The first thing I change on any new phone is the DNS—here's why it matters
There are lots of steps to complete when setting up a new phone. You add your accounts, install apps, change the sounds and colors, and so on. For me, there's one more step that I always do. I change the DNS settings . And it's one of the most important steps of all.
What DNS actually does
And why it matters
The most common analogy to describe the domain name system, or DNS, is as the phone book of the internet. It maps user-friendly website names, like howtogeek.com, to the long and indecipherable numerical IP addresses that computers use to connect to each other.
You use the DNS all the time without knowing about it. Every time you load up a web page, open an app, refresh a feed, and so on, DNS requests are being made in the background.
Unless you change it, the DNS server you use is the one provided by your internet service provider or mobile carrier. It's convenient because it's a technical detail that you don't need to worry about, but it isn't ideal. These servers might not be the fastest, and they bring privacy issues, both in terms of tracking you and potentially even in controlling what you can see online.
Changing the DNS won't bring about revolutionary changes that you'll notice in day-to-day use, but it brings constant gains that make it one of the things I do automatically whenever I'm setting up a new phone. I do it mostly for the privacy and security benefits , and even the performance increase adds up over time.
The real benefits of changing your DNS
Faster and more private browsing
So what are the main reasons to change the DNS on your phone? First up, there are the speed and performance improvements. When you load a website or open an app, it will often make multiple DNS requests. It gets the main content from one place, images from somewhere else, ads from a third site, social media buttons from another, and so on.
There's no telling how well optimized your ISP's DNS server is—it's designed to do a job and nothing more—and on a phone you'll be using different ones depending on whether you're on Wi-Fi or mobile data. The performance won't even be the same across the two.
Switching to a single DNS that's optimized for speed should make it a little faster with reduced latency, and also be more consistent regardless of your connection type.
Then there are the privacy issues. Your ISP knows a lot about you, even if you're using a VPN . Using its DNS servers gives them a complete record of everything you visit. That's not really a big deal, since they have to send you to those sites anyway, but if you use Wi-Fi in coffee shops and hotels, those third-party providers will get the data. And if you connect to unencrypted public Wi-Fi, which you shouldn't , then potentially anyone could snoop on it.
ISPs can use their DNS servers to prevent access to certain types of website, often under the guise of "parental controls." But their scope can be quite wide and hoover up all sorts of totally legitimate sites that you wouldn't want blocked.
A custom DNS lets you bypass these restrictions if you want to. Or it can let you add more restrictions. Some DNS servers can be configured to block things like adult and gambling sites, ads and trackers, or even distractions like Reddit and TikTok if you want to cut down on your phone use.
On top of this, they'll often have more up-to-date security features, blocking malicious sites to help you steer clear of malware and phishing scams.
How and when to change it
And what to choose
It's easy to change the DNS server on modern smartphones. It's especially simple on Android, which has a Private DNS option that lets you change the setting once and have it apply to all your connections. Enter the details of your custom DNS server at Settings > Network and Internet > Private DNS, and it will work whether you're on home Wi-Fi, in a coffee shop, on mobile data, or anything else.
For iOS, you have to change it for each connection by default. Many major DNS providers, like Cloudflare, have apps you can install that both simplify the setup and apply it automatically to every connection.
As for which DNS to choose, I use NextDNS , which has a whole host of privacy features including filters for trackers and ads, certain content types, and social media apps.
If speed is your priority, then 1.1.1.1 from Cloudflare is usually rated as the fastest. You can always check the latest performance rankings at dnsperf.com to see which is best. For reliability, you can't really go wrong with Google . That isn't an option for the privacy conscious, although the company says that it doesn't use the data it collects for advertising or to identify users.
For security, I like Quad9 , a non-profit organization that blocks malicious domains and has zero tracking.
A small tweak with big benefits
Changing the DNS isn't the most exciting part of setting up a new phone, but it's a routine part of my setup process. It only takes a minute to do, and once done, you can forget all about it. But you'll be gaining the benefits of better performance and more privacy and security in the background all the time, even if you don't realize it.
