--- id: "link-freedom-group" kind: "glossary-term" title: "Link Freedom Group" language: "en" category: "Industry roles and organizations" updated: "2026-10-13T10:05:42Z" canonical: "https://tldlog.com/glossary/link-freedom-group/" translations: es: "https://tldlog.com/es/glosario/link-freedom-group/" de: "https://tldlog.com/de/glossar/link-freedom-group/" fr: "https://tldlog.com/fr/glossaire/link-freedom-group/" it: "https://tldlog.com/it/glossario/link-freedom-group/" pt-BR: "https://tldlog.com/pt/glossario/link-freedom-group/" ru: "https://tldlog.com/ru/glossariy/link-freedom-group/" zh-Hans: "https://tldlog.com/zh/cihui/link-freedom-group/" --- # Link Freedom Group Link Freedom Group Ltd, doing business as LFG, is a limited liability company in Malta. In its ICANN applications it says it is affiliated with Nova Registry Ltd, which has operated .link since ICANN approved the assignment of the registry agreement from UNR Corp. in May 2022. In the 2026 round it filed 158 applications for new gTLDs, each with a replacement string. Link Freedom Group Ltd, which does business as Link Freedom Group or LFG, is a company in Malta that applied to run new top-level domains in ICANN's 2026 Round. In its applications it says it is affiliated with Nova Registry Ltd, the company that runs the .link domain. As of October 2026, Link Freedom Group itself runs no top-level domain. ## What it is Link Freedom Group Ltd is a limited liability company incorporated in Malta. Its ICANN applications give an address in Birkirkara, Malta, and its website gives its company registration number as C 114396. They name Vandelay Investments Ltd, another Maltese limited liability company, as both its direct parent and its ultimate parent company. Under the 2026 Applicant Guidebook, the ultimate parent is the top-level entity that can direct the management and policies of the applicant. In its applications, the company describes its aim as becoming "a best-in-class, vertically integrated domain name registration authority". Vertical integration means that one group runs both registry and registrar businesses. This is the company's own statement of purpose, not a description of what it does today. ## Its role in the domain system Its affiliate Nova Registry Ltd is a separate Maltese company with an address in Valletta. As of October 2026, IANA's root zone records list Nova Registry Ltd. as the sponsoring organization of .link, a generic top-level domain, and ICANN lists Nova Registry Ltd as the registry operator under the .link Registry Agreement. As of October 2026, in IANA's records .link is the only TLD managed by Nova Registry, and no TLD is managed by Link Freedom Group. Its application likewise lists no gTLD of its own and .link as the only gTLD of its affiliates. Link Freedom Group Ltd states in its applications that it "is affiliated to Nova Registry Ltd, an existing ICANN Accredited Registry Operator (.LINK)". The application answers do not say how the two companies are related beyond 'affiliated'. As of October 2026: - Link Freedom Group Ltd holds no Registry Agreement of its own. It is an applicant. - No ICANN-accredited registrar of either company appears in IANA's registrar ID registry or in ICANN's list of accredited registrars, so neither can be described as a registrar. - In its applications, the company answered that it is not a back-end registry service provider, a privacy or proxy service provider, or a reseller. - For .link, IANA lists Tucows.com, Co. as technical contact, with name servers on trs-dns domains. ## History - **14 November 2013.** ICANN signs the .link Registry Agreement with Uniregistry, Corp., a Cayman Islands company. - **16 January 2014.** IANA delegates .link to Uniregistry, Corp. - **20 January 2022.** UNR Corp., formerly Uniregistry Corp., asks ICANN for written consent to assign the .link agreement. - **3 May 2022.** ICANN grants its conditional written consent. - **4 May 2022.** In an Assignment and Assumption Agreement, UNR Corp. assigns all its rights, obligations and interest in the agreement to Nova Registry Ltd. - **19 May 2022.** IANA records the transfer of .link to Nova Registry Ltd. Its report confirms that the new manager matches the party ICANN approved. - **30 April to 12 August 2026.** During the 2026 Round application window, Link Freedom Group Ltd files 158 applications, each with a replacement string. - **7 October 2026.