In plain English: a proxy is a computer that visits websites on your behalf. Your browser or app hands its request to the proxy, the proxy passes it on, and the website's reply comes back the same way. The website sees the proxy's IP address (the number that identifies an internet connection) and never sees yours.
That really is the whole idea. The rest of this guide covers why people use one, the kinds you can buy, and how to set one up and check it, with each new word explained along the way.
Why would I want one?
Some everyday reasons:
- To see a website the way people in another country see it. Shops, search engines and news sites often change their prices, language and results depending on where a visitor seems to be. Connect through a proxy in Germany and you get the German version, even while you're sitting at home in Brazil.
- To keep your own address out of other people's logs. The website writes down the proxy's address instead of yours.
- To collect public information with a program (this is called web scraping) without every request coming from your home connection.
- To give each of a few accounts its own steady connection, where a platform's rules allow more than one account.
Whatever your reason, a proxy changes your address and nothing else. The website's terms and the law where you live still apply.
What a proxy won't do
Better to know the limits before you pay for anything:
- It won't make you anonymous. Log in to an account and the site knows it's you, whichever address you arrive from.
- It won't scramble your data. Scrambling traffic so that nobody else can read it is called encryption, and that's a VPN's job rather than a proxy's.
- It won't cover your whole device unless you set it up that way. Apps you haven't pointed at the proxy carry on using your normal connection.
- It won't speed things up. Your traffic makes an extra stop on its way, so pages can load a touch slower.
The main types of proxy
Proxies mostly differ in where their addresses come from. That matters, because websites trust some sources more than others. We sell four types:
- Datacenter: addresses that belong to servers in data centres, the buildings full of computers that hosting companies run. Quick, and the lowest-priced of the four, but a website can easily tell it's server traffic.
- Residential: addresses that internet providers hand to ordinary homes, shared by people who agreed to it. Websites treat them like normal home visitors. They're slower than datacenter and cost a little more per GB.
- Mobile 4G/5G: addresses from mobile phone networks, for sites and apps that expect someone on a phone.
- Residential Premium: our higher residential tier, for the odd job where ordinary residential addresses keep getting refused. It's also where fixed "ISP" addresses come from: addresses registered to a home internet provider but running on servers, so they never change. There's no separate ISP plan.
Elsewhere you may also come across IPv6 proxies. IPv6 is the newer, longer style of IP address. Not every website can be reached with one, and it isn't one of the types we sell. To see which type suits which job, read our comparison of residential vs. datacenter vs. mobile.
HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5?
These are protocols: the agreed "language" an app uses to talk to a proxy. You'll see them in the settings box.
- HTTP: for ordinary web pages.
- HTTPS: for web pages too, including the secure ones that show a padlock next to the address.
- SOCKS5: works a level lower down, so it can carry nearly any kind of traffic, not just web pages. Some desktop apps only offer this one.
In a browser, HTTP/HTTPS is usually the easier choice; pick SOCKS5 when an app asks for it. All of our proxies work with all three, and you can switch later in the dashboard.
Rotating or sticky?
A rotating proxy gives you a new address for each request (each time your app asks a website for something). A sticky one keeps the same address for a while, usually somewhere from 1 to 30 minutes. If you'll be logged in, choose sticky. For lots of separate, one-off page visits, rotating is fine. Our sticky vs rotating guide has everyday examples.
Getting started in 3 steps
- Collect your details. After you buy, you're given four things:
host(the proxy's address),port(a number that goes with the host, much as a flat number goes with a street address),usernameandpassword. - Enter them. Type them into the proxy settings of your browser, your computer or the app you're using.
- Check it. Open our My IP tool. If it shows the proxy's address rather than your own, you're up and running.
Is this allowed?
Using a proxy isn't shady in itself: businesses and individuals use them every day. What counts is what you do through it. Each website you visit still has its own terms, and the law where you live still applies. Streaming services are a good example. They usually license their shows country by country, and their terms don't let you get round that with a different address.
Beginner questions
Do I have to install anything?
Usually not. Browsers, phones and most apps already have a place to type proxy details.
Which type should I try first?
For most first projects, datacenter. It costs the least, and if a site turns it away you can move up to residential. Our guide to datacenter vs residential helps you decide.
How do I know my real address isn't slipping out?
Some browsers can reveal it through a feature called WebRTC. Our WebRTC leak guide shows how to test for that and fix it.
