Cloudflare launches Android and iOS apps for its 1.1.1.1 service

Cloudflare launched today official mobile apps for its 1.1.1.1 privacy-first DNS resolver service. Mobile apps for Android and iOS are now available on their respective app stores.

The company first launched the 1.1.1.1 service to great fanfare on April 1, earlier this year. The service is a basic DNS server, but one for which Cloudflare has guaranteed user privacy and improved look-up speed.

The service has seen a few DDoS attacks after its launch, and most of the traffic it sees has been deemed garbage, but privacy advocates have deemed it a success.

Activists and journalists have used it to bypass blocklists in oppressive countries, and regular users have also used it to improve their day-to-day Internet connections.

Furthermore, funneling DNS traffic through Cloudflare’s DNS server also prevents internet service providers from watching over a user’s traffic by looking at DNS logs. Of course, using 1.1.1.1 as your DNS service won’t be enough. Users would also need to take other steps to hide traffic from nosy ISPs, such as using an encrypted VPN or making sure the websites they access support HTTPS.

Using 1.1.1.1 requires users modifying their local Internet connection’s preferred DNS servers and changing their ISP-supplied settings with Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 IP address.

Mobile users could have used 1.1.1.1 immediately after its launch, but very few did, as there’s no easy way of changing DNS settings on a mobile device, like there is on PCs.

With today’s Android and iOS apps, Cloudflare has made switching to 1.1.1.1 as your phone’s primary DNS server as easy as pushing a button.

The official 1.1.1.1 mobile apps have been launched today on Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store after a private beta versions were launched and successfully tested since last month.

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