DNS resolvers
Mullvad DNS privacy rating
Free encrypted DNS resolver from Mullvad with optional ad, tracker and malware blocking. Mullvad has announced it is shutting the public service down.
Summary
Mullvad DNS scores 63 out of 100 (grade C) on the DNS resolvers criteria. It meets 6 of 11 criteria: no trackers or telemetry, no ads or data sales, TLS configuration, security headers, Encrypted DNS and DNSSEC validation. It partly meets transparency report and no query logs. It does not meet open source, independent audit and tells users about requests. It is based in Sweden: Fourteen Eyes member; EU member (GDPR). Automated tests: SSL Labs grade A+ and Mozilla HTTP Observatory grade A+.
Score 63 out of 100. How scoring works
Criteria
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No
Open source Weight 3 of 3
Is all the source code needed to run the product public?
The resolver setup is not published. Only the blocklists and Apple configuration profiles are on GitHub.
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Yes
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?
The policy states no usage data is sent to external analytics. There is no app.
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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?
Free service funded by Mullvad VPN subscriptions. No ads.
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No
Independent audit Weight 2 of 3
Has an independent security or privacy audit been published within the last three years?
No independent audit of the DNS service is published.
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Partial
Transparency report Weight 2 of 3
Does the provider regularly publish how many government and legal requests it receives and how it responds?
Explains which Swedish laws allow authorities to request data and what can be disclosed. No request counts are 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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Yes
Encrypted DNS Weight 3 of 3
Are DNS over HTTPS and DNS over TLS supported?
DoH and DoT are supported.
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Partial
No query logs Weight 3 of 3
Are queries stored without IP addresses, and is this independently audited?
The no-logging policy states DNS requests are not logged. The DNS service has not been audited.
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Yes
DNSSEC validation Weight 1 of 3
Does the resolver validate DNSSEC?
Tested: queries for domains with broken DNSSEC signatures return SERVFAIL, and succeed only with checking disabled.
Automated tests
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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+
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Yes
Security headers Weight 1 of 3
Does the website pass the Mozilla HTTP Observatory test with a grade of A or better?
Grade A+ (135/100+)
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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.