 Cloudflare launched their 1.1.1.1, we're gonna call it 1. for now on, DNS service last year which promised to make your internet connection faster and more private for free. Now we already did a video talking about its benefits and why you might want to switch to it, which you can check out here. But since we released that video, Cloudflare has launched an app that allows you to enable 1. on iOS and Android with a single button. Easy, right? Everyone should just switch to it, right? Well, it might not be quite that simple. Speaking of simple, today's video is brought to you by Pulseway. With Pulseway, you can remotely monitor, manage, and control all your Windows, Mac, and Linux machines from one app. Create your free account today at the link below. So as a quick refresher, the domain name system or DNS is kind of like a phone book for the internet. So just like when you tell your phone to call Jay-Z and it looks up and dials Jay-Z's number... Hello? Hey, hey, is this Jay-Z? I told you not to call me at this number. Um, so yeah, it's basically like that. When you enter a website name in your browser, the DNS resolver looks up the IP address and then connects you to the server. Now, it's a touch more complicated, but that's all we really need to know for now. Now, by default, most devices use your internet service provider's DNS resolver, but ISPs have been known to collect and sell data on their users to advertisers, and in some countries, block certain IP addresses from being accessed. Thankfully, there are many DNS services available that can help you avoid those issues with better privacy, better security, and even better speed, including Google's public DNS, open DNS, and of course, Cloudflare's offering OneDot. Now, usually in order to change your DNS resolver, you have to go into your phone's network settings and change it manually. And, while on Android 9.0 Pie, you can just change it on a system-wide level and forget about it, on all previous versions of Android and on iOS, you have to change it for each and every Wi-Fi network that you connect to. Oh, that's the worst! So, that's the problem that Cloudflare is trying to solve with the OneDot app. On both Android and iOS, it uses a VPN profile to automatically direct all DNS queries from your phone to 1.1.1.1, regardless of which Wi-Fi or even cellular network that you're connected to. Innovation! Well, I mean, actually, there have been apps to do the same thing for quite a while, like the paid DNS override app on iOS and DNS changer on Android. However, using a VPN profile to change your DNS resolver creates another problem, particularly for people who use an actual VPN, like private Internet access. See, you can't have two VPNs enabled at once. That is not unless you want to create, like, a self-destructing VPN loop that could potentially collapse the very structure of the space-time continuum, which means that you'll have to switch between using the OneDot VPN and your actual VPN, depending on whether you're prioritizing speed or privacy. Now, as I mentioned, if your phone is running Android 9.0 Pie, this isn't an issue, and you can follow the steps on screen to enable OneDot as your default DNS resolver in your network settings. So no app or VPN profile is required. Then, you can simply toggle your VPN on and off as you normally would. But then, I mean, hold on a second. Why would you even need a VPN then if OneDot makes the Internet faster and protects your privacy? Well, about that. It does protect your privacy compared to other DNS resolvers, but OneDot is not as private or secure as a real VPN like private Internet access. I wasn't sure if I'd mentioned our sponsor, private Internet access, in this video already. Making sure I get that in there. Rather, OneDot is kind of like a DNS service delivered in a VPN wrapper. So when you use it, your DNS queries go through a VPN tunnel between your PC or phone and CloudFlare servers, so no one except CloudFlare can see those queries. And then CloudFlare has committed to only keeping data logs for 24 hours, after which they're perched. Unfortunately, though, using OneDot, your ISP, your cell phone provider, and the Wi-Fi network you're connected to can still see the sites that you visit. With a true VPN, both your DNS queries and your actual Internet activity are hidden from everyone, that is except the VPN company. Okay, so a VPN is more private and secure than OneDot, but using a VPN usually has a negative impact on your Internet speed, as it takes a bit longer for all that data to get routed through an extra loop. And that's how OneDot makes its case. CloudFlare says that their service is faster and more private than other DNS services across the board, because they had already built this worldwide network of servers to provide their other web services, like DDoS protection. And while DNSperf shows that OneDot is the fastest DNS resolver on average worldwide, just remember your mileage may vary depending on your location. And, another reminder, speeding up DNS resolution does make loading webpages feel snappier, but it won't speed up actually downloading the data of the page. So if your Internet plan is just slow, or there's a lot of network congestion, or like, if Cthulhu broke an underwater fiberline again, then there's nothing OneDot can do to help. Now, let's look at our results. So here in Vancouver, BC, OneDot traded the top spot with OpenDNS, Quad9, and AdGuard's DNS service, with those four usually resolving in under 10 milliseconds on a Google Pixel 3. That is an order of magnitude faster than some other DNS providers, and this would result in a noticeable improvement in page load times. 1 one hundredth of a second is a lot faster than a tenth. Then, in our head-to-head test with two Pixel 3s running on the TELUS network, one with OneDot and one without, our OneDot phone, in particular when we loaded up a site that we hadn't accessed recently or ever before, almost always came out ahead. As for our iPhone XS Max, this one was consistently faster with CloudFlare's app enabled as well, compared to just a vanilla XS Max. So, there you have it. Again, your mileage may vary, but in our testing, OneDot was able to improve our website loading responsiveness and for free, both on Wi-Fi and when we were on the go. So, should you use CloudFlare's app on your phone? Sure. Most of the time, you'll get a snappier browsing experience, whether you're on Wi-Fi or mobile internet, and you'll gain a little bit more privacy while you're at it. The only thing that we'd really like to see improved here is on Apple's side, with iOS adding system-wide private DNS capability so that we could use it in conjunction with a VPN. But until then, having to press this one button really, uh, it doesn't seem that hard. Speaking of hard, how I feel whenever I talk about internet privacy. And if you want the best, check out Private Internet Access VPN. PIA hides your true IP address and allows you to bypass geo-restrictions and censorship, making you appear as though you're connecting from somewhere else. You can use it on five devices at once with a single account. They've got thousands of servers worldwide with support for Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Linux, and even a Chrome extension. And they've got servers in over 28 countries and they keep no user activity logs. So what are you waiting for? Check them out today at the link in the video description. Did I mention they're affordable? So thanks for watching, guys. 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