Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 (for Android) Review

Cloudflare is best known for its network infrastructure and security technologies, but the 1.1.1.1 DNS resolver is aimed at consumers. This service hides DNS requests and protects sensitive information from your ISP. The optional warp feature is intended to improve browsing speed while providing some (but not all) VPN protection. 1.1.1.1 and Warp improve online privacy, but I was surprised by the incompatibilities that occurred with this product.

What is 1.1.1.1?

First, it’s important to say that 1.1.1.1 is not a VPN. A VPN encrypts all the data on your device and sends that information to a server managed by the VPN company. This process hides the actual IP address and prevents the ISP (or spy on the network) from monitoring the traffic. For more information on VPNs, see our article What is a VPN and why you need one.

1.1.1.1 focuses only on Domain Name System (DNS) requests, not on all traffic. DNS is like a phone book that translates human-readable URLs into machine-readable IP addresses. Your ISP usually handles DNS resolution, and as a result you can monitor your online activity. However, this is not the case if you are using 1.1.1.1. It takes over the DNS resolution and thereby breaks the Snoopy ISP out of the loop.

Part of the discussion of 1.1.1.1 and similar products is that VPNs are overkill for most people, and VPN protection costs a lot of performance. A secure DNS resolver only protects DNS requests, but the widespread adoption of HTTPS means that much of your online activity is already encrypted.

However, the situation in 1.1.1.1 is a bit confusing with the introduction of the warp feature. Warp creates a secure connection to Cloudflare’s closest server and then connects to the Internet like a traditional VPN. Warp protects your data from anyone on the same network as you and from your ISP, but it does not hide your public IP address. According to the company, Warp is always free, and the 1.1.1.1 service is also free.

The paid version of Warp is Warp + Unlimited. It does everything 1.1.1.1 and Warp do, but also claims to provide a faster internet experience. When you connect to Cloudflare’s servers, traffic continues through your company’s Internet infrastructure, perhaps delivering data to faster routes to your destination. The subscription fee is $ 4.99 per month. You can also get 1GB of Warp + data for free by signing up with others via a special link. The tests used both Warp, Warp +, and 1.1.1.1 individually.

Warp + costs $ 4.99 per month, which is significantly cheaper than most VPNs. In fact, the cutoff to include in the cheapest VPN summary is $ 9.00 per month. However, keep in mind that Warp + and VPN are still different products. The goal of a VPN is to keep your data invisible to anyone, but Cloudflare seeks to provide, but not maximally, improved privacy. VPNs also give you more control over where your data is sent, and may include additional privacy tools such as multi-hop connections.

Using the DNS leak test tool, I found that the IP address is hidden in Warp +, but not in 1.1.1.1 itself. In both cases, the app successfully hidden the DNS request.

Hands-on with 1.1.1.1

I had no problems installing 1.1.1.1 from the Google Play app store, but note that there are some similarities. Make sure you get the app from the developer Cloudflare, not the imitation. You can also install the Cloudflare app on iOS, macOS, and Windows. Similar Bitdefender Yonly apps are currently limited to mobile platforms.

I immediately say that I really like the branding of 1.1.1.1 and Warp. Sites, app icons, and the app itself rely heavily on striking multicolored chunks. In DNS-only mode, these colors form a moving background that describes 1.1.1.1. When you enable warp, you’ll see the name in a reddish color scheme. It just looks great.

The first time you launch 1.1.1.1, you will be warned that your app has a VPN profile installed, as with Yonly. 1.1.1.1 uses VPN technology, but it’s not a VPN. However, you cannot use another VPN at the same time because you need to create a VPN connection. As with Yonly, you don’t need to create an account to use 1.1.1.1. In fact, I bought a Warp + subscription from Google Play without creating an account on Cloudflare.

By default, 1.1.1.1 uses warp technology. Just tap the toggle to connect. Tap again to see the option to suspend the connection for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or indefinitely whenever you are connected to this Wi-Fi network. You can also switch to 1.1.1.1 DNS-only mode from this menu. This is especially useful because you may need to turn off the service to perform some activities. This saves you the trouble of reconnecting later.[設定]You can also switch between 1.1.1.1 and warp from the menu.

It’s very simple and very easy to use, but there is confusion about the differences between 1.1.1.1, Warp, Warp + Unlimited throughout the app. The nag at the bottom of the screen suggests upgrading to Warp + Unlimited, even if you are already using Warp. To understand the difference, you need to jump into the in-app FAQ or read this review.

The app looks simple, but it has some advanced settings. Custom endpoint options allow you to choose where the warp routes data. There is also a setting called a protocol option, but I’m wondering why this setting is included because I can only select DNS over HTTPS.

As with VPNs, apps and services may not work well. To address this, the app includes an exclusion app feature. These are applications that don’t confuse 1.1.1.1 and Warp. Traffic from these apps will be routed normally without secure DNS resolution. You can easily add or remove apps from the list. This is a nice feature, but I’ve been plagued by the addition of a list of app presets that can’t be changed in 1.1.1.1. If you want to use the Cloudflare DNS resolver on HBO Max, you can’t use it in 1.1.1.1. Oddly, after using 1.1.1.1 for a while, I found that more apps were added to the non-editable allow list, including apps that had problems with 1.1.1.1 in testing.

