DNS4EU launches as Europe-focused public DNS resolver with GDPR compliance
The European Commission has just launched DNS4EU, a public DNS resolver intended as a European alternative to services like Google’s Public DNS resolver and Cloudflare’s DNS resolver. Co-funded by the EU and supported by the European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA), the project aims to process DNS queries within Europe to ensure compliance with GDPR and other regulations. The service emphasizes privacy and digital sovereignty, explicitly avoiding censorship and restricting access to DNS data from EU institutions.
DNS4EU includes real-time regional threat intelligence, enabling threats detected in one EU country to be blocked across the bloc. This is supported by data from CERTs, EU institutions, and telecom providers. The initiative seeks to reduce reliance on non-European DNS infrastructure and strengthen cybersecurity across the region.
The service is available for both individuals and institutions. A free version offers DNS-level protections like ad-blocking and content filtering, while customized versions are provided for government bodies and telecom operators. Participation is optional, and users can enable it through setup guides for various platforms.
- DNS Resolver
- Free • Proprietary
External links
- What is DNS4EU?DNS4EU • Official source
- EU unveils DNS4EU to take on Google and Cloudflare’s DNS dominanceCybernews
Comments
Nice try EU, I stay with Mullvad DNS.
Very interesting to see the EU push ahead on privacy and protections. Unfortunately, it's "primarily intended for users within the European Union due to our infrastructure's geographic distribution, we impose no restrictions on users from other locations", which could mean slow performance outside of the bloc. There's also rate limiting, so don't go too crazy 😄.
I don't know if this will have any advantage over others like Quad9 or AdGaurd but it is good to have alternatives available.
DNS4EU includes real-time regional threat intelligence, enabling threats detected in one EU country to be blocked across the bloc. This is supported by data from CERTs, EU institutions, and telecom providers
Really cool
Nice one, instantly configured my DNS to use this service.
I ran a benchmark on one of the public DNS servers they offer (the one that claims to filter out malware and ads) and found it very slow from my location, which is outside Europe and apparently some 11,800 km from the physical location of the servers. So it's probably understandable. Staying with Control D for now.
Support DoH and DoT, and child and ads protection (from crowdsourced feeds), out of the box. A neat choice to get out of the Google/Cloudflare duopoly (even if there is already dozen of free DNS), even if may be slower outside EU. Now, DNS is a tricky subject, with lot of tradeoffs for reliability/performance, it's yet to see if it will get enough traction, or will break on too much websites.