HTTPS encrypts what you send. It doesn't hide where you're going. Here's what that means — and why it matters.
Three things worth understanding
Seals the envelope.
Your bank details, passwords, and page content are encrypted in transit. The good news: almost every website uses this now. The padlock in your browser means your conversation with that site is private.
Shouts the address out loud.
Before your browser opens that sealed envelope, it has to ask "where does this website live?" That question travels unencrypted — like a postcard, not a letter. Your router owner, your internet provider, and your website lookup service all see it.
Seals both.
Encrypted website lookups (also called encrypted DNS) wrap that address lookup in the same kind of protection HTTPS gives your page content. This is what Bloqr enables — so your router and internet provider see that you made a request, but not what it was for.
The postcard analogy
HTTPS protects the letter inside the envelope. But before you can send that letter, your device shouts the destination address to everyone within earshot. Here's who hears it.
HTTPS encrypts your actual browsing — the page content. Encrypted DNS hides the address lookup that got you there. Both layers together are what Bloqr enables.
Who can see your website lookups right now
Unless you've changed how your device looks up websites — and most people haven't — here's who can see every website your device looks up.
Coffee shop, hotel, airport, home network admin — whoever runs the router you're connected to can see every domain name your device looks up. The WiFi password protects the network from outsiders. It doesn't hide your traffic from the person who set it up.
Your internet provider sees every lookup your home network makes. In many countries, providers are legally permitted to sell this data to advertisers — and several major US providers have done exactly that. This data is a detailed map of your household's interests, routines, and concerns.
The service your device uses to find websites logs those lookups. That might be your internet provider's default service, or services like Google's 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1. Most people never change these privacy settings, so their internet provider handles and logs every lookup by default.
Most people have never changed how their devices look up websites. That means their internet provider usually handles every lookup — and can log it. Changing this takes about two minutes with Bloqr.
What Bloqr does about it
We send your website lookups over an encrypted channel (encrypted DNS), so your router and internet provider see that you made a request — not what it was for.
Domains that serve ads, trackers, and malware are blocked at the lookup stage. Your browser never even makes the connection — which means it never waits for them either.
One account, one set of rules, every device on your network. Change a rule once, it applies everywhere instantly — no per-device configuration.
Private website lookups, network-wide blocking, and automatically curated filter lists — set up in minutes, not a week.