** On Reveal Day, ICANN publishes 1,615 applications, including those of Link Freedom Group Ltd. ## Its 2026 Round applications As of October 2026, ICANN's application publication system lists 158 active applications for new gTLDs from Link Freedom Group Ltd, all in pre-evaluation processing. Each one names a replacement string, an alternative the applicant may switch to, so the applications cover 316 strings in all. Examples of primary strings are lfg, links, api, agi, craft, research and tldr. None of the applications is for a brand, community, geographic or internationalized domain name. In its application for lfg, the company did not ask for an exemption from the registry Code of Conduct. Several facts about these applications can still change: - As of October 2026, the Replacement Period runs from 8 to 21 October 2026; during it, applicants may choose whether to use their replacement string. - As of October 2026, 118 of the company's applications are in Reveal Day contention sets, each in a different set, out of 263 sets in ICANN's file. The string lfg, for example, is in a set with another applicant. - As of October 2026, ICANN says the final number and types of applications will be confirmed on String Confirmation Day, 17 November 2026. As of October 2026, none of these strings is delegated. Any of them may still change to its replacement string or be lost in contention. ## What it offers in domains Today, its affiliate Nova Registry Ltd runs .link. As with other gTLDs, names under .link are usually registered through registrars rather than from the registry directly. In its 2026 Round application, the company told ICANN that .link has more than 300,000 domains under management. That is the company's own figure, not an ICANN statistic. A worked example: a registrant wants a .link name. The registrant orders it from a registrar, and the registrar sends the order to the .link registry. ## How it differs from related companies - **Nova Registry Ltd.** A separate legal entity, with an address in Valletta, that holds the .link Registry Agreement. Link Freedom Group Ltd, with its address in Birkirkara, calls it an affiliate. - **UNR Corp.** Formerly Uniregistry, Corp., it was the first operator of .link and assigned the agreement to Nova Registry Ltd in 2022. - **Tucows.** IANA lists Tucows.com, Co. as technical contact for .link. That is a role in the IANA record, not the registry operator role. - **0.Link Ltd.** An ICANN-accredited registrar as of October 2026. No primary record connects it to Link Freedom Group. ## Sources - [2026 Round Application Publication and Statistics (ICANN APS): applications by Link Freedom Group Ltd](https://newgtldprogram-aps.icann.org/statistics) - [Reveal Day contention sets (ICANN)](https://newgtldprogram.icann.org/en/application-rounds/round2/reveal-day-contention-sets.csv) - [ICANN Reveals 2026 Round Applications for New Generic Top-Level Domains (ICANN announcement)](https://www.icann.org/en/announcements/details/icann-reveals-2026-round-applications-for-new-generic-top-level-domains-07-10-2026-en) - [Delegation Record for .LINK (IANA Root Zone Database)](https://www.iana.org/domains/root/db/link.html) - [Transfer Report for link (IANA)](https://www.iana.org/reports/tld-transfer/20220519-link) - [Registry Agreement details for .link (ICANN)](https://www.icann.org/en/registry-agreements/details/link) - [.link Assignment and Assumption Agreement (ICANN)](https://itp.cdn.icann.org/en/files/registry-agreements/link/link-assign-pdf-04-05-2022-en.pdf) - [Registrar IDs (IANA registry)](https://www.iana.org/assignments/registrar-ids/registrar-ids.xml) - [2026 Applicant Guidebook, Appendix 1: Application Questions (ICANN)](https://newgtldprogram-2026-agb.icann.org/en/12-appendix-1-application-questions.html) - [Q2.3-1 RO Financial - Operational / Planning Part 1 (ICANN APS attachment to the Link Freedom Group Ltd application, Q200)](https://newgtldprogram-aps-documents.icann.org/Financial_a-0000efde-9a6a-8000-9c71-011c48011c48_940642.pdf) - [Legal & Policies ยท LFG (company website)](https://lfg.link/legal) ## related terms - [registry operator](https://tldlog.com/glossary/registry-operator/) - [assignment of a Registry Agreement](https://tldlog.com/glossary/registry-agreement-assignment/) - [2026 Round](https://tldlog.com/glossary/new-gtld-program-2026-round/) - [replacement string](https://tldlog.com/glossary/replacement-string/) - [vertical integration](https://tldlog.com/glossary/vertical-integration/)