Best firewall for Android
Although Android is generally a safe operating system thanks to the gated garden of the Play Store maintained by Google, you may come across a malicious website while browsing the Internet or installing a modified version of the app.
Malicious websites that you may visit put your personal information and data at risk, making you an active target for hackers. This is where the firewall comes into play in securing your data. The firewall app allows you to control connections to and from your phone, which in turn prevents viruses and hackers from gaining unauthorized access to your smartphone.
What is a firewall
From a layman's perspective, a firewall is an invisible shield between your device and the Internet. It allows you to create a virtual barrier that filters traffic and prevents malicious activities such as cyber-attacks on your device.
Moreover, it also allows you to block certain apps from accessing the internet. This is why firewall application greatly helps in preventing access to private and confidential data by third-party applications.
The Play Store is full of apps that claim to provide the best firewall options for your phone. After testing many apps, we have found some great firewall apps for your Android phone that offer the best protection and filtering options.
Best free firewall Apps for Android
NetGuard
Best Firewall Apps to Secure Your Android Phone - Explanations
NetGuard is one of the best firewall apps that offers advanced features like network stats, custom notifications, and rule backup. NetGuard uses a local VPN connection to filter internet traffic and allows you to block any app from accessing the internet over Wi-Fi or cellular data.
The best thing is that you can manage and create your own firewall rules for system applications. This means that you can easily control which system applications can connect to the Internet. Also, you can quickly reduce your mobile data usage and make it last all month with NetGuard.
Above all, this app works perfectly on non-rooted devices. While the app is free to use, you can make an in-app purchase to unlock more features like IP traffic logs, custom blocking rules, and different app themes.
Download: NetGuard (Free, in-app purchases available)
Firewall No Root
Firewall No Root is a feature-rich firewall app with a clean user interface and is completely ad-free. Unlike other firewall apps, this app uses artificial intelligence, so it automatically blocks spy servers when they are detected. To start using this application, you need to select the default startup option: silent mode or warning.
Silent mode allows all connections, and you can block individual connections as required. If you are a beginner, we recommend that you select the silent mode. While warning mode allows checking which applications are silently connecting to an unsecured server. After selecting the warning mode, the firewall will prevent all applications and services from connecting to the Internet. Then, you can allow apps manually from the quick settings panel or in the app.
In addition, you can also configure the DNS servers provided by AdGuard, Cloudflare, Comodo Secure DNS, and more, and set a private DNS that works best for you.
Solve the problem of changing the DNS easily with ChrisPC DNS Switch
Best Firewall Apps to Secure Your Android Phone - Explanations
To set up a private DNS server, go to Settings and select Network. Now, click on Select Provider. Each DNS server serves a different purpose; For example, if you want to block ads on the Internet, select AdGuard DNS from the list and restart the application once.
Download: Firewall No Root (Free, subscription available)
AFWall+ (requires root)
AFWall+ requires root access, as it is an iptables based firewall. As such, it does not create a VPN like other firewall applications. In general, iptables-based firewall applications are more effective than other VPN-based applications such as NetGuard and NetProtector. But as it becomes increasingly difficult to root Android smartphones, it is often easier to use a VPN-based firewall app.
AFWall+ provides advanced control of your network connection and makes it easy for you to modify iptables. Iptable is a powerful Android firewall tool that allows users to create custom rules to control incoming and outgoing traffic.
This application also allows you to control the firewall rules across different connections such as roaming, VPN, and even LAN. If you are rooting your phone, you should use this app instead of other firewall solutions,After using the app for several hours, we found that AFWall+ doesn't consume much of your CPU, unlike other free firewall apps in the Play Store. This means that this app runs efficiently with low memory consumption and does not waste much battery power.
Download: AFWall+ (Free) | AFWall+ Unlocker ($9.99)
NetProtector
Best Firewall Apps to Secure Your Android Phone - Explanations
NetProtector is another firewall app to manage incoming and outgoing connections to apps on your phone. This application is a modified version of NetGuard (an open-source firewall application) and shares a user interface similar to NetGuard.
It comes with a simple user interface and offers default Wi-Fi or data blocking options.
Download: NetProtector (Free)
Xproguard
Best Firewall Apps to Secure Your Android Phone - Explanations
If you are looking for a simple ad-free firewall application, then Xproguard is for you. It offers few features compared to the other apps on our list, but the firewall rules work perfectly.
Xproguard creates a VPN connection and then diverts your internet traffic according to the set rules. Since you cannot connect to more than one VPN due to Android restrictions, you should not use this app with any other VPN app.
Since Xproguard is a VPN-based firewall app, you don't need a rooted smartphone to use it.
Download: Xproguard (Free)
Firewall apps help control your security
For professional Android users, the Firewall app allows you to monitor and control all the internet connections your device makes, so you can protect yourself from cyberattacks or potential malware.
Installing a firewall app on your device can also improve network traffic management, increase browsing speed, and provide better security. It works great alongside many other security apps available on Android.