Mozilla has announced that it’s preparing to roll out DNS-over-HTTPS for its Canadian users thanks to a partnership it has struck with a local DoH provider, the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA). The rollout will begin on July 20 and take a couple of months to reach all Firefox users in the country.
The first country to receive by-default DoH was the United States in February 2020. By encrypting DNS queries, Firefox provides its users with more security and privacy online. On July 20, 1% of Canadian Firefox users will get DoH switched on by default and this will gradually increase before reaching 100% in September 2021.
Commenting on the partnership, Byron Holland, president and CEO of CIRA, said:
“Protecting the privacy of Canadians is a key element of restoring trust on the internet. Our goal is to cover as many Canadians as possible with Canadian Shield, and that means finding like-minded partners who share our values. We are proud to be the first Canadian participant in the Trusted Recursive Resolver (TRR) Program and are always seeking out new ways to extend the reach of Canadian Shield to enhance the privacy of Canadians.”
If you’re a Firefox user in Canada, you’ll know that DoH has been enabled in your browser because you will see a pop-up near the menu button which explains that Firefox is now securely routing your DNS requests to CIRA to protect you while you browse.