Encrypted DNS Resolvers

Don’t let Google see all your DNS traffic. Discover privacy-centric alternatives to the traditional DNS providers.

DNS-over-HTTPS, DNS-over-TLS, and DNSCrypt resolvers will not make you anonymous. Using Anonymized DNSCrypt hides only your DNS traffic from your Internet Service Provider. However, using any of these protocols will prevent DNS hijacking, and make your DNS requests harder for third parties to eavesdrop on and tamper with. If you are currently using Google's DNS resolver, you should pick an alternative here. See the definitions below.

DNS Provider	Server Locations	Type	Protocols	Logging	DNSSEC	QNAME Minimization	Filtering	Hosting Provider
AdGuard	Anycast Cyprus	Commercial	DoH DoT DNSCrypt	Some	Yes	Yes	Based on server choice	Choopa, LLC Serveroid, LLC
Cloudflare	Anycast United States	Commercial	DoH DoT	Some	Yes	Yes	Based on server choice.	Self
ControlD	Anycast Canada	Commercial	DoH DoT	Optional	Yes	Yes	Based on server choice	Self
NextDNS	Anycast United States	Commercial	DoH DoT DNSCrypt	Optional	Yes	Yes	Based on server choice	Self
Quad9	Anycast (Map) Switzerland	Non-Profit	DoH DoT DNSCrypt	No	Yes	Yes	Based on server choice, Malware blocking by default	Self Packet Clearing House i3D Global Secure Layer

View table data on GitHub

Encrypted DNS Clients for Desktop

Unbound

Unbound logo A validating, recursive, caching DNS resolver, supporting DNS-over-TLS, and has been independently audited.

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dnscrypt-proxy

dnscrypt-proxy logo A DNS proxy with support for DNSCrypt, DNS-over-HTTPS, and Anonymized DNSCrypt, a relay-based protocol that the hides client IP address.

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Stubby

Stubby logo An application that acts as a local DNS-over-TLS stub resolver. Stubby can be used in combination with Unbound by managing the upstream TLS connections (since Unbound cannot yet re-use TCP/TLS connections) with Unbound providing a local cache.

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Firefox's built-in DNS-over-HTTPS resolver

Firefox's built-in DNS-over-HTTPS resolver logo Firefox comes with built-in DNS-over-HTTPS support for NextDNS and Cloudflare but users can manually use any other DoH resolver. Warning

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Encrypted DNS Clients for Android

Android 9's built-in DNS-over-TLS resolver

Android 9's built-in DNS-over-TLS resolver logo Android 9 (Pie) comes with built-in DNS-over-TLS support without the need for a 3rd-party application. Warning

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Nebulo

Nebulo logo An open-source Android client supporting DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS, caching DNS responses, and locally logging DNS queries.

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Encrypted DNS Clients for iOS

DNSCloak

DNSCloak logo An open-source iOS client supporting DNS-over-HTTPS, DNSCrypt, and dnscrypt-proxy options such as caching DNS responses, locally logging DNS queries, and custom block lists. Users can add custom resolvers by DNS stamp.

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Native Operating System Support

In iOS, iPadOS, tvOS 14 and macOS 11, DoT and DoH were introduced. DoT and DoH are supported natively by installation of profiles (through mobileconfig files opened in Safari). After installation, the encrypted DNS server can be selected in Settings → General → VPN and Network → DNS.

Signed profiles are offered by AdGuard and NextDNS.

Definitions

DNS-over-TLS (DoT): A security protocol for encrypted DNS on a dedicated port 853. Some providers support port 443 which generally works everywhere while port 853 is often blocked by restrictive firewalls.

DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH): Similar to DoT, but uses HTTPS instead, being indistinguishable from "normal" HTTPS traffic on port 443 and more difficult to block. Warning

DNSCrypt: With an open specification, DNSCrypt is an older, yet robust method for encrypting DNS.

Anonymized DNSCrypt: A lightweight protocol that hides the client IP address by using pre-configured relays to forward encrypted DNS data. This is a relatively new protocol created in 2019 currently only supported by dnscrypt-proxy and a limited number of relays.

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