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For the Love of God, Don't Use Your ISP's DNS Servers

📅 Published: October 2025 | ✍️ By Unruly Citizen | ⏱️ 4 min read
Every time you type a website address into your browser, something invisible happens behind the scenes. Your device asks a DNS server to translate that human-readable address into the numerical IP address that computers actually use. Think of it like a phone book for the internet—except this one is watching you carefully.
Here's the problem: By default, your internet service provider handles all these lookups. And that means they're keeping detailed records of every single website you visit. This isn't accidental. It's by design.

Your Digital Footprint Is Worth Gold

In North America, ISPs routinely collect and store your browsing data. They know exactly which IP address belongs to you, and they're logging every DNS request you make. This creates a comprehensive map of your online activities – what sites you visit, when you visit them, how often you return, and whether you stay for five seconds or five hours.

This isn't just an academic concern. Data has become the new currency, and your browsing habits are incredibly valuable. Companies pay handsomely for insights into consumer behavior, and your ISP is literally sitting on a goldmine of information about you. They know your health concerns, financial worries, personal interests, and political leanings—all extracted from your DNS queries.

The worst part? Most people don't even realize it's happening.

Where Your Data Goes

Your ISP can share this treasure trove with:

When all your DNS requests flow through a single provider, it creates a centralized repository of your digital life. This makes it remarkably easy for anyone with access—legitimate or otherwise—to build a comprehensive profile of your interests, habits, behaviors, and vulnerabilities.

The Canadian ISP Problem

A comprehensive report by researchers at the University of Toronto and University of Ontario Institute of Technology found that many Canadian internet carriers appear to be in violation of their legal responsibilities under Canadian privacy law. The study examined 43 Canadian ISPs and discovered that most reveal very little publicly about what they do with your information.

The report noted that Canadian telecommunications companies received over a million requests from government departments and agencies for customer data, and that many ISPs lack transparency about their privacy protection practices—making it difficult for Canadians to know who might be handing over their data to organizations such as the U.S. National Security Agency or Canadian government agencies.

This isn't just government surveillance either. By relying on U.S. transit providers or routing Canadian internet traffic via the U.S., the report found that carriers are in violation of their responsibilities under the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, since the U.S. has no equivalent privacy law to protect that data.

The Simple Solution: Diversify Your DNS

Breaking free from this system is easier than you might think, and frankly, there's no good reason not to do it immediately. Instead of using your ISP's DNS servers, you can choose alternatives that prioritize privacy and don't log your activities.

Your Privacy-First DNS Options:

  • Unruly Citizen DNS (xzy01-srv.unrulycitizen.com) - Encrypted DNS over HTTPS (DoH) and DNS over TLS (DoT). We own and operate our infrastructure with zero logging. Check our knowledge base for setup instructions and complete transparency on how we operate.
  • Quad9 (9.9.9.9) - If you prefer an alternative, Quad9 blocks malicious domains and maintains strong privacy protections. Also supports DoH/DoT encryption.

You can change your DNS settings in your router's admin panel, which will protect all devices on your network, or configure individual devices if you prefer more granular control. Either way, it's a process that takes less than five minutes.

Why This Matters More Than Ever

Big tech companies have built their empires on data collection, creating detailed profiles that follow you across the internet. When you use your ISP's DNS servers, you're actively feeding into this system by providing yet another rich data source about your behavior.

By diversifying your DNS providers and choosing privacy-focused alternatives, you're taking a concrete step toward reclaiming control over your digital footprint. You're making it harder for companies to build comprehensive profiles about you, and you're reducing the amount of personal information flowing through centralized systems designed to monetize your life.

This isn't paranoia. This is informed self-defense in an ecosystem built on surveillance capitalism.

Taking Back Control

Your internet activity shouldn't be an open book for corporations to profit from without your consent. While changing your DNS settings might seem like a small step, it's part of a larger movement toward digital privacy and data sovereignty.

The internet was built on the principle of decentralization, but we've gradually handed control to a handful of major players who benefit from our data. By making conscious choices about which services we use—starting with something as fundamental as DNS—we can begin to shift the balance back toward individual privacy and control.

You don't need permission to protect yourself. You just need five minutes.

Your Data is Valuable

Stop letting your ISP profit from it without your explicit consent. Make the switch to privacy-focused DNS servers today, and take the first step toward protecting your digital privacy and independence.

View Our DNS Services Setup Guide

Pro Tip: Changing your DNS settings typically takes less than five minutes and can significantly improve both your privacy and browsing experience. Your future self will thank you for taking this simple but important step. At Unruly Citizen, we believe privacy isn't a privilege—it's a right.

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