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| title | icon | description | cover | global | |||
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| DNS Resolvers | material/dns | We recommend choosing these encrypted DNS providers to replace your ISP's default configuration. | dns.webp |
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Protects against the following threat(s):
- :material-account-cash: Surveillance Capitalism{ .pg-brown }
Encrypted DNS with third-party servers should only be used to get around basic DNS blocking when you can be sure there won't be any consequences. Encrypted DNS will not help you hide any of your browsing activity.
Learn more about DNS :material-arrow-right-drop-circle:{ .md-button }
Recommended Providers
These are our favorite public DNS resolvers based on their privacy and security characteristics, and their worldwide performance. Some of these services offer basic DNS-level blocking of malware or trackers depending on the server you choose, but if you want to be able to see and customize what is blocked, you should use a dedicated DNS filtering product instead.
| DNS Provider | Protocols | Logging / Privacy Policy | ECS | Filtering | Signed Apple Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AdGuard Public DNS | Cleartext DoH/3 DoT DoQ DNSCrypt |
Anonymized1 | Anonymized | Based on server choice. Filter list being used can be found here. :octicons-link-external-24: | Yes :octicons-link-external-24: |
| Cloudflare | Cleartext DoH/3 DoT |
Anonymized2 | No | Based on server choice. | No :octicons-link-external-24: |
| Control D Free DNS | Cleartext DoH/3 DoT DoQ |
No3 | No | Based on server choice. | Yes :simple-apple: iOS :material-apple-finder: macOS |
| dns0.eu | Cleartext DoH/3 DoH DoT DoQ |
Anonymized4 | Anonymized | Based on server choice. | Yes :octicons-link-external-24: |
| Mullvad | DoH DoT |
No5 | No | Based on server choice. Filter list being used can be found here. :octicons-link-external-24: | Yes :octicons-link-external-24: |
| Quad9 | Cleartext DoH DoT DNSCrypt |
Anonymized6 | Optional | Based on server choice. Malware blocking is included by default. | Yes :simple-apple: iOS :material-apple-finder: macOS |
Self-Hosted DNS Filtering
A self-hosted DNS solution is useful for providing filtering on controlled platforms, such as Smart TVs and other IoT devices, as no client-side software is needed.
Pi-hole
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Pi-hole is an open-source DNS-sinkhole which uses DNS filtering to block unwanted web content, such as advertisements.
Pi-hole is designed to be hosted on a Raspberry Pi, but it is not limited to such hardware. The software features a friendly web interface to view insights and manage blocked content.
:octicons-home-16: Homepage{ .md-button .md-button--primary } :octicons-eye-16:{ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" } :octicons-info-16:{ .card-link title=Documentation} :octicons-code-16:{ .card-link title="Source Code" } :octicons-heart-16:{ .card-link title=Contribute }
AdGuard Home
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AdGuard Home is an open-source DNS-sinkhole which uses DNS filtering to block unwanted web content, such as advertisements.
AdGuard Home features a polished web interface to view insights and manage blocked content.
:octicons-home-16: Homepage{ .md-button .md-button--primary } :octicons-eye-16:{ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" } :octicons-info-16:{ .card-link title=Documentation} :octicons-code-16:{ .card-link title="Source Code" }
Cloud-Based DNS Filtering
These DNS filtering solutions offer a web dashboard where you can customize the block lists to your exact needs, similarly to a Pi-hole. These services are usually easier to set up and configure than self-hosted services like the ones above, and can be used more easily across multiple networks (self-hosted solutions are typically restricted to your home/local network unless you set up a more advanced configuration).
Control D
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Control D is a customizable DNS service which lets you block security threats, unwanted content, and advertisements on a DNS level. In addition to their paid plans, they offer a number of preconfigured DNS resolvers you can use for free.
:octicons-home-16: Homepage{ .md-button .md-button--primary } :octicons-eye-16:{ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" } :octicons-info-16:{ .card-link title=Documentation} :octicons-code-16:{ .card-link title="Source Code" }
NextDNS
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NextDNS is a customizable DNS service which lets you block security threats, unwanted content, and advertisements on a DNS level. They offer a fully functional free plan for limited use.
