Rethink: DNS + Firewall + VPN vs Roaming Borders
Side-by-side comparison of two open source alternatives
Rethink: DNS + Firewall + VPN
Say hello to a safer, transparent, and secure Android. VPN: Connects to multiple WireGuard VPNs of your choice. Safe: Reveals network activity of installed apps and lets you disable, uninstall, or firewall them. Secure: First line of defense against spyware, ransomware, and malware that steal personal information and takeover accounts. Protects from DNS manipulation typically employed to censor websites, social media, and messaging apps. Fast: DNS Servers deployed to 300+ locations world-wide to ensure your internet is as fast and highly available as it can be. Open: Open source and free of any trackers. ***Features*** Firewall: Prevent apps from connecting to the Internet. Block spyware, malware, ransomware and more. A firewall blocks any app connecting to the Internet over WiFi or Mobile data. Since most forms of surveillance require the data to be sent the network to a server, firewalling them effectively mitigates the threat (File Managers, Alarm Clock, Calculator are few such examples of apps that do not require any Internet access to function). The firewall feature uses Accessibility Service to detect and firewall background applications. Monitoring: Keep tabs on incoming and outgoing Internet traffic. If enabled, the connectivity logs are collected and analyzed. Automated reports flag previously unknown or suspicious connections, and reveal the extent of attempt to steal data by spyware networks. In our tests, around 60% of the traffic is flagged and reported as being initiated by known spyware. Logs generated are made available in near-real time to the user for their own analysis. WireGuard: Secure outgoing Internet traffic. The app uses fast, modern, light-weight, and secure WireGuard protocol to encrypt outgoing connections to any compatible VPN provider of your choice. Anti-censorship: The app encrypts your internet connection to Domain Name System (DNS) server run by Rethink with presence in our 300+ locations world-wide. DNS servers are the address book of the internet: A DNS server provides the exact addresses you need to visit a website or open an app. Data Monitor: Track per-app and per-connection Mobile or WiFi data usage.
Roaming Borders
Why this app? When you travel near country borders, your phone may automatically connect to a stronger cell tower across the border—even if you never left your country. This can quickly result in costly roaming fees. Manually toggling roaming is inconvenient and easy to forget.Roaming Borders automates the guardrails so you don’t have to. What it does Block roaming when you don’t want it: Select allowed countries; if your device connects outside that list, data traffic is blocked. Avoid surprise charges: Prevent accidental cross-border roaming near national frontiers. Simple presets or full control: Choose ready-made country presets or build your own list for upcoming trips. On-device only: Uses Android’s VpnService as a local firewall. No tunneling to servers. How it works Roaming Borders runs a lightweight, on-device VPN that filters traffic based on your current country. When your current country is not in your allow-list → block data traffic system-wide. When your current country is allowed → allow traffic as normal. When connected to Wi-Fi, the guard pauses automatically and resumes once Wi-Fi disconnects. Note on reboot: After restarting your phone, the guard re-enables after a short delay. To be extra safe, enable Airplane mode before restarting.
| Feature | Rethink: DNS + Firewall + VPN | Roaming Borders |
|---|---|---|
| License | Apache-2.0 | GPL-3.0-or-later |
| Install sources | F-DroidGitHub | F-DroidGitHub |
| Categories | Password ManagerVPNFirewallDev ToolsMessagingBrowser | VPNFirewallMessaging |
| Features | Ad-FreeOpen SourceNo Tracking | Ad-FreeOpen SourceNo Tracking |
| Platforms | Android | Android |
| Website | ||
| Source code |