Hacker News Reader

Comment by Stamp01 | Hacker News Reader

How does this compare to the TrackerControl app?

TrackerControl has a different target audience and sports a brilliantly designed UI. It can be much more easier to use than Rethink if all you're trying to do is block spyware and attentionware across all apps to the extent DNS blocking allows.

Otoh, Rethink is a userspace firewall (in line with LittleSnitch / Glasswire). Primarily meant as a way for Android users to keep tabs on network activity of installed apps and tame it where possible.

TrackerControl also supports viewing network activity for each app, and then blocking network access entirely or for specific hosts.

Is their any additional features in Rethink ?

Thank you for building this application BTW.

> TrackerControl also supports viewing network activity for each app, and then blocking network access entirely or for specific hosts.

Rethink blocks based on IP addresses (rather than host names). TrackerControl (TC) may be doing something similar (since it runs NetGuard underneath), but in the UI it appears as so that TC is blocking based on host names?

For DNS (host name) based blocks, Rethink bundles in 180+ popular host files (like StevenBlack, 1Hosts, GoodbyeAds, OISD, CPBL) in the app (on GitHub and F-Droid versions only). We are in the process of implementing a allowlist/whitelist and denylist/blocklist for individual host names, as we speak. Release in perhaps a month or so.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com