GLOSSARY · PROXY SERVER
Proxy
A proxy server is an intermediary that makes requests on your behalf. Your program sends the request to the proxy, the proxy contacts the website, and the site sees the proxy's IP address instead of yours. Proxies exist for several protocols, including HTTP and SOCKS5.
Why it matters
Proxies let one app or browser profile appear from another location without changing the rest of your device. They are used for testing how pages look in different countries, for collecting public data and for managing separate identities. They do not encrypt your traffic on their own, and you must trust whoever runs them, since they can see the requests.
In practice
Quality varies enormously. Check any proxy before relying on it: where it exits, who owns the network, whether it reveals that it is a proxy in the headers, and how fast it is. The proxy checker measures these. Free public proxies are often slow, unreliable or unsafe, so avoid sending logins through them.
Related terms
- HTTP proxy: An HTTP proxy is a proxy that understands web requests.
- SOCKS5: SOCKS5 is a proxy protocol, specified in RFC 1928, that relays network connections at a lower level than HTTP.
- Residential proxy: A residential proxy sends your traffic through an IP address that a home internet provider assigned to a household.
- VPN: A VPN creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a server operated by the VPN service.