From time to time we get asked why Runbox uses runbox.com as our primary email domain rather than our runbox.no domain.
The reason we are asked this is because some people assume that by using a .com domain all the Internet traffic to and from our servers is routed via the Unites States, and could be subject to US government eavesdropping.
Data Routing
This concern usually arises because .com domains are often associated with the US whereas other top level domains (TLDs) such as .no, .de and .uk are associated with Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom respectively.
The reality surrounding which TLDs are used by which countries and to what extent those countries protect the right to use those TLDs for their own residents and business is complex. However, one thing is true in all cases, and this is that data is not routed according to whether your domain ends with .com or .no but by which servers need to contact each other.
We have a help article about this, and you can read more detail about domains and how data is routed by reading How Do Internet Domains Work for Email?
Domain Registration and Registration Details
Increasingly people are using their own domains, and at Runbox we encourage this. By using your own domain you have your own unique identity on the Internet, and an email address you can move from one email provider to another as needed without having to give all your contacts a new address.
When registering a domain some people are rightly concerned about who Runbox will share their details with. For most domains Runbox acts as a reseller of domain registration services. In any domain registration with us there is the reseller (Runbox), the registrar (the organisation that registers the domain) and the registry (which maintains the records of all domains under its jurisdiction).
Even though you might register a domain with a registry in Sweden (for example), you could find the registrar is based in a different country.
You can find out more about how your data is used when registering a domain by reading Domains: How Your Details are Used.
If you have any questions about domains and privacy, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through our Support Centre.