A proxy server stands in for you on the network. Your client sends its request to the proxy; the proxy makes the request to the website and passes the answer back. The website sees the proxy's IP address, its location and its network, not yours.
The main kinds
- By direction: a forward proxy works for clients, which is the kind you buy; a reverse proxy works for websites.
- By protocol: an HTTP proxy carries web traffic; a SOCKS5 proxy relays any TCP connection.
- By address: residential, ISP and datacenter proxies differ in who owns the IP, which decides how websites treat it.
- By behaviour: a rotating proxy changes the exit address; a static IP keeps it.
Try one
Ask an IP echo service who is calling, with and without the proxy:
curl -s "https://api.ipify.org?format=json"
curl -s -x http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@HOST:PORT "https://api.ipify.org?format=json"
The second address is the proxy's. On ProxyHive, copy the host, port, username and password from your order in the dashboard at https://app.proxyhive.io.
Common confusion
A proxy is not a VPN. It works per application and changes the address for the traffic you send to it, without encrypting the rest of your device's traffic; proxy vs VPN explains when each fits. A proxy also changes only the address: your browser or library still looks like itself. What is a proxy server covers how a request flows through one, step by step.