Cloudflare Free DNS Service Can Now Speed-Up And Secure Your Phone Privacy Too
At this point, it sure seems like the folks at Cloudflare know how this whole "internet" thing works, as the company is trying very hard to keep the web fast and more secure. That includes websites that are cached using its services, helping to deliver faster page loads to the reader, or even routing your own internet connection through its servers for better privacy.
Earlier this year, Cloudflare released its 1.1.1.1 service, which like Google's 8.8.8.8 DNS, routes all of your internet connections through the company's own servers, in effect obfuscating your true origin (except to Cloudflare). At home, using a specific DNS might not be too important, since speed is (likely) already at its best, and you're in full control of the router that's managing the connections. If you're out and about, though, you're at the mercy of routers others control.
That's where 1.1.1.1 can help, because it doesn't just route your traffic through its own DNS servers, it treats the goal of performance very highly. We gave it a quick test on a OnePlus 6T Android device, and first impressions are great. We were able to browse the net with 1.1.1.1 enabled and felt virtually no performance hang-up at all.
The real test with these services, though, will come when you are out and about, and then trying to get online with a new connection. Often times, VPN solutions can wreak havoc on the entire connection, depending on the network you're on, whereas this solution could fare a lot better.
Fortunately, taking advantage of 1.1.1.1 on mobile is extremely easy. You simply need to download the app from either the Google Play Store or Apple's App Store, let the app create a VPN profile, and then you can enable it (screenshot above). From that point on, you will begin routing all traffic through Cloudflare, hopefully with a bit of a speed bump too. But, even if there was a slight performance drop, you have to decide whether that's an acceptable trade-off for increased privacy.