You’ll probably need that pause button and a list of excluded apps. In my tests, some apps and websites such as Google Docs and YouTube didn’t work properly when Warp was active, and I had problems even when only 1.1.1.1 was used. This is surprising given that Cloudflare promises a faster and more secure internet experience. In particular, I didn’t have this problem when using Bitdefender’s Yonly Secure DNS Resolver app.

An unexpected feature in 1.1.1.1 is called For Families. This excludes malware, or malware and adult content. This app does not include the fine-grained settings found in parental control apps, such as the ability to add or exclude specific topics or domains to filter. The adult content filter could also block Pornhub URLs and prevent getting sexy photos via the DuckDuckGo search engine. In particular, it didn’t block my image search, only spicy ones.

To test the ability to block malware, we used online testing available from the Antimalware Testing Standards Organization. 1.1.1.1 and Warp were able to block simulated malware and potentially unwanted app downloads, but not simulated drive-by downloads and phishing attacks.

Your privacy in 1.1.1.1

A representative of a company assured me that Cloudflare would never record a customer’s IP address or sell user browsing information. That is wonderful. According to the company, the customer’s IP address is not written to disk, but the IP address is truncated and anonymized. According to the company, these shortened IP addresses are removed every 25 hours.

This information is also included in the company’s surprisingly readable and highly detailed privacy policy. In March 2020, Cloudflare announced the results of a third-party audit conducted by KPMG. A PDF of the audit report is available. This audit confirmed the above and other guarantees. It’s clear that Cloudflare doesn’t respond to malicious activities that use personal information.

As a reviewer, I feel obliged to acknowledge some controversy over Cloudflare, the owner of 1.1.1.1. The company has been criticized for serving offensive organizations and hate groups. The company reports that you shouldn’t make decisions about what should or shouldn’t be posted on the Internet. These issues are not included in my product evaluation.

How fast is 1.1.1.1?

The Yonly review used the same test procedure that you would use with a VPN. Take a series of Ookla speed test results with and without the product running, get the median of both results, and find the rate of change between the two.

(Note that Ookla is owned by Ziff Davis, the publisher of PCMag.)

While using Warp, I found that Ookla’s speed test tool didn’t work properly, but it worked with 1.1.1.1 and the paid Warp + Unlimited subscription. The following results are based on that limitation. Note that due to COVID-19, these tests were also performed on home internet connections and personal devices, rather than the PCMag Labs test network normally used for VPNs and similar services.

Our tests show that 1.1.1.1 did not substantially affect the download or upload speed test results. This service has slightly increased latency results. With Warp +, the download speed test results were significantly reduced, and the impact on upload and delay test results was negligible.

In the graph below, you can see how 1.1.1.1 and Warp + are compared to the competing DNS resolver Yonly and the Hotspot Shield VPN, which was rated as the fastest VPN in 2020.

It’s clear that 1.1.1.1 does not slow down the internet and outperforms VPNs. Yonly gave better results, but I’m not sure you can trust it to achieve the performance gains you’ve seen in your tests. Warp + didn’t work as well as 1.1.1.1 on its own. It also seems to be equivalent to using a VPN on Android. Please note that our tests represent a snapshot of the time from a particular network and the results may differ from ours.

On the 1.1.1.1 website, Cloudflare says Warp +[s] Thousands of websites are on average 30% faster, “suggesting that the benefits of Warp + can only be realized on some websites. Ookla’s test server may not be enjoying this benefit. Anecdotally, using Warp + has been effective. Media-intensive websites load faster in real life.

I contacted Cloudflare about these results. They provided the suggestions we incorporated into the second test. Some of these results were slightly better than the first test, while others were worse and there was no indication that the internet connection was fast. We also ran a third test using Cloudflare’s proprietary speed test tool. We found that this reduced speed test score downloads and uploads by 4.4% and 4.7%, respectively. These tests also showed a 2.3% increase in latency. These are far better results, but they do not significantly exceed baseline measurements.

Better privacy with some warnings

1.1.1.1 is less impactful than VPN (less extensive protection) and offers free and improved privacy. In that respect, it can be a valuable tool for those who are struggling with providing and VPN, but want a little more privacy in their lives. Of course, many people who care about privacy aren’t happy with the least protected ones they can. Those people need to stick to the VPN.

In our tests, we were impressed with the slight impact of 1.1.1.1 on performance and its sophisticated styling. We were also amazed at the powerful settings available in the app and appreciated the seriousness of Cloudflare addressing customer privacy concerns with appropriate policies and key audits.

I was intrigued by the addition of Warp and Warp +, but was disappointed that the tests didn’t give me a better speed. I was also surprised at the popular service that wasn’t available when Warp was involved. The differences between these products are also unclear and need better explanation.

We’ve scored 1.1.1.1 well, but withhold the Editor’s Choice Award in this category until we have the opportunity to test more products.

For more information on DNS resolution, see the story about how and why to change your DNS server.

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