NetGuard - no-root firewall

Marcel Bokhorst, FairCode BV

In-app purchases

About this app

NetGuard is an internet security app, which offers simple and advanced ways to restrict apps' access to the internet.

Applications and addresses can individually be allowed or denied access to your Wi-Fi and/or mobile connection. Root permissions are not required.

Blocking access to the internet can help:

• reduce your data usage
• save your battery
• increase your privacy

Features:

• Simple to use
• No root required
• 100% open source
• No calling home
• No tracking or analytics
• No advertisements
• Actively developed and supported
• Android 5.1 and later supported
• IPv4/IPv6 TCP/UDP supported
• Tethering supported
• Optionally allow when screen on
• Optionally block when roaming
• Optionally block system applications
• Optionally notify when an application accesses the internet
• Optionally record network usage per application per address
• Material design theme with light and dark theme

PRO features:

• Log all outgoing traffic; search and filter access attempts; export PCAP files to analyze traffic
• Allow/block individual addresses per application
• New application notifications; configure NetGuard directly from the notification
• Display network speed graph in a status bar notification
• Select from five additional themes in both light and dark version

There is no other no-root firewall offering all these features.

If you like to test new features, you can participate in the test program: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/eu.faircode.netguard

All required permissions are described here: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/FAQ.md#user-content-faq42

NetGuard uses the Android VPNService to route traffic to itself, so it can be filtered on-device instead of on a server. Only one app can use this service at the same time, which is a limitation of Android.

The full source code is available here: https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard

Ratings and reviews

Works well. Able to individually control access to the internet for each App and view logs (paid version). Certainly brings to light how much telemetry is being gathered and sent out from the average phone (A lot of this will be for innocuous intent such as background sync'ing of data & files, notifications, tracking of app bugs / crashes, though much of it will be datamining for ad targeting purposes / intelligence / profiling)

excellent way to block internet access permissions from apps, since Android doesn't allow users to restrict that permission. Netguard helps protect user privacy, reduces ads and use less data. Win-win-win. Two things to watch out for: 1) other apps might start up before netguard. They will be able to access the internet for a short time until netguard is active. 2) if you switch from mobile networks to WiFi, netguard changes its settings which can take a few seconds and be hard work for old CPUs

PLEASE PLEASE make the network speed notification show in top left of the status instead of just in a notification that way it can be seen at all times. Updating this for the last month or so has failed had to reinstall. Otherwise I love the app especially the notifications for app installs so I can see what Google is sneaking onto my phone.

What’s new

* Updated to SDK 36