Naming Autonomy with .privacy: A Retrospective and Look Ahead
When .privacy launched with Women in Web3 Privacy (WiW3P), Secret Network, and FLUIDEFI, it entered the ecosystem with a clear purpose. It offered a naming space for people and projects who care about digital boundaries, data control, and the right to choose how information is shared. As the domain has evolved, its role has expanded in ways that now point toward a much larger future, one that includes our official intent to submit .privacy to the upcoming Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) Global Top Level Domain (gTLD) application.
Why .privacy Was Created
WiW3P brought community leadership and advocacy for user protection. Secret Network contributed technical experience in privacy-preserving computation. FLUIDEFI added insight from secure, confidential computing infrastructure. Together, they helped shape a domain intended for people who want their online presence to reflect thoughtful data practices and privacy-aware values. The original vision positioned .privacy as a namespace that could live in both worlds. It was designed to function like a familiar web address while also supporting onchain identity features such as self-custody, wallet-linked naming and selective disclosure for users who choose those tools.
How .privacy Took Shape
Over time, .privacy has become a home for those who want their digital identity to align with principles of discretion and choice. It has resonated with users who prefer readable names that do not reveal more information than necessary, and with projects that focus on privacy-aware tools, communities or research. In practice, this has meant .privacy being used for personal identity, project branding, secure communications and naming layers where minimizing unnecessary exposure is part of the design intent.
The domain has established itself as a popular choice where privacy-first identity matters, including:
- Groups or platforms built around user-controlled data
- Services that benefit from human-readable, user-owned identifiers
- Communities exploring selective or pseudonymous presence
- Projects that want values-aligned branding tied to privacy technology
Rather than serving volume-driven trends, .privacy has taken root with people who care about autonomy and digital dignity.
How .privacy Has Held Its Place
The concerns that inspired .privacy continue to influence how people navigate the internet. Many individuals and organizations want greater choice in how they present themselves, what information they share and how their identity is positioned online. A domain built around intentional digital presence remains relevant, especially as expectations around data sensitivity grow. AI has accelerated these concerns, prompting more people to think carefully about how their data is used, interpreted and circulated online.
The involvement of WiW3P, Secret Network, and FLUIDEFI has kept .privacy aligned with applied privacy expertise, creating a namespace shaped by advocates, technologists and builders actively working in data protection and privacy-preserving systems.
The Next Step: Bringing .privacy to the Global Stage
In September 2025, we announced the intent to submit .privacy to the upcoming ICANN gTLD application round in 2026. This move, if successful, would position .privacy inside the global DNS system and open the door to far wider use.
If approved, ICANN recognition would allow .privacy to function as a standard top-level domain. That means:
- Full browser and website support across Chrome, Firefox, Edge and other major platforms
- Native email functionality for sending and receiving from .privacy addresses
- Search engine visibility that allows .privacy sites to be indexed and discoverable
This transition would also allow privacy-oriented naming to participate directly in the same infrastructure as banks, governments, institutions and global platforms. It would bring .privacy into the mainstream internet environment while still allowing users to benefit from onchain identity tools, representing the next stage in giving individuals and organizations a domain shaped around user choice, intentionality and control over how they present themselves online.