If you’ve ever seen the word proxy while setting up a browser, or heard developers talk about scraping data, you’ve probably wondered: What is a proxy? Why do I need one?
At its simplest: A proxy is a middleman server between you and the internet. Instead of your computer connecting directly to a website, your traffic first goes through a proxy.
Think of it like asking a friend to deliver a message for you. The website sees your friend, not you.
This guide strips proxies in plain English. By the end, you’ll understand:
Before proxies make sense, you need to know what an IP is.
An IP address is like your home address but for the internet. Every time you visit a website, your IP tells the site where you are.
Without a proxy: Websites see your real IP (and location).
**With a proxy: **Websites see the proxy’s IP, not yours.
A proxy server is a middleman between your device and the internet.
The proxy forwards your request, then passes the response back. This hides your real IP and lets you appear as if you’re somewhere else.
At the simplest level, proxies let you appear as if you’re browsing the web from somewhere else, or as someone else. This might sound trivial, but it solves a wide range of real-world problems.
For individuals, proxies are often about privacy and access. A proxy hides your real IP, making it harder for websites to track you, and can also bypass restrictions. For example, a student may use a proxy to access study resources blocked on their campus Wi-Fi.
For businesses, proxies are about scale and reliability. A retailer might track competitor prices across thousands of product pages. A digital marketing team might monitor Google search results in different countries to understand how their ads or websites appear. Social media managers often need one IP per account to keep accounts safe from bans.
Researchers and developers also rely on proxies to collect unbiased data. Whether it’s a university scraping travel fares for an economics project or a QA engineer testing how a site loads in different regions, proxies make it possible to gather accurate information without running into roadblocks.
One of the most confusing things for beginners is the sheer number of proxy “types” providers advertise. You’ll see terms like datacenter, residential, mobile, SOCKS5, HTTPS, static, rotating.
Here’s the simple breakdown:
For most beginners, datacenter proxies are all you need. They're affordable, reliable, and fast.
👉 Read more about the differences between HTTP, HTTPS, and SOCKS proxies.
👉 Think of static as “one disguise for the whole day,” and rotating as “a new disguise every time you walk in.” Read more about static vs rotating proxies.
🔑 Don’t get overwhelmed by jargon. Most providers throw these terms around to upsell. In reality, 90% of beginners just need datacenter HTTP/HTTPS proxies, with both static and rotating modes, and the ability to pick IP or user/pass authentication.
Proxies sound complex, but setup is simple.
In a Browser (Chrome/Firefox)
Go to Settings → Network → Proxy and add:
http://username:password@proxy.proxiesthatwork.com:PORT
In Python (for scraping) import requests
proxy = "http://username:password@proxy.proxiesthatwork.com:PORT" proxies = {"http": proxy, "https": proxy}
r = requests.get("https://httpbin.org/ip", proxies=proxies) print(r.json()) # Shows the proxy IP
✅ Within minutes, you’re browsing/scraping through a new identity.
Reusing the same IP too much → leads to bans.
Using rotating proxies for logins → breaks sessions.
Buying residential proxies when you don’t need them → overpaying.
Forgetting authentication setup → wondering why your proxy “doesn’t work.”
Assuming proxies = total privacy → they hide IPs, but don’t encrypt like VPNs.
At ProxiesThatWork.com, we designed our proxies to be simple:
✅ 150 proxies for $3/month — risk-free for beginners.
✅ HTTP/HTTPS IPv4 proxies — the easiest to set up.
✅ IP + user/pass authentication supported.
✅ Tested every 5 minutes on 1,000+ websites.
No confusing plans. No overpriced “Instagram-only” proxies. Just proxies that actually work.
Proxies aren’t mysterious. They’re just tools that give you new IPs.
With proxies that work, you can explore safely, affordably, and without the learning-curve pain.
ProxiesThatWork Team