A trustee changes whose name appears in the public lookup. It does not make you anonymous to the registry, to courts or to anyone with a legitimate interest.
Most of these registries already hide an individual's details, so a trustee adds little. For a company the lookup shows the holder in full, so the trustee replaces your name with its own. The registry and courts can still get your details from the trustee, and some registries forbid privacy and proxy services outright.
What each lookup shows
Read from each registry's own policy or page in October 2026. Where a cell says it was not stated, the page we read was silent.
| Domain | Individual | Organisation | Hiding option |
|---|---|---|---|
| .no | Email and country only | Number, name, email, postal address, country, phone if given | None needed for individuals |
| .de | Registration date and managing DENIC member | Name, address, email, phone and DENIC member, since December 2025 | None needed for individuals |
| .eu | Email and language | Company, city, region, country, email, language | No privacy service described; a non-identifying email is allowed |
| .fr | Technical data only, by default (paragraphs 168 and 169) | Published (paragraph 167) | Default for natural persons only (paragraph 172) |
| .it | Hidden unless every named party consents | Consent is not asked of legal persons | Withdraw consent through the registrar |
| .ca | Hidden by default for the individual category | Shown by default | CIRA may suppress on a strong, specific need |
| .au | Same for both: legal name, registrant ID, eligibility, contact names and emails. Street address and phone withheld (section 4.2) | Policy does not mention privacy or proxy services | |
| .br | Name, part of the CPF, contacts | Company name, CNPJ, address, phone, contacts | None found |
| .sg | Same for both: registrant name, administrative contact name, technical contact name and email (clause 3.1) | An individual technical contact may give a functional email | |
| .jp | Registrant name, plus a public contact with name, address and phone | Registrant name can be concealed through the registrar | |
| .cn | Registrant ID, name and email | CNNIC privacy service hides the name, after real-name verification | |
| .hu | Not retrievable from WHOIS; a message form is offered | Not stated on the page we read | None found |
| .us | The registry requires accurate holder data; display is not stated on the policy page | Banned (section 2) | |
| .dk | Anonymous only with CPR-type name and address protection and an unlisted phone | Company email public from September 2025 | Foreign sole proprietors may ask for the email to be withheld |
What a trustee changes
It depends on the shape of the arrangement. Where the trustee is the holder, as on .no and .eu, the lookup shows the trustee as an organisation, with the full organisation row above. You are not the named holder. Where you stay the holder and the provider only supplies a local contact, as on .de, your own name and the contact fields both appear.
Watch out
Do not buy a trustee for privacy
Two registries go further than silence. The usTLD privacy policy (August 2019) bars registrars from offering anonymous or proxy registration and from using their own contact details as holder data. The Registro.it Whois policy (May 2022) says fiduciary registration is not permitted unless within a trust. EURid's own lookup page describes no privacy or proxy service.
What stays reachable behind the lookup
Hiding is not secrecy. EURid answers a substantiated disclosure request within 72 hours. Afnic discloses to a court, to an authority with a right of communication, or on a request form (paragraph 173). DENIC and Punktum dk have request procedures for people with a legitimate interest. With a trustee, those requests reach the trustee, who holds your details under its agreement. Read what that agreement says about passing them on in the ownership guide, and see how the registries check holders in NIS2 and domain ID checks.
Keep reading
Common questions
Is a trustee the same as WHOIS privacy?
No. Privacy hides your details while you stay the holder. A trustee changes the holder, so the trustee's details appear instead of yours.
Can I buy a registrar privacy service on .eu or .us?
Not as a way to hide the holder. The usTLD policy bans proxy registration, and EURid's lookup page describes none.
Do all of these lookups work the same way for a company?
No. Companies are shown in full on .no, .de, .eu, .fr, .it and .ca, while .au, .sg and .jp apply one rule to everyone.
Sources
- Norid, domain registration directory service (updated March 2025)
- DENIC, update on the WHOIS query (January 2026)
- EURid, data protection and WHOIS
- Afnic Naming Policy, 6 July 2026, articles 8.2 and 8.4
- Registro .it, DBNA and WHOIS Policy, version 2.2, May 2022
- CIRA, WHOIS and .CA domain privacy FAQ
- auDA, WHOIS Policy 2014-07
- Registro.br, usage and privacy policy, items 4.5.1 and 4.5.2
- SGNIC, WHOIS/RDAP Policy, August 2026
- JPRS, registrant name concealment
- CNNIC, national domain privacy protection service, April 2026
- CNNIC, WHOIS help
- .hu registry, legitimate interest balancing test
- usTLD, privacy services policy, August 2019
- Punktum dk, disclosure of data on anonymous persons, version 2.4, September 2025
- Punktum dk, NIS2 and company email in WHOIS, July 2025
Last updated October 2026. Lookups change with national law and several of these pages are undated. If something here is out of date, email info@trusteeindex.com.