NextDNS is a cloud-based DNS service that filters threats, blocks ads and trackers, and provides parental controls on all devices and networks. It works over DNS-over-HTTPS and DNS-over-TLS. Security relies on threat intelligence feeds, Google Safe Browsing and detection of, among others, newly registered and algorithmically generated domains. Administrators configure their own allowlists and denylists, use DNS rewrites and DNSSEC validation, and review logs and analytics. Log retention can be set from one hour to two years, or logging can be disabled.
According to its privacy policy, NextDNS Inc. is funded, owned and controlled by its founders, two French entrepreneurs who started the company in Delaware, United States, in 2019. Users choose the jurisdiction in which their logs are stored: the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom or Switzerland. Under the privacy policy, DNS query data is discarded once the response is returned unless logging is enabled. The service is not open source. Because the company is American, jurisdiction remains a consideration for a European organisation, even when logs are stored in the EU.