Devices and apps: proxy guides

How to put a proxy on a device, in a browser, or in front of an app that has no proxy setting of its own.

• Windows

  Windows has one proxy setting that most programs follow. It takes a host and a port; the username and password are asked for the first time a program connects.

• macOS

  On a Mac the proxy is set per network connection, and macOS can store the username and password with it.

• Linux

  On Linux, most command-line programs read their proxy from environment variables. Desktop environments have their own setting on top.

• iPhone and iPad

  iOS sets a proxy per Wi-Fi network, with a place for the username and password. It applies to Wi-Fi only, not to mobile data.

• Android

  Android sets a proxy per Wi-Fi network, as a host and a port. There is no field for a login, so the browser asks for it, and many apps cannot use the proxy at all.

• Google Chrome

  Chrome has no proxy setting of its own. It follows the computer's setting, or a proxy extension, or an address given when it is started.

• Firefox

  Firefox has its own proxy setting, separate from the computer's, so it can use a proxy while every other program connects directly.

• FoxyProxy

  FoxyProxy is a browser extension for Chrome and Firefox that stores proxies with their logins and switches between them in a click.

• SwitchyOmega

  Proxy SwitchyOmega is a proxy switcher for Chromium browsers. The original is no longer updated; its successor for current Chrome is ZeroOmega, which works the same way.

• Proxifier

  Proxifier makes any program on Windows or macOS use a proxy, including programs that have no proxy setting and programs that cannot send a login.

• Shadowrocket

  Shadowrocket is an iPhone and iPad app that sends the device's traffic through a proxy, on Wi-Fi and on mobile data alike.

• Telegram

  Telegram has a proxy setting built into the app, on phones and on desktop, with a username and password.

• Clash

  Clash, and its maintained successor mihomo, route traffic by rules written in a configuration file. An ordinary HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy with a login is one of the proxy types it accepts.

• Proxychains

  Proxychains forces a single Linux or macOS command through a proxy, even if the program knows nothing about proxies.

• Android emulators

  BlueStacks, LDPlayer, NoxPlayer and MEmu run Android on a Windows PC. There are two places to put a proxy: inside Android, or on Windows around the emulator.

• Proxy Setup by Device, Browser and App

  Where to enter a proxy on Windows, macOS, Linux, iPhone and Android, in Chrome and Firefox, and in proxy managers. An index of step-by-step guides.

Proxy types these guides use

• ResidentialHousehold IPs you can aim at a country, a state or one city. From $3.52 per GB.
• MobileCarrier IPs on live 4G and 5G networks, the most trusted kind. From $3.52 per GB.
• Unlimited DatacenterUS server IPs with the meter off: pay for speed and time, not data. From $0.56 per hour.

Rotating or sticky?

A device or browser that sends everything through the proxy is acting as one visitor, so a sticky session is usually what you want: the IP address stays the same while you work. Remember that gigabyte plans count all traffic, so video and large downloads use a plan up quickly.

Terms explained: proxy port, proxy format, HTTP proxy, SOCKS5 proxy, proxy checker.

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