Privacy-focused VPN provider Mullvad is shutting down its public encrypted DNS servers by November 2, 2026, shifting its financial support to the nonprofit organization Quad9 instead.

Key Points

• Mullvad will discontinue its public DNS-over-HTTPS servers to avoid duplicating infrastructure efforts.
• Users with manual DNS configurations must switch to alternative providers before the November 2, 2026, deadline.
• Mullvad VPN users remain unaffected as their traffic is routed through internal, encrypted DNS tunnels.
• Default Mullvad Browser settings will automatically migrate to Quad9, which provides encrypted lookups and threat blocking.
• Quad9 is a nonprofit that blocks domains associated with malware, phishing, and spyware without logging user IP addresses.

Why it Matters

This transition consolidates resources toward a specialized nonprofit, ensuring users continue to receive robust, privacy-focused DNS protection without redundant service maintenance. By offloading this infrastructure, Mullvad reinforces the industry trend of prioritizing dedicated security experts over proprietary, general-purpose alternatives.