Godaddy, and possibly other domain name companies, has added USD $20 or more to every domain name you buy or renew for your protection. This is crap.

The extra money goes to Domains by Proxy®, a “separate” company that provides private registration services to keep your name and contact information out of the WHOIS listing.

When you renew a domain today with Godaddy, you have no alternative to say no to private registration. Personally, I never choose it. I’m a public figure and have a reputation to uphold and my contact information on my domains is critical as I set an example for others. If you have an issue with my website, you contact me FIRST. That’s the right way to handle it, the professional way. I have never chosen to make any of my sites private, but when I renewed recently, private registration was forced upon me, with no option to remove it, adding twenty dollars to every renewed domain, adding up to an additional $100 or more to my order. That’s outrageous.

In several Godaddy forum posts, including this one on removing private registration, people are complaining that this is being added without their permission, action, and that it is a big bother to not make it easier for people to choose. Their response is:

Having a separate account for your private registration is an extra layer of security that is included with the Domains By Proxy service we offer. When private registration is added to a domain name, a domain hijacker would need to gain access to not one, but two accounts to move the domain name to a different registrar. You are welcome to use the account retrieval system at DomainsByProxy.com to gain access to your account so you can cancel the private registration.

To remove private registration forced upon you, do the following:

1. Remove your order by emptying your cart at Godaddy.
2. Go to Domains by Proxy® and try to login. As you have never set up your own account with them, you have to jump through some hoops to get logged in.
3. Request a new login by entering the site you are trying to renew.
4. Get the confirmation email with your customer number.
5. Request a new password with your customer number.
6. Once logged in, select the accounts associated with that domain and cancel your private registration.
7. Go back to Godaddy and refresh the listing of your expired domains. It should now say Public Registration.
8. Select the ones you wish to renew and you will find the $20 private registration fee now gone from your order.

You will have to do this with each individual domain name unfortunately. If there is an easier way, please let me know.

And while I’m bitching at Godaddy for this, honestly, you should not force this upon your users. It is rude, inconsiderate, and makes some sweeping assumptions about their needs.

Let us choose!