Overview
- .singles is a generic top-level domain (gTLD) created under ICANN's New gTLD Program.
- Registry operator: Donuts (Fern Madison, LLC).
- Category: Lifestyle; status: active and delegated to the DNS Root Zone on 6 November 2013.
- Positioning: described by the applicant as a generic, consumer-facing TLD intended to facilitate search, self-expression and online identities related to singles and lifestyle topics.
History
- Proposed in ICANN's New gTLD Program and applied for by Donuts (the company was the only applicant for the string).
- Registry Agreement with ICANN signed on 27 August 2013.
- Delegated to the Root Zone on 6 November 2013.
- On delegation day Donuts had nine gTLDs delegated to the root, including .camera, .clothing, .lighting, .ventures, .voyage, .guru, .holdings and .equipment.
Usage and Audience
- Intended audience: individuals, communities and businesses focused on singles, dating, lifestyle, self-expression and related services.
- The Donuts application frames .singles as a generic term attractive to a variety of internet users and registrants, enabling online identities, information sharing and legitimate commerce.
Registration Rules
- Donuts states it will encourage inclusive registration policies rather than constraining access by eligibility rules; no entity has exclusive rights to second-level names in the TLD.
- The operator commits to an array of protections against abuse, including measures to protect trademark rights and reduce fraud and abusive registrations.
- Launch phases announced by Donuts for its first group of gTLDs (including .singles):
- Sunrise: 26 November 2013 — 24 January 2014
- Donuts announced it would not hold a Landrush period for these gTLDs and said they would go immediately to general availability on 29 January 2013 (as stated in the announcement).
SEO and Brand Impact
- Donuts' application claims .singles will improve search and discoverability for relevant services and identities by providing a targeted, thematic namespace.
- The operator also asserts commitments to operate the TLD with protections that aim to lower incidents of fraud and abuse compared with incumbent TLDs, positioning .singles as a trustworthy, consumer-oriented option.
Notable Cases or Examples
- .singles was part of the initial Donuts delegation on 6 November 2013 alongside eight other Donuts strings.
- It was listed among Donuts' first seven gTLDs for the announced Sunrise period, together with .bike, .guru, .holdings, .plumbing, .clothing and .ventures.
Operator
Binky Moon, LLC
Whois
% IANA WHOIS server
% for more information on IANA, visit http://www.iana.org
% This query returned 1 object
domain: SINGLES
organisation: Binky Moon, LLC
address: c/o Identity Digital Limited
address: 10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address: Bellevue WA 98004
address: United States of America (the)
contact: administrative
name: Vice President, Engineering
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address: 10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address: Bellevue WA 98004
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1.425.298.2200
fax-no: +1.425.671.0020
e-mail: tldadmin@identity.digital
contact: technical
name: Senior Director, DNS Infrastructure Group
organisation: Identity Digital Limited
address: 10500 NE 8th Street, Suite 750
address: Bellevue WA 98004
address: United States of America (the)
phone: +1.425.298.2200
fax-no: +1.425.671.0020
e-mail: tldtech@identity.digital
nserver: V0N0.NIC.SINGLES 2a01:8840:22:0:0:0:0:57 65.22.32.57
nserver: V0N1.NIC.SINGLES 2a01:8840:23:0:0:0:0:57 65.22.33.57
nserver: V0N2.NIC.SINGLES 2a01:8840:24:0:0:0:0:57 65.22.34.57
nserver: V0N3.NIC.SINGLES 161.232.16.57 2a01:8840:fa:0:0:0:0:57
nserver: V2N0.NIC.SINGLES 2a01:8840:25:0:0:0:0:57 65.22.35.57
nserver: V2N1.NIC.SINGLES 161.232.17.57 2a01:8840:fb:0:0:0:0:57
ds-rdata: 11041 8 2 28f8fd0b9b11a1947d4dd5a1190aba72a1a1f30b7fd3752e8261defbfe17b84b
whois: whois.nic.singles
status: ACTIVE
remarks: Registration information: https://www.identity.digital/
created: 2013-10-31
changed: 2023-09-12
source: IANA
Registrars
