Did you know you can enhance your privacy using the Android Private DNS server, especially when connecting via public DNS servers?
Your mobile phone and other devices communicate with each other using IP addresses. But for humans, it isn’t easy to memorize these complex numbers. The Domain Name System (DNS) eliminates the need for humans to remember IP addresses.
So when you type a website name in your browser the DNS translates the website name into its corresponding IP address to enable your browsers to load the website.
How to use the Android Private DNS
When you type in a domain name in your browser the DNS servers search and locate the correct IP address from its records based on the DNS query it received from the browser.
The web server responds with a connection to the requesting browser. And the browser displays the content on your screen as you initially requested.
Multiple DNS servers are involved in this process. And the entire process occurs in the background so swiftly that you won’t see any time delay. You press enter after typing the website’s name, and your device loads the website the next moment.
A Private DNS is an option to encrypt DNS queries. This means threat actors cannot know what you are searching for online if they can intercept your data.
How to Enable Private DNS on Android
Private DNS is active on your Android device if you’re using Android 9 or later. But if you have messed up your phone’s settings and disabled this feature, you can easily enable it.
You can also choose a private DNS server of your choice in case you don’t want to use your default private DNS server, which is often Google DNS.
The process to enable private DNS service is largely the same in most Android smartphones, but the exact path and steps may vary depending on your smartphone’s manufacturer.
Head over to your phone’s Settings menu, and click on the Connections & sharing tab. Depending on your device’s manufacturer, you might have a different name, like Network & Internet.
In the Connection & sharing menu, click on the Private DNS tab. You will see three options—Off, Auto, and Specified DNS.
After entering, the third-party DNS server name, click the Save button. You have enabled private DNS on your phone with a DNS server of your choice. Henceforth, all DNS queries on your smartphone will be encrypted.