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Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) review and setup

What Cloudflare's free public DNS resolver actually offers, every address it publishes, its privacy stance in plain language, and how to switch to it on any device.

Updated 6 min read

What is Cloudflare DNS?

Cloudflare DNS is a free public DNS resolver, reachable at 1.1.1.1, run by the content-delivery and security company Cloudflare. It answers domain name lookups for any device you point at it, in place of your ISP's default resolver, with no filtering by default and a stated no-logging privacy policy.

It launched in 2018 alongside a commitment to publish independent privacy audits, and has since become one of the two most widely used free resolvers alongside Google Public DNS.

Overview

The fastest major resolver on most connections, with a strong no-logging privacy stance and no default filtering. It's operated by Cloudflare, the same company behind a large share of the web's content-delivery and DDoS-protection infrastructure — which is part of why its resolver tends to be fast: your query rarely has to travel far to reach it.

Cloudflare publishes several addresses for different needs — a plain resolver, a malware-blocking variant, and a family-safe variant — all sharing the same underlying network and privacy commitments. The sections below list every one of them.

Every Cloudflare DNS address

Each variant below is a drop-in pair: set the primary and secondary address together. IPv6 addresses are optional and only needed if your network is configured for IPv6.

Standard — no filtering

The plain resolver. No malware or content blocking, fastest of the three.

  • Primary 1.1.1.1
  • Secondary 1.0.0.1
  • IPv6 primary 2606:4700:4700::1111
  • IPv6 secondary 2606:4700:4700::1001

Malware blocking (1.1.1.2)

Blocks known malware domains. Same speed and privacy stance as the standard address.

  • Primary 1.1.1.2
  • Secondary 1.0.0.2

Family (malware + adult content)

Blocks malware plus adult content. Also published as Cloudflare for Families with its own IPv6 pair.

  • Primary 1.1.1.3
  • Secondary 1.0.0.3
  • IPv6 primary 2606:4700:4700::1113
  • IPv6 secondary 2606:4700:4700::1003

Privacy stance

No query logging to disk and no client IP retained; anonymized data is purged within 24 hours. Independently audited.

In practice, that means Cloudflare's public commitment is to not tie DNS queries to your identity or sell that data, and to purge the anonymized data it does keep within a day. It has also commissioned outside auditors to verify these claims rather than asking users to take its word for it. If precise data-handling terms matter to you, read Cloudflare's own DNS resolver privacy policy directly — it's the authoritative source, not this page.

Features

Pros and cons

Pros

  • Consistently among the fastest resolvers thanks to Cloudflare's large network footprint.
  • Clear, published no-logging commitment with independent audits.
  • Simple, memorable addresses with malware and family variants available at a moment's notice.
  • Wide encrypted-transport support (DoH and DoT) across nearly every OS and router.

Cons

  • No ad blocking on any address — you'll need a separate resolver or app for that.
  • No built-in general-purpose content filtering beyond malware and adult content.
  • Not sending ECS means marginally worse CDN routing on some ECS-reliant services.
  • Being a large, US-linked company gives some users pause even with the audited no-logging policy.

Who Cloudflare DNS suits

Cloudflare tends to fit people who want raw speed, privacy, and gaming without configuring anything beyond the two addresses. It's a solid default for most households and gamers who care about consistent, low-jitter response times. If you specifically want DNS-level ad blocking or granular content filtering, pair it with a browser extension or look at AdGuard DNS or OpenDNS instead.

How to set it up

Setting a DNS resolver takes a couple of minutes on any device: enter the primary and secondary addresses above wherever your OS or router asks for DNS servers. Full click-by-click steps:

See Cloudflare's real speed from your connection

Run a live test in your browser and compare it against every other major public resolver.

Run the DNS speed test

Cloudflare DNS — questions

Is Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1) free?

Yes. Cloudflare's public resolver — 1.1.1.1 and its variants — is free for anyone to use, with no account, sign-up, or usage limit required.

What is the difference between 1.1.1.1 and 1.1.1.2?

1.1.1.1 is Cloudflare's plain resolver with no filtering. 1.1.1.2 adds malware blocking, and 1.1.1.3 adds malware blocking plus adult-content filtering for families. All three share the same infrastructure and privacy stance.

Does Cloudflare DNS keep logs?

Cloudflare states it does not write query logs containing personal data to disk, and any anonymized data it does retain for service improvement is purged within 24 hours. It has commissioned independent audits of this claim; see its privacy policy for the full detail.

Will switching to Cloudflare DNS make my internet faster?

It can shorten the small delay before a page starts loading, since your device resolves domain names quicker. It will not increase your download or upload bandwidth — your ISP's connection speed is unchanged either way.

Is Cloudflare DNS actually the fastest option?

Cloudflare is usually among the fastest resolvers thanks to its large network footprint, but the fastest resolver for you depends on your location and ISP. Run the live DNS speed test to see how Cloudflare compares from your own connection.