Domain registrars
Namecheap privacy rating
Large US domain registrar with free WHOIS privacy on eligible extensions and TOTP or security-key login.
Summary
Namecheap scores 39 out of 100 (grade F) on the domain registrars criteria. It meets 3 of 12 criteria: no ads or data sales, TLS configuration and two-factor login. It partly meets tells users about requests, security headers, Free WHOIS privacy and transfer and registry lock. It does not meet open source, no trackers or telemetry, independent audit, transparency report and honest renewal pricing. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B+.
Score 39 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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No
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
The privacy policy allows cookies from partners and tracking companies and sharing pseudonymous data with analytics partners.
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Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Funded by paid domain and hosting services. The policy states personal information is not sold.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit is published.
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No
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
No transparency report or government request policy is published.
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Partial
Tells users about requests Weight 1 of 3
Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
The policy says Namecheap may take reasonable steps to notify users of legal process where permitted, with no firm commitment.
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Partial
Free WHOIS privacy Weight 2 of 3
Is registrant data hidden from public WHOIS and RDAP at no extra cost?
Free for life on eligible extensions, but not available for about 40, including .us, .uk, .de and .eu.
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No
Honest renewal pricing Weight 1 of 3
Are renewal prices the same as, or close to, the first-year price?
First-year sale prices renew much higher, for example a .com at about 11 USD renews at about 18 USD.
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Yes
Two-factor login Weight 2 of 3
Do accounts support two-factor authentication with an authenticator app or security key?
TOTP apps and U2F security keys are supported.
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Partial
Transfer and registry lock Weight 1 of 3
Is transfer lock on by default, with registry lock available?
Domains are locked at the registrar against transfers. No registry lock service is published.
Automated tests
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Yes
TLS configuration Weight 2 of 3
Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
Grade A+
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Partial
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade B+ (80/100+)
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Not tested yet
Modern web standards Weight 1 of 3
Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
Not tested yet.