# NetGuard

22 Hacker News commenters recommended NetGuard and 4 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 10 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Free open-source Android firewall that blocks network access per app without root, popular for whitelist lockdowns and ad blocking. Caveat: clumsy UI, and some apps refuse to work when blocked.

## Why people recommend it

- Blocks ads and tracking (5 comments): "With NetGuard I can still visit those sites in the secondary browser while blocking Mozilla tracking" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47709354)) "This can also be done on Android with certain apps such as Netguard and PCAPDroid" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47940855)) "it's easy to block these ads with apps like Netguard or even PCAPDroid" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46517433))
- Per-app network access control (5 comments): "open source rootless firewall for vanilla Android which also allows per-app network access control" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46447733)) "open source NetGuard app which allows you to block internet access for select apps without root" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49329581)) "NetGuard gives you a lot around the conditions in which an app can access the network." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46069704))
- Solid, trusted, free tool (7 comments): "I love netguard. Some apps refuse to work without network access, but most work fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063043)) "+1 for Netguard, it is awesome. A bit clumsy UI, but indispensible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47754166)) "Netguard solves this, available on the play store and F droid" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46062788))
- Whitelist to lock down traffic (4 comments): "Netguard is fantastic. I even use it on my Sony android TV to block everything except for a few streaming apps." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063403)) "I also use Netguard from F-Droid and block everything except streaming apps and their dependencies." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46278983)) "Running Netguard (a non-root firewall) with a whitelist so almost nothing phones home." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49191064))

## What people warn about

- Clumsy UI, especially on TV (2 comments): "+1 for Netguard, it is awesome. A bit clumsy UI, but indispensible." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47754166)) "Netguard's UI sucks on a TV, but it's workable." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46251891))
- Apps break or need approval (2 comments): "Mildly annoying for apps that need network access as I have to approve, but it's worth it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063736)) "I love netguard. Some apps refuse to work without network access, but most work fine." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46063043))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Little Snitch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/little-snitch.md): 75 recommend
- [OpenSnitch](https://hackerapproved.com/p/opensnitch.md): 27 recommend
- [Portmaster](https://hackerapproved.com/p/portmaster.md): 8 recommend
- [Local Privacy Firewall](https://hackerapproved.com/p/local-privacy-firewall.md): 5 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "NetGuard", https://hackerapproved.com/p/netguard/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).