How to use a private DNS on Android and what it is for

The DNS addresses private are a great way to increase privacy on your phone while gaining other benefits, such as ad filtering or faster internet connections (everything will depend on the private DNS in question). Android includes the option to add it easily, we explain how.

The connections that our telephone establishes with the Internet servers pass through various filters until the data packets are channeled to the places where the information we are looking for is stored. This leaves a fairly easy trail to follow that can be hidden (more or less) with different tactics: from the tunnels or VPN to the use of networks like TOR. Also private DNS can be a good tool. In Android they are quite simple to use.

Private DNS addresses: easy to configure on Android 9 and above

Google introduced the inclusion of private DNS in Android 9 Pie, within the network section. Thanks to this, not only its configuration was simplified, but also its activation and deactivation. What do you want use private DNS promptly when you open an app? No problem: in a few seconds you have them active.

The Android configuration includes a section for the aforementioned private DNS as standard, you just have to do the following steps:

• Access your Android settings and enter the network options.
• Look under ‘More connection settings’, ‘More connections’, ‘Advanced settings’ or similar message. Each model and brand offers the option in a different way.
• Locate the ‘Private DNS’ section and enter the menu.
• Write the address of the chosen DNS and save the configuration.
• In the case of Xiaomi mobile phones, the private DNS setting may not appear in the menus. To locate it, look for it in the settings screen, within the search engine in the upper area. If it still does not exit install ‘Hidden settings for MIUI‘. From the app you will have access to the setting of the private DNS addresses.

Once you have the private DNS active all connections will be filtered with it to obtain, by bounce, the characteristics offered by the DNS provider. For example, those of CloudFlare (1.1.1.1) provide a higher speed resolving the IP of the webs; and the private DNS of AdGuard (dns.adguard.com) offer app and web ad removal.

Despite the added benefits of DNS servers, you should be very careful: the companies that operate the DNS servers will have a record of everything you do on the phone.

Advantages of private DNS addresses

The advantages of this type of DNS are multiple, everything will depend on the service in question: from more privacy (they allow to hide the connections to our operator) to faster use of the browser and applications (If the DNS server that we configure resolves the IP addresses more quickly, the speed of the phone will be higher). Of course, it must be made clear that they also pose a risk: the private DNS that is configured will know almost everything about the use made of the Internet.

If you have a trustworthy DNS server, and you don’t want to go around configuring it in mobile connections or having to install an application, configuring it as private DNS allows you not only to make use of its benefits, but also makes configuration easy. In addition, the Android backup saves the chosen private DNS: once you configure it, you will have it on each new device.

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How to use a private DNS on Android and what it is for

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Xataka Android

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Ivan Linares

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