Is this a breach of privacy?
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I received by post yesterday a letter from an internet troll addressed to my correct address and postcode. I was shocked that this troll managed to find my address which does not knowingly appear online. The letter and the fact that the troll was pleased to have discovered my address was menacing in tone.
It was addressed to Aitana Donkey Sanctuary, which was a WordPress blog project I briefly set up in 2013, then abandoned the idea because it clashed with an existing Aitana Safari Park.
I have now done a search on the internet and I see that the CONFIDENTIAL details of my address and even my private phone number, shared only with WordPress when registering, are freely available on this site: http://www.statsinfinity.com/domain/fq2fXQYmIPp9hJ2glIUATg.._info.html
How on earth can this be possible without WordPress making my details known to a third party? This is very serious. How safe is personal information we share with WordPress?
The blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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When you register a custom domain, regardless of whether it is with WordPress.com or any other domain registrar, you must provide your contact details as a part of the domain registration process.
You do have the option to add “private registration” which does exactly that. It keeps your private details out of public view. See here:
https://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/register-domain/#public-versus-privateUnfortunately, this will not shake any other website that has in the meantime picked up your contact details. Sorry for no better news.
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Yes, I understand all that, but in that case the seriousness of the options needs to be very clearly spelled out. I now have a very obsessive troll – who I have successfully kept off commenting on my blog – now in possession of my PRIVATE address and phone number, and I was not aware that this was a consequence of the options you mention. That needs to be made VERY much clearer!
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I also now see that it costs $8 per year to make your registration private and NOT have your confidential details shared. I believe this is a scam: it would cost nothing to give users that option.
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it would cost nothing to give users that option.
Sorry but it really does cost – I have a domain registered not with WordPress.COM and the Private Registration is an extra charge since the privacy part is handled by a third party and the third party performs certain functions such as keep a record of the site, your details and works as a go between if someone needs to contact the registered owner about the domain name
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PS – internet rules require domain name registration information to be publicly available – the third party privacy companies put their info into the public domain and get between you and the public
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@brotherlapin –
I believe this is a scam
How so? The option for private registration was made available to you when you registered your custom domain with WordPress.com:
Please keep my information private.
Privacy protection keeps your information hidden when this domain is searched for in the public database for an extra $8.00/year.It’s up to you to understand and choose whether to add this option or not.
More importantly, you mention this person is a troll that you have successfully kept from commenting on your site. If you feel harassed or threatened by this person after they have sent you a letter by post, then please contact your local law enforcement agency and involve them directly.
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I am simply saying i don’t think many people would be aware that their address and telephone number is made publicly available, and I think this should actually be made clearer. That’s all I’m saying. I think it reasonable comment. There are no circumstances in which I would volunteer to put my phone number on the internet, and I certainly didn’t see these problem being flagged up as it should have been.
Having discovered this, I will certainly be making more people aware of it. I doubt whether many people would have noticed this hazard. Having expressed my surpriswe at being caught out in this way, I am more than surprised you do not seem to see it as a matter which needs raising. When you have some troll appearing in your home mail or phoning you, I think you might similarly object if you didn’t think the warning had been clear enough. This is one heck of a dangerous troll who now knows where I live.
OK?
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I understand your feelings and I again encourage you to contact law enforcement officials if you feel threatened by this person.
Just to clarify – both auxclass and I are forum volunteers. I have added the MODLOOK tag to bring your concerns to Staff’s attention.
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Thanks. In this age when internet hazards are becoming more and more obvious (particularly malicious trolls) I do think this needs to be flagged up in BOLD.
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Justjennifer and Auxclass have given you accurate information.
ICANN regulations require that registration data be publicly available. There is nothing that we, at WordPress.com, can do about this. The same is true of any registrar on the internet.
Since 2010 we have offered Domain Privacy via Domains by Proxy to help users avoid the public sharing of their contact details.
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I am quite sure the information is accurate and I have not disputed that for a moment, now that it has been explained. Continued justifications are unnecessary because question that I was asking, which has still not been answered, is this: does WordPress flag up this issue in such a way that someone registering for the first time (as I did five years ago) is properly aware of the implications?
Something like this might make it clear: “We will put your home address details and telephone number on the internet for all to see unless you pay $8 a year for privacy.”
That would alert people to the kind of problem I am now experiencing with the troll who has discovered my address and is using it to send unwelcome communications. I would never have imagined my address and phone number had been displayed in this way until this happened.
So, I am not disputing the right of WordPress to do this, nor the correctness of the process that is legally required, as explained above. I am suggesting simply that there should be a proper underlining of the implications of this as a major issue (which it really is!) when you are first signing up. Could WordPress add a warning to make this clearer? I believe it could. It would be good to know that in future, other WordPress users do not have to find out the hard way, as I have, because they were properly warned.
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I have seen your WordPress privacy page referenced above, and I suppose it may be a bit clearer to new members now, but I should clarify my comments above by mentioning that I first signed up for WordPress in early 2010, before you introduced the privacy feature. As an existing member, I was never made aware of it in retrospect.
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