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# NetGuard
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*NetGuard* is a simple way to block access to the internet - no root required.
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Applications can individually be allowed or denied access to your WiFi and/or mobile connection.
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Blocking access to the internet can help:
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* reduce your data usage
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* save your battery
* increase your privacy
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Downloads:
* [GitHub ](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/releases )
* [Play store ](https://play.google.com/apps/testing/eu.faircode.netguard ) (beta)
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* [F-Droid ](https://f-droid.org/repository/browse/?fdfilter=netguard&fdid=eu.faircode.netguard ) (unsupported, often outdated)
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< img src = "screenshot.png" width = "320" height = "569" / >
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Features
--------
* No root required
* Simple to use
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* Free of charge
* Open source
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* No extra battery usage
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* No calling home
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* No tracking or analytics
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* No ads
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* IPv4/IPv6 TCP/UDP supported
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* Block system and user applications
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NetGuard does not even require the *internet* permission.
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NetGuard is possibly the first free and open source no-root firewall for Android.
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Most of these features are the result of sending selected traffic to a sinkhole, instead of filtering all internet traffic.
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This means that advanced features, like address based filtering (needed for ad blocking), traffic logging, and on-demand configuration, are not possible.
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Routing selected traffic into a sinkhole relies on an API introduced in Android 5.0 (Lollipop),
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therefore older Android versions can unfortunately not be supported.
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Usage
-----
* Enable the firewall using the switch in the action bar
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* Allow/deny WiFi/mobile internet access using the icons at the right side of the application list
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Permissions
-----------
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* ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE: to check if the device is connected to the internet through WiFi
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* RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED: to start the firewall when booting the device
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Compatibility
-------------
Devices / ROMs with a broken VPN implementation:
* [Samsung Galaxy A5 / Android 5.02 ](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/issues/20 ) (all traffic blocked)
NetGuard will crash when the package *com.android.vpndialogs* has been removed.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
--------------------------------
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< a name = "FAQ1" > < / a >
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**(1) Can NetGuard completely protect my privacy?**
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No - nothing can completely protect your privacy.
NetGuard will do its best, but it is limited by the fact it must use the VPN service.
This is the trade-off required to make a firewall which does not require root access.
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The firewall can only start when Android "allows" it to start,
so it will not offer protection during early boot-up (although your network may not be loaded at that time).
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It will, however, be much better than nothing, especially if you are not rebooting often.
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If you want to protect yourself more, you can (at least in theory) disable WiFi and mobile data before rebooting,
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and only enable them on reboot, after the firewall service has started (and the small key icon is visible in the status bar).
Thanks @[pulser](https://github.com/pulser/)
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< a name = "FAQ2" > < / a >
**(2) Can I use VPN applications while using NetGuard?**
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If the VPN application is using the [VPN service ](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/VpnService.html ),
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then no, because NetGuard needs to use this service, and Android allows only one application at a time to use this service.
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< a name = "FAQ3" > < / a >
**(3) Can I use NetGuard on any Android version?**
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No, because NetGuard uses the [addDisallowedApplication ](http://developer.android.com/reference/android/net/VpnService.Builder.html#addDisallowedApplication(java.lang.String ))
method, the minimum required Android version is 5.0 (Lollipop).
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< a name = "FAQ4" > < / a >
**(4) Will NetGuard use extra battery power?**
No, unlike most of the similar closed source alternatives.
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< a name = "FAQ5" > < / a >
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**(5) Can you add selective allowing/blocking applications/IP addresses?**
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Unfortunately this is not possible without using significant battery power
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and adding complex code to do network translation from OSI layer 3 to layer 4
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(and thus implementing a TCP/IP stack), which will inevitably introduce bugs as well.
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This is how most (all?) other no-root firewalls work.
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NetGuard is unique, because it doesn't implement a TCP/IP stack and is therefore both highly efficient and simple.
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For more advanced use cases, rooting your device and using an iptables based firewall,
like [AFWall+ ](https://github.com/ukanth/afwall ) might be a better option, and will not sacrifice any battery power.
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< a name = "FAQ6" > < / a >
**(6) Will NetGuard send my internet traffic to an external (VPN) server?**
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No. It cannot even do this, because NetGuard does not even have the *internet* permission.
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< a name = "FAQ7" > < / a >
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**(7) Why are applications without internet permission shown?**
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Internet permission can be granted with each application update without user consent.
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By showing all applications, NetGuard allows you to block internet access before such an update occurs.
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Support
-------
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* Questions: please [use this XDA-Developers forum thread ](http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=3233012 )
* Feature requests and bugs: please [report an issue on GitHub ](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/issues/new )
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Please do not use GitHub for questions.
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Contributing
------------
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Translations:
* Translations to other languages are welcomed
* Check if the language [is supported by Android ](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7973023/what-is-the-list-of-supported-languages-locales-on-android ) and find its locale
* Copy [this file ](https://github.com/M66B/NetGuard/blob/master/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml ) to the correct locale folder
* Translate the strings in the copied file and omit all lines with **translatable="false"**
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* Create a [pull request on GitHub ](https://help.github.com/articles/using-pull-requests ) for the new/updated translation
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Please note that you agree to the license below by contributing, including the copyright.
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Attribution
-----------
NetGuard uses:
* [Picasso ](http://square.github.io/picasso/ )
* [Android Support Library ](https://developer.android.com/tools/support-library/index.html )
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License
-------
[GNU General Public License version 3 ](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl.txt )
Copyright (c) 2015 Marcel Bokhorst ([M66B](http://forum.xda-developers.com/member.php?u=2799345))
All rights reserved
This file is part of NetGuard.
NetGuard is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
(at your discretion) any later version.
NetGuard is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the
GNU General Public License for more details.
You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
along with NetGuard. If not, see [http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ ](http://www.gnu.org/licenses/ ).
