Cloudflare DNS vs deSEC: privacy compared
Cloudflare DNS and deSEC are both rated in DNS hosting against the same 12 public criteria. Cloudflare DNS does better on independent audit, transparency report and tells users about requests. deSEC does better on open source, no trackers or telemetry and security headers. Cloudflare DNS is based in the United States (Five Eyes); deSEC is based in Germany (Fourteen Eyes).
| Criterion | Cloudflare DNS Our pick | deSEC |
|---|---|---|
| Grade | Grade C C (66/100) | Grade B B (77/100) |
| Jurisdiction | United States Five Eyes | Germany Fourteen Eyes |
| Open source Is all the source code needed to run the product public? | No | Yes source |
| No trackers or telemetry Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default? | No | Yes source |
| No ads or data sales Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Independent audit Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years? | Partial source | No |
| Transparency report Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds? | Yes source | No |
| Tells users about requests Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it? | Yes source | No |
| TLS configuration Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Security headers Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better? | Partial source | Yes source |
| Modern web standards Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test? | Not tested yet | Not tested yet |
| DNSSEC Can DNSSEC be turned on for hosted zones? | Yes source | Yes source |
| API access Can records be managed through an API on every plan? | Yes source | Yes source |
| Two-factor login Do accounts support two-factor authentication with an authenticator app or security key? | Yes source | Yes source |
Summaries
Cloudflare DNS. Cloudflare DNS scores 66 out of 100 (grade C) on the DNS hosting criteria. It meets 7 of 11 criteria: no ads or data sales, transparency report, tells users about requests, TLS configuration, DNSSEC, API access and two-factor login. It partly meets independent audit and security headers. It does not meet open source and no trackers or telemetry. It is based in the United States: Five Eyes member; subject to the US CLOUD Act. Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade B+.
deSEC. deSEC scores 77 out of 100 (grade B) on the DNS hosting criteria. It meets 8 of 11 criteria: open source, no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, security headers, DNSSEC, API access and two-factor login. It does not meet independent audit, transparency report and tells users about requests. It is based in Germany: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR). Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+.