NetGuard
Hacker ApprovedRanked 3 of 5 application firewalls by recommenders
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.
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.
26 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 22
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 10 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 22 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 10 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Blocks ads and tracking
“With NetGuard I can still visit those sites in the secondary browser while blocking Mozilla tracking”
Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Little Snitch comes to Linux, but the core logic is closed source” “This can also be done on Android with certain apps such as Netguard and PCAPDroid”
Comment from 28 Apr 2026 in “Period tracking app has been yapping about your flow to Meta” “it's easy to block these ads with apps like Netguard or even PCAPDroid”
Comment from 6 Jan 2026 in “Vienam Bans Unskippable Ads, Requires Skip Button to Appear After 5 Seconds” - Comment from 20 Oct 2026 in “An ad-free Android TV”
- Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps”
Per-app network access control
“open source rootless firewall for vanilla Android which also allows per-app network access control”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Privacy and control. My tech setup” “open source NetGuard app which allows you to block internet access for select apps without root”
Comment from 17 Aug 2026 in “How do I permanently disable Google Photos pop-up prompt to backup my photos?” “NetGuard gives you a lot around the conditions in which an app can access the network.”
Comment from 27 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps” - Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “Telegram Desktop vulnerability allowed any user's file to be stolen”
- Comment from 5 Jan 2026 in “Show HN: DoNotNotify – log and intelligently block notifications on Android”
Solid, trusted, free tool
“I love netguard. Some apps refuse to work without network access, but most work fine.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps” “+1 for Netguard, it is awesome. A bit clumsy UI, but indispensible.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Android now stops you sharing your location in photos” “Netguard solves this, available on the play store and F droid”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps” - Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Android now stops you sharing your location in photos”
- Comment from 17 Feb 2026 in “GrapheneOS – Break Free from Google and Apple”
- Comment from 9 Apr 2026 in “Little Snitch comes to Linux, but the core logic is closed source”
- Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “/e/OS is a complete "deGoogled", mobile ecosystem”
Whitelist to lock down traffic
“Netguard is fantastic. I even use it on my Sony android TV to block everything except for a few streaming apps.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps” “I also use Netguard from F-Droid and block everything except streaming apps and their dependencies.”
Comment from 15 Dec 2025 in “Microsoft Copilot AI Comes to LG TVs, and Can't Be Deleted” “Running Netguard (a non-root firewall) with a whitelist so almost nothing phones home.”
Comment from 6 Aug 2026 in “I'm switching my phone from Android to Linux” - Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Android Developer Verification”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Clumsy UI, especially on TV
“+1 for Netguard, it is awesome. A bit clumsy UI, but indispensible.”
Comment from 13 Apr 2026 in “Android now stops you sharing your location in photos” “Netguard's UI sucks on a TV, but it's workable.”
Comment from 13 Dec 2025 in “Sick of smart TVs? Here are your best options” Apps break or need approval
“Mildly annoying for apps that need network access as I have to approve, but it's worth it.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps” “I love netguard. Some apps refuse to work without network access, but most work fine.”
Comment from 26 Nov 2025 in “Don't Download Apps”
Other application firewalls people recommend
The four most recommended other application firewalls, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Little Snitch | 75 | 39 | 66% | 12 | — | — |
| OpenSnitch | 27 | 5 | 84% | 10 | — | Approved |
| NetGuardThis page | 22 | 4 | 85% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Portmaster | 8 | 2 | 80% | 6 | — | — |
| Local Privacy Firewall | 5 | 1 | 83% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
38 of the 41 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“all the streaming apps work now, and the TV can't display ads”
“you can also use something like NetGuard to have more flexible controls”
“open source NetGuard app which allows you to block internet access for select apps without root”
“Running Netguard (a non-root firewall) with a whitelist so almost nothing phones home.”
“This is actually not the only crusade Graphene is engaged in (see also NetGuard, MicroG).”
“While MicroG in theory could bypass NetGuard, I very much doubt that anyone would bother.”
“NetGuard would warn me if it did.”
“NetGuard doesn't (yet) support "Block connections without VPN" mode.”
“Blocking UID 1000 connections, and blocking QUIC, has not caused any problems for me”
“This can also be done on Android with certain apps such as Netguard and PCAPDroid”
“+1 for Netguard, it is awesome. A bit clumsy UI, but indispensible.”
“Netguard No Root Firewall still works for me”
“NetGuard is a solid tool for Android”
“With NetGuard I can still visit those sites in the secondary browser while blocking Mozilla tracking”
“Used NetGuard with a whitelist to lock it all down.”
“as a user I do what I can to protect myself from their decisions. NetGuard helps there.”
“NetGuard - very nice answer”
“they are very happy that they have some sort of control about what comes in/goes out of their phones”
“Egress/outbound traffic filtering is fundamentally unworkable.”
“They also seem to be very opinionated about (not) using a firewall for privacy, like NetGuard”
“NetGuard is invaluable for this purpose.”
“GrapheneOS, NetGuard, and even Pixel's Data Saver already cover 80% of the use cases”
“it's easy to block these ads with apps like Netguard or even PCAPDroid”
“TIL! What a find. Thanks mate!”
“you can use this NetGuard to block internet access for any app”
“NetGuard can do this via "local VPN" on GrapheneOS/Android”
“That's a pretty big caveat.”
“open source rootless firewall for vanilla Android which also allows per-app network access control”
“I also use Netguard from F-Droid and block everything except streaming apps and their dependencies.”
“Netguard's UI sucks on a TV, but it's workable.”
“Graphene OS + NetGuard is just a far better alternative”
“NetGuard gives you a lot around the conditions in which an app can access the network.”
“Netguard is amazing but I'm convinced the dev is mildly colorblind and unaware of it.”
“Mildly annoying for apps that need network access as I have to approve, but it's worth it.”
“Netguard is fantastic. I even use it on my Sony android TV to block everything except for a few streaming apps.”
“I love netguard. Some apps refuse to work without network access, but most work fine.”
“it allows you to set a host file to also filter ads”
“Netguard solves this, available on the play store and F droid”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.