:octicons-home-16: Homepage{ .md-button .md-button--primary } :octicons-eye-16:{ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" } :octicons-info-16:{ .card-link title=Documentation} :octicons-code-16:{ .card-link title="Source Code" }
When used with an account, NextDNS will enable insights and logging features by default (as some features require it). You can choose retention time and log storage location for any logs you choose to keep, or disable logs altogether.
NextDNS's free plan is fully functional, but should not be relied upon for security or other critical filtering applications, because after 300,000 DNS queries in a month all filtering, logging, and other account-based functionality are disabled. It can still be used as a regular DNS provider after that point, so your devices will continue to function and make secure queries via DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), just without your filter lists.
NextDNS also offers a public DoH service at https://dns.nextdns.io and DNS-over-TLS/QUIC (DoT/DoQ) at dns.nextdns.io, which are available by default in Firefox and Chromium, and subject to their default, no-logging privacy policy.
Encrypted DNS Proxies
Encrypted DNS proxy software provides a local proxy for the unencrypted DNS resolver to forward to. Typically, it is used on platforms that don't natively support encrypted DNS.
RethinkDNS
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RethinkDNS is an open-source Android client that supports DoH, DoT, DNSCrypt and DNS Proxy. It also provides additional functionality such as caching DNS responses, locally logging DNS queries, and using the app as a firewall.
:octicons-home-16: Homepage{ .md-button .md-button--primary } :octicons-eye-16:{ .card-link title="Privacy Policy" } :octicons-info-16:{ .card-link title=Documentation} :octicons-code-16:{ .card-link title="Source Code" }
While RethinkDNS takes up the Android VPN slot, you can still use a VPN or Orbot with the app by adding a WireGuard configuration or manually configuring Orbot as a Proxy server, respectively.
dnscrypt-proxy
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dnscrypt-proxy is a DNS proxy with support for DNSCrypt, DoH, and Anonymized DNS.
:octicons-repo-16: Repository{ .md-button .md-button--primary } :octicons-info-16:{ .card-link title=Documentation} :octicons-code-16:{ .card-link title="Source Code" } :octicons-heart-16:{ .card-link title=Contribute }
Warning
The anonymized DNS feature does not anonymize other network traffic.
Criteria
Please note we are not affiliated with any of the projects we recommend. In addition to our standard criteria, we have developed a clear set of requirements to allow us to provide objective recommendations. We suggest you familiarize yourself with this list before choosing to use a project, and conduct your own research to ensure it's the right choice for you.
All DNS products...
- Must support DNSSEC.
- Must support QNAME Minimization.
- Must anonymize ECS or disable it by default.
Additionally, all public providers...
- Must not log any personal data to disk.
- As noted in the footnotes, some providers collect query information for purposes like security research, but in that case the data must not be associated with any PII such as IP address, etc.
- Should support anycast or geo-steering.
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AdGuard stores aggregated performance metrics of their DNS servers, namely the number of complete requests to a particular server, the number of blocked requests, and the speed of processing requests. They also keep and store the database of domains requested within the last 24 hours.
We need this information to identify and block new trackers and threats. We also log how many times this or that tracker has been blocked. We need this information to remove outdated rules from our filters.
AdGuard DNS: Privacy Policy ↩︎
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Cloudflare collects and stores only the limited DNS query data that is sent to the 1.1.1.1 resolver. The 1.1.1.1 resolver service does not log personal data, and the bulk of the limited non-personally identifiable query data is stored only for 25 hours.
1.1.1.1 Public DNS Resolver: Cloudflare’s commitment to privacy ↩︎
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Control D only logs specific account data for Premium resolvers with custom DNS profiles. Free resolvers do not retain any data.
Control D: Privacy Policy ↩︎
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dns0.eu collects some data for their threat intelligence feeds to monitor for newly registered/observed/active domains and other bulk data. That data is shared with some partners for e.g. security research. They do not collect any personally identifiable information.
DNS.eu: Privacy Policy ↩︎
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Mullvad's DNS service is available to both subscribers and non-subscribers of Mullvad VPN. Their privacy policy explicitly claims they do not log DNS requests in any way.
Mullvad: No-logging of user activity policy ↩︎
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Quad9 collects some data for the purposes of threat monitoring and response. That data may then be remixed and shared for purposes like furthering their security research. Quad9 does not collect or record IP addresses or other data they deem personally identifiable.
Quad9: Data and Privacy Policy ↩︎