The European public DNS that makes your Internet safer

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Ad blocking and DNS filtering

  • Several commenters want DNS-level ad and tracker blocking; others point to Mullvad, NextDNS, dnsforge, Pi-hole, dns4.eu and other services that already offer this.
  • Some prefer browser-based blockers over DNS-level blocking because DNS blocking can silently break affiliate/coupon and reward programs.

“Safer” vs censorship and logging

  • Multiple people read “safer” as a synonym for censorship.
  • The service is a French non‑profit, not an EU institution, but critics note it is subject to French/EU law (DSA, hate speech/disinformation orders, copyright orders, etc.).
  • One commenter claims they are obliged to log DNS queries by IP “essentially forever”; others don’t corroborate but accept there are legal obligations.
  • Philosophical debate over whether filtering is “moderation” (optional, user‑chosen) or “censorship” (imposed), with acknowledgement of grey areas.

Does it actually censor today?

  • Users test domains from German CUII piracy list and sites like Sci‑Hub, LibGen, and various Russian propaganda outlets; all resolve correctly, unlike some German ISPs.
  • Conclusion from testers: no visible censorship at present.

Performance, reliability and geography

  • All servers appear to be in Europe; non‑European users expect or measure higher latency.
  • One benchmark shows dns0.eu slower and less reliable than Cloudflare and Google in a specific location; others report it “works perfectly.”
  • There was reported downtime and long periods of silence on social media, raising reliability/communication concerns; advice is to always configure a secondary resolver.

UX, configuration and platform quirks

  • Some complain the IPs are not memorable like 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8; others note “vanity” IP blocks are rare and expensive for a small non‑profit.
  • Linux setup docs assume systemd, which annoys non‑systemd users, triggering a side debate about systemd vs traditional init and Wayland vs X11.

Trust, governance and EU context

  • Some prefer an EU‑based resolver to avoid US jurisdiction; others argue any government jurisdiction is problematic and want DNS outside all state control.
  • Discussion connects dns0.eu and DNS4EU to broader EU resilience rules (NIS2, CER), where “EU‑based alternative to US X” has become a viable strategy.
  • dns0.eu is funded/powered by the creators of NextDNS; users see it as a simpler, free baseline (malware/phishing), while NextDNS adds global footprint and more extensive filtering.