# Hide my IP address with a proxy: how proxy servers and hide-IP websites work

URL: https://webvpn.org/anonymity/hide-ip-address-proxy/
Updated: 2026-09-09

How to hide your IP address with a proxy server: how proxies work, HTTP vs SOCKS vs web proxies, what each hides, when a proxy beats a VPN or Tor, and how to choose one.

To hide your IP address with a proxy, you route your traffic through a proxy server, which forwards your requests using its own address so that the website sees the proxy rather than you. A hide-IP website, also called a web proxy, does this through a web page with no setup; a proxy server configured in your browser or system does it for all traffic from that application. In both cases the proxy operator sees which sites you visit and, for sites without HTTPS, everything you send and receive.

Proxies predate VPNs as a way to hide an IP address online, and this site's own roots are in web proxying. They remain useful for specific jobs, and they are widely misunderstood as equivalent to a VPN or to anonymity, which they are not. This guide explains how proxies work, the types you will encounter, what each hides and from whom, how they compare with a VPN and with Tor, how to choose a proxy you can trust, and how to set one up.

## How a proxy hides your IP address

Normally your browser connects directly to a website, and the website records the IP address the connection came from, which is yours. With a proxy, your browser connects to the proxy server and asks it to fetch the page. The proxy makes its own connection to the website, receives the page and passes it back to you. The website's logs show the proxy's IP address. Your address appears only in the proxy's logs.

That is the whole mechanism, and it has two consequences. The site cannot see your address, so it cannot locate you or link your visits to your connection. The proxy can see your address and your destination, so you have moved your exposure from the site to the proxy operator. Whether that is a good trade depends on who runs the proxy.

## Types of proxy

Web proxies, or hide-IP websites, are the simplest: a web page with a box where you type an address. The proxy site fetches the page and rewrites its links so that you keep browsing through the proxy. No configuration, works from any browser, and works only for browsing. Modern sites with heavy scripts, logins and video often break. The web proxy guide on this site covers them in depth.

HTTP and HTTPS proxies are configured in your browser or operating system and handle web traffic from that application. An HTTPS proxy supports tunnelling encrypted connections, so the proxy sees the destination but not the content of HTTPS sites.

SOCKS proxies, usually SOCKS5, work at a lower level and can carry any kind of traffic from applications that support them, including browsers, download clients and messaging apps. Tor itself is exposed to applications as a SOCKS proxy. SOCKS proxies do not encrypt traffic on their own.

Transparent proxies are placed by networks or ISPs without your configuration. They do not hide your address from anyone and are mentioned only because a proxy detection tool may report one.

Residential and rotating proxy services sell access to pools of addresses, often for scraping and marketing. Some source their addresses from consumer devices running free apps, which is where many free VPN apps' business models end up. Approach them with the same caution as any service whose supply chain is unclear.

## What a proxy hides and what it does not

Be precise, because the marketing is not.

Hidden from the destination site: your IP address and location. Not hidden from the site: your browser fingerprint, your cookies, your logins and anything you type. A site you log in to knows who you are whether you arrive through a proxy or not.

Hidden from your network: nothing, unless the connection to the proxy is encrypted. With a plain HTTP proxy, your ISP sees the proxy and the destination and the content of any non-HTTPS page. With an HTTPS or encrypted SOCKS connection to the proxy, your ISP sees only the proxy.

Hidden from the proxy operator: nothing. The operator sees your address, every destination, and the full content of any site without HTTPS. This is the reason a proxy is a tool for reading, not for accounts.

## Proxy versus VPN versus Tor

A VPN is a proxy for your whole device with encryption built in: every application's traffic is tunnelled, encrypted, to the provider's server. It hides your address from all sites and your destinations from your network, and the provider sees everything. It requires an app and, for trustworthiness, a provider with audits and a no-logs policy.

Tor is a chain of three proxies with layered encryption, arranged so that no single one sees both your address and your destination. It hides your address from sites and your destinations from your network, and unlike a proxy or VPN, no operator sees the whole picture. It is slower and covers the applications configured to use it, principally Tor Browser.

