blocklists VS Nebulo

It lets you run the "on-device" version of RethinkDNS+. It lets you set blocklists to help you block domains based on categories such as trackers & ads, cryptocurrencies, gambling, social media, adult, security etc with precurated list of blocklists (which are defined here). These are DNS-based blocklists, so as such, they're less powerful than anti-ad browsers like Brave, Vivaldi or browser-based plugins like uBlockOrigin, AdGuard.

There's an open issue to include it: github/serverless-dns/blocklists/issues/21 (the reason we haven't already is that it isn't clear if existing blocklists are insufficient compared to it).

Filter list: Rethink actually has had 1:1 filter support with NextDNS for a long time. It doesn't now since NextDNS has moved a lot of its filters away from the erstwhile open metadata repository. So, now we do our own lists: https://github.com/serverless-dns/blocklists

Commit: https://github.com/serverless-dns/blocklists/commit/ffc73385e166e4d74af20471abfda327f7d89bb8

The code that generates the blocklists is also open source.

We _do_ compile to reduce memory and cpu impact. RethinkDNS app can do 5M entries without breaking a sweat. You don't see us ask folks to not use larger lists because the implementation is such. The code which compresses these blocklists into a compact form for use on mobile devices is open source: github.com/serverless-dns/blocklists/

The repository that builds these (and other lists) for RethinkDNS (the resolver) is at https://github.com/serverless-dns/blocklists

[0] https://github.com/serverless-dns/blocklists

Yes the standard mode is a VPN. The app also offers a non-vpn mode that works best if you are root. Alternatively, you can piggy back it with a firewall app, but those will use the VPN api too. I have not tested it in that mode. FAQ

https://github.com/ch4t4r/Nebulo can run in proxy (localhost) mode.

Check it out https://github.com/Ch4t4r/Nebulo

DNS66, unfortunately, leaks DNS over TCP (which many spyware SDKs like InMobi / Gamooga use) and (iirc) it also lacks encryption which apps like personalDNSFilter, Nebulo implement.

Blokada remains a credible adblocker, but it isn't water tight, nor do I (and others I have spoken to, like the developers of Nebulo, personalDNSFilter, and DNS66) get the feeling the developers really get digital security or privacy.

Or nebulo for android, quad9, then blocklist.

Blokada is pretty decent at what it does, but there absolutely are better alternatives, https://github.com/ch4t4r/Nebulo is one.

For the above reasons, https://github.com/ch4t4r/Nebulo is a better app, privacy wise. It doesn't do any of the above.