Google starts rolling out DNS over HTTPS with Chrome v83 update

Google has started rolling out DNS over HTTPS with the latest Chrome v83 update. The DNS over HTTPS is a controversial internet privacy technology which would encrypt DNS connections and hide them in the common HTTPS traffic, making it impossible for ISPs to snoop on your internet traffic and know which websites you are visiting.

Google has listed down the following as the benefits of using DNS over HTTPS:

• Authenticity: Chrome can verify that it is communicating with the intended DNS service provider and not a fake service provider that’s controlled by an attacker.
• Integrity: Chrome can verify that the response it got from the DNS service provider hasn’t been tampered with by attackers using the same network, thereby stopping phishing attacks.
• Confidentiality: Chrome can talk to the DNS service provider over an encrypted channel which means that attackers can no longer rely on DNS to observe which websites other users are visiting when sharing the same connection, e.g. public WiFi in a library.

Google is rolling out the update in the following weeks but it will happen in phases. However, if you want to give it a try right away then you can do so by enabling the “dns-over-https” flag in the browser.

The feature will be available for Windows, Chrome OS and Mac OS. There’s no word on if the feature will make it to Android and iOS apps well.