A proxy is a single hop, usually one application, often unencrypted, with an operator who sees everything. It is the lightest tool and the one requiring most trust in a single party.

Use a proxy for a quick task in one application, a VPN for everyday whole-device IP hiding, and Tor for anonymity. The general guide to hiding your IP address on this site walks through that choice.

## Choosing a proxy you can trust: a six-point checklist

- The operator is identified, with a real organisation and contact details, and publishes a policy stating what is logged and for how long.

- The connection between you and the proxy is encrypted, which for web proxies means the proxy site itself uses HTTPS and for configured proxies means HTTPS or an encrypted SOCKS tunnel.

- The proxy does not inject advertising or scripts into pages; if you see ads inside pages that do not normally have them, leave.

- It has existed for a meaningful time and has a reputation; lists of free proxies scraped from the internet are full of servers that are misconfigured, compromised or run to harvest data.

- It supports the destination you need; many sites block known proxy address ranges, so test before relying on it.

- You are willing to show the operator everything you do through it, because you will. If not, the task belongs to Tor.

Paying for a proxy from an identified provider satisfies most of this list. Free proxies from unknown operators satisfy little of it and are fit only for reading pages you would not mind anyone seeing you read.

## Setting up a proxy

For a web proxy, open the proxy site, type the address you want and go; nothing to configure. For a configured proxy, browsers and operating systems have a proxy setting where you enter the server address, port and type, and optionally credentials. Firefox has its own proxy settings independent of the system; Chrome and Edge use the system settings; macOS, Windows, iOS and Android each have a proxy field per network connection. For SOCKS5, the same fields apply with the type set accordingly, and Firefox offers an option to send DNS lookups through the SOCKS proxy, which you should enable to prevent your network from seeing them. After configuring, open a "what is my IP" page and confirm the address shown is the proxy's, and run a DNS leak test as the guide on this site describes.

## What operators and researchers report

The cautions above follow both how proxies are described by those who run them responsibly and what research has found about the rest.

Operators of long-running web proxies describe their services as tools for reading blocked or geo-restricted pages and are explicit that users should not enter credentials through them, since the proxy sees all content on non-HTTPS pages.

Researchers who have surveyed open and free proxy servers have found large proportions that modify content, inject advertising or tracking, or are unstable, and have recommended that users treat unattributed free proxies as untrusted.

The Tor Project describes Tor as a multi-hop proxy design created specifically so that no single operator can see both source and destination, which is the limitation a single proxy cannot escape.

## Use a proxy for what it is good at

When you need to read a page without showing it your address, and you do not mind the proxy operator seeing you read it, a proxy is the quickest tool there is. Choose one by the checklist above, configure it or use a web proxy, and check your address. For everything else, whole-device IP hiding or anonymity, a VPN or Tor is the right tool, and the guides on this site explain each.

## FAQ

Q: How does a proxy hide my IP address?
A: Your browser or app sends requests to the proxy server instead of directly to the website. The proxy forwards them using its own IP address and returns the response to you. The website logs the proxy's address, not yours.

Q: What is the difference between a proxy server and a hide-IP website?
A: A hide-IP website, or web proxy, is a proxy you use through a web page: you type in an address and it fetches the page for you, with no configuration. A proxy server is configured in your browser or system settings and handles all traffic from that browser or app. Both hide your address from destination sites in the same way.

Q: Is a proxy the same as a VPN?
A: No. A proxy usually handles one application or one browser and does not encrypt traffic itself, so your network can still see where you connect unless the site uses HTTPS. A VPN encrypts everything from your device and covers all applications. Both reveal your traffic to the operator.

Q: Are free proxy servers safe?
A: Mostly not for anything sensitive. The operator of a proxy sees all your traffic to sites that do not use HTTPS and sees which sites you visit regardless. Many free proxies are unattributed, inject ads or worse, and go offline without notice. Use them for reading blocked pages, not for logins.

Q: When is a proxy better than a VPN or Tor?
A: When you need to hide your address for a single application or a quick task without installing anything, when you need a specific location for one site, or when a network blocks VPN protocols but allows proxies. For whole-device protection use a VPN; for anonymity use Tor.