The long awaited is finally here, almost 6 months after being introduced.
It started back in 2018, when Cloudflare introduced 1.1.1.1 as its consumer DNS resolver. Then later that year, the company brought this 1.1.1.1 to mobile by launching its own dedicated mobile app.
The company didn't stop there, as in April 2019, it announced 'Warp'. But that time, users of its 1.1.1.1 app can only subscribe to register, and were presented with a waiting list number.
That didn't look good, because Warp's launch was delayed.
The idea for Warp was to offer a sleek, streamlined alternative to the buggy, laggy, and generally frustrating options that make up most of the mobile VPN market. But Cloudflare's attempt to bring Warp didn't go as planned, as the original release of the feature had almost all the problems that Cloudflare was trying to solve.
After the waiting list grew to about 2 million people, Cloudflare ended up with a half-baked product.
"That demand blew us away. It also embarrassed us," said Matthew Prince, CEO of Cloudflare, on his blog post.
But then and finally, the waiting time is over. Warp is ready and running, starting September 25th, 2019.
What Warp does, is putting additional security on top of the existing 1.1.1.1's DNS resolver. By establishing a VPN connection on users' device, Cloudflare can route users' internet traffic through its servers, essentially hiding users devices' IP address.
Besides that, it can also improve performance and secures DNS, as well as internet traffic.
But before that can happen, the 1.1.1.1 app needs to installs a VPN profile on user's device. Here, Cloudflare promises that it collects "as little data as possible" and that it won't "sell, rent, share or otherwise disclose" personal information.
The VPN comes in two flavors.
The first is the basic Warp, which is a VPN that has no traffic restriction. The second is Warp+, which is an add-on service that improves the basic Warp's performance by 30% by "avoiding traffic jams" and picking the fastest routes.
While Cloudflare offers the basic Warp for free, the company charges Warp+ users for $4 per month, for unlimited usage under the duration of the subscription.
Either way, 1,1.1.1 DNS resolver is always on as long as users wanted it to. In other words, 1.1.1.1 can be used with or without WARP or WARP+ if desired.
What makes this 1.1.1.1 with Warp or Warp+ interesting is that, the app is easy to use.
It requires no registration, and has its main interface to show a huge toggle to connect or disconnect the VPN. It has a few settings, meaning that users can easily do what they want to do, without much hassle.
Among the very limited settings, is the 1.1.1.1 app allowing users to easily switch from 1.1.1.1 only to 1.1.1.1 with Warp. They can toggle the dark theme, too.
There is also a way to disable the DNS resolver/VPN for selected apps. Because certain apps may not work while using VPN, the 1.1.1.1 app offers a way for users to whitelist apps so those apps can continue connecting to the internet without VPN.
But this simplicity comes with some drawbacks.
For example, it gives users no control over servers and regions that the VPN connects to. In fact, there is zero information about the server and region that users connect while using the the app. Then there is the fact that the app doesn't have any content blocking or protective features that other similar apps in the market sometimes kindly offer.
But nonetheless, people's waiting time is over, and they can all enjoy this very offer from Cloudflare. For those who are interested in internet security and privacy, 1.1.1.1 with Warp/Warp+ can certainly add another layer of protection to their existing connection.