Set up firewall for Android phones
You need root rights to set up a firewall on the Android phone. If you have this, you can use the powerful iptables Linux firewall to regulate the network traffic of your smartphone. This not only saves you data traffic, but also conserves the cell phone battery by blocking in-app advertising.
More security for Android - How to set up the firewall
There are some firewall solutions for Android phones in the Google Play Store. One of them is the free app "DroidWall". We show you how to control your smartphone's network traffic with this free tool:
- Download the Android app from the Google Play Store, install it on your smartphone and open the tool. You must allow the request for root rights.
- Now you see a list with your installed Android apps (see screenshot). At the top you will find the text "Mode: White list". If this mode is activated, all network activities are blocked by default and only apps selected by you can use the Internet connection. However, we recommend the blacklist mode, with which you only select the apps that you want to block. To do this, tap on the text and then select "Black list".
- Next to each app name you will see two fields on the left, one for WiFi and one for the mobile data network. If you tick both fields for an app, all network traffic of the app is blocked. If you only want to conserve your data traffic, you can uncheck the box in the WLAN column. You shouldn't tick the box for important apps like the browser. Note: In whitelist mode the settings are of course reversed.
- If you have set the firewall settings for all your Android apps, tap the menu button on your smartphone. Select "Apply rules" and then click "Firewall disabled" to activate your Android firewall. Then the bar should turn green and the text "Firewall activated" or "Firewall enabled" should appear (depending on the version).
- Tip: If you want to protect the firewall settings with a password, click the menu button in the Android app, then click »More« and select »Create password« here.
If you want to filter not only a firewall for the network traffic of your Android mobile phone, but also SMS messages and calls, the free app "aFirewall" will help you. A selection of the best security apps for Android can be found at beste-apps.chip.de.