DNS hosting
Hetzner DNS privacy rating
Free authoritative DNS hosting from the German provider Hetzner, managed in the Hetzner Console and through the Hetzner Cloud API.
Summary
Hetzner DNS scores 43 out of 100 (grade D) on the DNS hosting criteria. It meets 4 of 11 criteria: no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, API access and two-factor login. It partly meets no trackers or telemetry and independent audit. It does not meet open source, transparency report, tells users about requests, security headers and DNSSEC. It is based in Germany: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR). Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade D.
Score 43 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
- No
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Partial
No trackers or telemetry Weight 3 of 3
Are the website and apps free of third-party trackers, with any analytics anonymous and any telemetry off by default?
No third-party trackers, but website analytics use Matomo with cookies after consent.
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Yes
No ads or data sales Weight 2 of 3
Is the product funded without advertising, ad targeting or selling user data?
Funded by Hetzner's paid hosting. DNS management is free and carries no ads.
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Partial
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
Only a one-page summary of the BSI C5 Type 2 audit and an ISO 27001 certificate are public.
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No
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
No transparency report or government request policy is published.
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No
Tells users about requests Weight 1 of 3
Does the provider promise to tell users about requests for their data, unless a court forbids it?
No published policy on notifying users about data requests.
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No
DNSSEC Weight 3 of 3
Can DNSSEC be turned on for hosted zones?
The product FAQ states Hetzner Console does not support DNSSEC.
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Yes
API access Weight 1 of 3
Can records be managed through an API on every plan?
Zones and records are managed through the free Hetzner Cloud API.
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Yes
Two-factor login Weight 2 of 3
Do accounts support two-factor authentication with an authenticator app or security key?
Two-factor login is supported, including YubiKey security keys.
Automated tests
-
Yes
TLS configuration Weight 2 of 3
Does the website pass the Qualys SSL Labs test with a grade of A or better?
Grade A
-
No
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade D (30/100+)
-
Not tested yet
Modern web standards Weight 1 of 3
Does the website score 90% or higher on the Internet.nl website test?
Not tested yet.