain owner.

WHOIS is the original domain lookup protocol that has been in use since the 1980s. RDAP (Registration Data Access Protocol) is its modern replacement, offering structured JSON responses, better security, and improved data accuracy. WTFDomain uses RDAP by default for more reliable and consistent results, falling back to legacy WHOIS where RDAP is unavailable.

"clientTransferProhibited" is a common domain status that prevents the domain from being transferred to another registrar without explicit authorisation from the registrant. This is a standard security lock applied by most registrars to protect against unauthorised domain hijacking. Other statuses include clientDeleteProhibited (prevents deletion) and clientUpdateProhibited (prevents modifications).

The current tool supports one domain at a time. For bulk WHOIS lookups across hundreds of domains, consider using registrar APIs or dedicated WHOIS API services such as WHOISXML API or DomainTools. These services are better suited for large-scale domain research and monitoring tasks.