AdGuard DNS: Block Surveillance in 5 Minutes

most people think about encryption when they think about privacy. almost nobody thinks about DNS. and that's a mistake.

your DNS queries — every website you visit, every app that phones home, every tracking pixel that loads — are visible to your ISP, your government, and anyone else in the chain. chat control or not, this is a massive privacy leak that's trivially easy to fix.

what is DNS and why it matters

when you type "example.com" in your browser, your computer asks a DNS server "what's the IP address for this domain?" that query happens in plain text by default. your ISP sees it. your router logs it. if you're on a corporate or school network, they see it too.

this means even if you use HTTPS for everything (you should), anyone monitoring your DNS can see exactly which sites you visit.

adguard DNS in 5 minutes

adguard DNS is free, blocks ads and trackers at the DNS level, and takes about 5 minutes to set up. here's how:

on your phone (android)

1. settings → network & internet → private DNS
2. select "private DNS provider hostname"
3. type: dns.adguard-dns.com
4. save

on your phone (iOS)

1. settings → wifi → tap the (i) on your network
2. scroll to "configure DNS" → manual
3. remove existing entries, add: 94.140.14.14 and 94.140.15.15
4. save

on your router

this protects every device on your network:

1. log into your router (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1)
2. find DNS settings (usually under WAN or internet settings)
3. set primary DNS: 94.140.14.14
4. set secondary DNS: 94.140.15.15
5. save and restart

on your computer (linux)

edit /etc/resolv.conf:

nameserver 94.140.14.14
nameserver 94.140.15.15

or better, use systemd-resolved with DNS over TLS.

what adguard DNS actually blocks

once configured, adguard DNS blocks:

• tracking domains — google analytics, facebook pixel, and thousands of other trackers
• ad servers — banner ads, pop-ups, video pre-rolls
• known malware domains — basic protection against phishing and drive-by downloads
• surveillance-related domains — certain telemetry and data collection endpoints

the blocklists are regularly updated and you can customize them through your adguard account.

the bigger picture

DNS-level blocking is one layer. it won't protect you from chat control's message scanning — that operates at a different level entirely. but it significantly reduces your digital footprint and blocks a huge amount of passive surveillance.

i use adguard DNS on all my devices and my router. it's the single easiest privacy improvement i've made, and the performance impact is negligible (sometimes pages actually load faster because they're not loading 47 tracking scripts).

i wrote a comprehensive guide on DNS protection and how it fits into the broader anti-surveillance toolkit: DNS Protection Guide

if you want to go further, check out AdGuard DNS setup guide for advanced configuration options.

5 minutes. that's all it takes. no technical expertise required. do it today.