Ad Blocking outside the browser + DNS

Browser Support Firewall + VPN
1

Hi Team! I’m enjoying Brave VPN so far - good speeds on mobile and stellar desktop performance and love how easy it is to use. VPN is vital due to my work.

Just a couple questions/concerns. I’m not very tech-savvy, so I apologize in advance if I’m missing anything:

  1. Does the VPN really block ads/trackers in every app outside of the browser? I’m seeing ads in just about every app I use (The Athletic, Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal, and others). Can this protection be modified (block lists added)?

  2. Sort of a piggyback on question 1, can I use my own DNS with Brave VPN? NextDNS I see doesn’t work while connected to Brave VPN (I’m on a Pixel 7 Pro), though I’m not seeing anything that explicitly states one cannot use their own DNS setup. Using Secure DNS in the browser works like a charm, I was curious about having it outside the browser across all apps while connected to Brave VPN.

Appreciate the help!

2

@SaltyBanana @GuardianTeam please assist. Thanks!

3

Hello!
Thank you for your inquiries. To answer your questions:

  1. The Brave VPN is not an ad blocker. This is why you will see ads in apps you use on your device. The Firewall part of the VPN blocks trackers systemwide so they are blocked within the browser, other browsers, or apps on your device.

The Brave Browser itself blocks ads when you browse the internet and are connected to the VPN. This will be the best ad blocking/tracker blocking experience within the Brave Browser.

  1. Right now, the DNS is not editable for the Brave VPN. We use Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 for DNS on all servers so when connected, this is the DNS that would be used systemwide as well which is why NextDNS might conflict when trying to use in tandem. This may become a feature later on to be able to use a preferred DNS but it is not available currently.

Kind Regards,
Shannon