Rethink: DNS + Firewall + VPN

Celzero

About this app

Say hello to a safer, transparent, and secure Android.

VPN: Connects to multiple WireGuard VPNs of your choice.

Safe: Reveals network activity of installed apps and lets you disable, uninstall, or firewall them.

Secure: First line of defense against spyware, ransomware, and malware that steal personal information and takeover accounts. Protects from DNS manipulation typically employed to censor websites, social media, and messaging apps.

Fast: DNS Servers deployed to 300+ locations world-wide to ensure your internet is as fast and highly available as it can be.

Open: Open source and free of any trackers.

***Features***

Firewall: Prevent apps from connecting to the Internet. Block spyware, malware, ransomware and more.

A firewall blocks any app connecting to the Internet over WiFi or Mobile data. Since most forms of surveillance require the data to be sent the network to a server, firewalling them effectively mitigates the threat (File Managers, Alarm Clock, Calculator are few such examples of apps that do not require any Internet access to function). The firewall feature uses Accessibility Service to detect and firewall background applications.

Monitoring: Keep tabs on incoming and outgoing Internet traffic.

If enabled, the connectivity logs are collected and analyzed. Automated reports flag previously unknown or suspicious connections, and reveal the extent of attempt to steal data by spyware networks. In our tests, around 60% of the traffic is flagged and reported as being initiated by known spyware. Logs generated are made available in near-real time to the user for their own analysis.

WireGuard: Secure outgoing Internet traffic.

The app uses fast, modern, light-weight, and secure WireGuard protocol to encrypt outgoing connections to any compatible VPN provider of your choice.

Anti-censorship:

The app encrypts your internet connection to Domain Name System (DNS) server run by Rethink with presence in our 300+ locations world-wide. DNS servers are the address book of the internet: A DNS server provides the exact addresses you need to visit a website or open an app.

Data Monitor: Track per-app and per-connection Mobile or WiFi data usage.

Ratings and reviews

After purchasing a new phone, sadly my go to firewall NoRoot Data Firewall, which I'd used and trusted for years, was not compatible with it. That sent me on a frantic quest for a comparable, free, ad-free alternative. I think I found it with this app. It took a little time to setup and grasp its feature layout but time well spent. 5 days in I'm nothing but impressed with its form and function. Will give an updated assessment as we spend more time together. My compliments to the Devs!

This app is LEGENDARY! It helps me save data instead of letting pesky social apps waste all of it. One feature I would like to see added is being able to throttle apps (if in background), times (limit speeds during the night, for example), and networks (limit speed while on metered networks). Other than that, couldn't be a better app to control your data!

The app itself works great, but there are a few issues. The Rethink DNS server is not 100% reliable. Periodically it slows down drastically...it has been taking between 2-25 seconds to respond to DNS queries. This brings your device to a crawl. I have it on both my phone and my Google TV so when the DNS server chokes, that's painful. A workaround: use the local downloaded blocklists and then use your system DNS...it works great. Also, the app needs better documentation for its settings.

What’s new

New feature: Optionally proxy DNS over WireGuard and SOCKS5 proxies.
New feature: Optionally enable built-in Android connectivity checks.
New feature: List domains and websites an app has connected to.
Improved support for editing IP-based firewall rules.
Improved WireGuard bandwidth.
Overhauled WireGuard UX.
Avoid connection leaks for Simple and Always-on WireGuard modes.
Bug fix: Support multiple rules for a single Trusted IP.
Bug fix: Android 14 specific crash.