Communication protocol | |
Purpose | encapsulate DNS in HTTPS for privacy and security |
---|---|
Introduction | October 2018 |
OSI layer | Application layer |
RFC(s) | 8484 |
Internet security protocols |
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Key management |
Application layer |
Domain Name System |
Internet Layer |
DNS over HTTPS (DoH) is a protocol for performing remote Domain Name System (DNS) resolution via the HTTPS protocol. A goal of the method is to increase user privacy and security by preventing eavesdropping and manipulation of DNS data by man-in-the-middle attacks[1] by using the HTTPS protocol to encrypt the data between the DoH client and the DoH-based DNS resolver.[2] By March 2018, Google and the Mozilla Foundation had started testing versions of DNS over HTTPS.[3][4] In February 2020, Firefox switched to DNS over HTTPS by default for users in the United States.[5] In May 2020, Chrome switched to DNS over HTTPS by default.[6]
An alternative to DoH is the DNS over TLS (DoT) protocol, a similar standard for encrypting DNS queries, differing only in the methods used for encryption and delivery. Based on privacy and security, whether either protocol is superior is a matter of controversial debate, while others argue that the merits of either depend on the specific use case.[7]