Rocket DNS Support

Last updated: 16 September 2026

Rocket DNS is a menu-bar app for Mac that encrypts your DNS queries and blocks ads, trackers and telemetry at the DNS layer — for every app on your Mac, not just your browser.

Need a hand? Email support@jcltravels.co.uk and include your macOS version and Rocket DNS version (menu bar → About). We usually reply within 2 working days.

Getting started

1. Open Rocket DNS. It lives in your menu bar rather than the Dock.
2. Work through the short onboarding and pick a resolver. Every resolver listed is encrypted.
3. Approve the system prompt when macOS asks. Rocket DNS installs a system DNS profile so your queries are routed securely.
4. Click the menu-bar icon at any time to switch resolvers, change blocking, or turn protection off.

System requirements

macOS 11.0 (Big Sur) or later, on Intel or Apple silicon.

What Rocket DNS does

Encrypted DNS

By default, DNS queries leave your Mac in plain text — every domain you visit is visible to your network and your internet provider. Rocket DNS encrypts them. DNS-over-HTTPS (DoH), DNS-over-TLS (DoT) and DNSCrypt are all supported out of the box.

Choose your resolver

Rocket DNS ships with a large catalogue of privacy-first public resolvers, drawn from the community-maintained DNSCrypt public-resolvers list. You can search it, test resolvers for speed and keep the quickest, or enter your own custom resolver.

Blocking

Blocking happens in the tunnel engine, so it applies to every app on your Mac — no browser extension required. Four categories can be toggled independently:

• Advertising
• Trackers & Analytics
• Social Media Trackers
• Telemetry & Crash Reporting

Bypass rules

If a site or app misbehaves, add it to the bypass list and Rocket DNS will leave its lookups alone. This is the first thing to try when something stops working.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rocket DNS a VPN?

No. Rocket DNS does not route your traffic through a proxy or VPN server. It changes and encrypts the way your Mac looks up domain names, and the lookups are resolved on this Mac. Your actual connections continue to go directly to the sites you visit.

Will it slow down my Mac?

It shouldn't. Encrypted DNS adds very little overhead, and blocking a request is faster than loading it. If browsing feels slow, use the built-in resolver speed test and switch to a quicker resolver — geographic distance to the resolver matters far more than encryption does.

Why does macOS ask me to approve a profile?

Changing how the whole system resolves domain names is a privileged operation, so macOS requires your explicit consent. Without approval, Rocket DNS cannot protect your queries. You can remove the profile at any time by quitting or uninstalling the app.

Does blocking break websites?

Occasionally. Some sites load content or logins from domains that also serve tracking. If a page misbehaves, add the domain to your bypass list, or turn off one category at a time to find the culprit.

Can I use my company or school DNS?

Yes — enter it as a custom resolver. Note that if your employer requires their own DNS for internal sites, you may need to add those domains to the bypass list.

Do I need an account?

No. Rocket DNS has no sign-up and no account.

Troubleshooting

A website or app stopped working

Add the affected domain to your bypass list. If you're unsure which domain is at fault, turn off blocking categories one at a time — start with Trackers & Analytics, then Advertising.

"Installation didn't complete"

This means the macOS system prompt was dismissed or denied. Re-run the setup from the menu bar and approve the prompt. If no prompt appears, check System Settings → General → VPN & Device Management for a pending profile, and Privacy & Security for a blocked item.

No internet after enabling

Switch to a different resolver — the one you selected may be unreachable from your network. If that doesn't help, turn Rocket DNS off from the menu bar to restore your default DNS, then email us.

Checking that it works

Visit dnscheck.tools or browserleaks.com/dns. You should see the resolver you chose in Rocket DNS, not your internet provider's.

Contact

Email: support@jcltravels.co.uk

Please include your macOS version, your Rocket DNS version, the resolver you selected, and what you expected to happen.