Q: What is DNS?

To quote Cloudflare , "The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet."

Question 1

What is blockerDNS and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

blockerDNS provides a customizable DNS service that, simply put, lets you block content on the internet you don't want to see. By default we block ads and online trackers, but you're in complete control with the option to fine-tune your blocking through customizable blacklists and whitelists, as well as 1-click category blocks that let you easily filter things like adult content or social media.

The service is offered via DNS over TLS, DNS over HTTPS and standard DNS.

Question 2

What is DNS?

Accepted Answer

To quote Cloudflare, "The Domain Name System (DNS) is the phonebook of the Internet."

Question 3

What do I do once I sign up?

Accepted Answer

It depends on what kind of device you plan on using our service on. But in a nutshell, what you need to do is change your device's DNS setting so it points to our servers.

You can see instructions on how to change the DNS for all types of devices in our getting started guides on the support page.

Question 4

How is blockerDNS different from ad blocking apps or VPNs?

Accepted Answer

Ultimately, you get the same end-result: no ads. But with other services, you're installing an app and adding an extra layer of overhead in the form of a middle-man that intercepts your internet traffic. Other services involve VPN connections or proxies that slow down your whole experience and are just a whole separate headache.

blockerDNS is a (customizable) DNS service that replaces your current DNS, which is typically the default one from your wireless carrier or internet provider. So you aren't installing anything or adding overhead because we're not an additional middle-man. You're swapping out your default DNS service for blockerDNS's service.

And last but definitely not least, blockerDNS is different from other services, apps and VPNs because your privacy is respected. The blockerDNS privacy policy is simple, straightforward and wasn't written by a team of lawyers. You can read it here, but the main takeaway is we do not log or save your DNS requests or any other personal data. blockerDNS is an honest one-man operation, not a faceless company that sells you a product, and then collects personal data on how you use the product so it can make even more money by turning around and selling that data to third parties like "marketing partners" and "affiliates".

Question 5

What about ads on YouTube?

Accepted Answer

The quick answer is we really can't block YouTube ads, because of how they're served. For the longer answer, read on.

The way we and most other services block ads is by filtering out domains that serve them up. For example, when you visit a particular well known Android blog—who shall remain nameless because this isn't about calling them out—your browser will make a whole bunch of requests. Those that are for the site's domain and for the domains of resources like fonts and graphics are handled normally. But the requests for domains that serve ads and tracking scripts are blocked. For this site the blocked requests include: pagead2.googlesyndication.com, ads.pro-market.net, sb.scorecardresearch.com and www.google-analytics.com, just to name a few.

The thing with YouTube is the ads shown in videos are served from the same domains that serve up the videos themselves. So in other words, if we block the ads then we end up blocking the videos too.

Question 6

What if blockerDNS breaks a website or app I use?

Accepted Answer

Our database of blocked domains is actively maintained, though possibly a bit too zealously at times. While we try to minimize breaking sites, apps and services, we may sometimes end up adding a domain to our block list that is required for a specific site or app to function properly. If you come across a site or app that doesn't seem to be loading correctly, is giving you error messages, or is just acting strange, please let us know at support@blockerdns.com. We'll take a look and if it does turn out to be caused by us blocking something, we'll add it to your whitelist so it'll no longer be blocked.

You can manage your whitelist yourself as well. Go to your account and search our block lists for the website or domain in question. If you see it is in fact blocked, you can just add it to your whitelist to immediately unblock it.

Question 7

How do I cancel my subscription?

Accepted Answer

You can sign in here and you'll find the option under Account Information. If you prefer, you can also contact us at support@blockerdns.com.

Question 8

Do you log my DNS requests and track my browsing history?

Accepted Answer

NO.

There is ZERO logging of DNS requests. We're not some huge corporation with "affiliates" or "marketing partners" that get to see all your private data. This is a small web business run by one person. That said, the ONE thing we keep basic track of is how often your phone or other device(s) pings our servers, solely for the purpose of preventing abuse. And by abuse we mean if you decide to share your unique URL with the entire internet. That said, a reasonable amount of sharing is OK. Go ahead and give your wife, kids or mom your URL if you want. And if you'd like to read more detailed information about your privacy, you can do that here.

Question 9

Is my data at risk if you have a security breach?

Accepted Answer

It goes without saying that security is taken very seriously. We know that's what everyone says, but please read on.

The only information we store about you is your email address, password (if you registered directly with us as opposed to signing in with your Google account) and the randomly generated unique username that's assigned to you for your custom encrypted DNS URL. If you use our standard DNS for, say, your home router, then we also have your whitelisted IP address. That's it for us! No credit card numbers, addresses, social security numbers, activity, nothing.

We can't lose your private data if we don't have it to begin with!

Regarding third-parties we deal with, our payment processor is Stripe, and their checkout process asks users for the basics needed to charge their credit card. They ask for the following: email, credit card number, expiration, CVC, name on card, billing address, phone number, country/region, city, state and ZIP code. Before submission of this data, the user's IP address is appended, solely for possible usage towards preventing fraudulent sign-ups. We do not retrieve or store any of this data on our servers. It is stored only by Stripe and only for the purpose of maintaining a subscription. Stripe's privacy policy can be found here.

Question 10

Why isn't instant classification of domains enabled by default?

Accepted Answer

On-the-fly classification of domains, when enabled, happens for those domains that aren't already in the blockerDNS database.

When a domain gets classified it's added to the database along with its category and the date. The date is included as a reference point for any potential future troubleshooting with the automatic classification system.

Logging of a user's activity is done on a strictly opt-in basis. With regards to instant classification, even though no user data—or additional data at all—is saved with a newly classified domain, it's possible, in principle, to at least loosely associate a set of classified domains with a user based on the date the domains were classified and the date the user joined. For this reason the setting is not enabled by default.

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