Does a Proxy Hide Your IP Address?
Yes, a proxy hides your IP address from the websites you visit: they see the proxy's IP instead of yours. It does not hide your IP from the proxy provider or your internet provider, it does not hide your logins, cookies or browser fingerprint, and your real IP can still leak around the proxy through WebRTC or through apps that are not set to use it. ProxyField residential proxies show websites one of 412M+ residential IPs in 195+ countries instead of yours, from $1.95/GB; start with the Easy Trial: 1 GB for $2.95.
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On this page 8 sections
Who sees your IP when you use a proxy
A proxy hides your IP from the server at the other end, and only from it. Everyone between you and the proxy still sees your connection:
| Who | Sees your real IP? | What they see |
|---|---|---|
| The website you visit | No, if the proxy is set up correctly | The proxy's IP, plus your cookies, logins and browser details |
| The proxy provider | Yes | Your IP and the hosts you connect to; for plain-HTTP pages, the requests too |
| Your internet provider | Yes, it assigned the IP | That you connect to the proxy, when, and how much data you send |
| Websites reached by apps that don't use the proxy | Yes | Your own IP, as if no proxy were set |
| A web page using WebRTC | Possibly | Your real public IP, if the browser sends WebRTC around the proxy |
So "does a proxy hide my IP" has a short answer, yes from the site, and a longer one: the rest of this guide is about the gaps.
How a proxy hides your IP (proxy masking)
The website only ever talks to the proxy. Your app sends the request to the proxy's address and port; the proxy opens its own connection to the website and passes the answer back. The website's server records the address of the connection it received, which is the proxy's. That is all "proxy masking" means: your IP is masked behind the proxy's.
For HTTPS sites, your app asks the proxy to open a tunnel with the CONNECT method, and the proxy relays encrypted bytes it cannot read (MDN: Proxy servers and tunneling). The site still sees only the proxy's IP.
The IP the site records belongs to the proxy's network and location: a hosting company for a datacenter proxy, a home internet provider for a residential proxy, a carrier for a mobile proxy. What that address tells a website: what a proxy IP reveals.
What a proxy does not hide
- Who you are when you sign in. A login tells the site the account, whatever the IP.
- Cookies. Cookies from earlier visits link your sessions across IPs.
- Your browser fingerprint. Screen, fonts, time zone, language and graphics details travel with the browser: what a browser fingerprint is made of.
- Your traffic from your internet provider. It sees the connection to the proxy, and, if that connection is plain HTTP, the requests in it: what your ISP can see.
- Your IP from the proxy provider, which has to send the answers back to you.
- That you use a proxy, in many cases. IP databases label hosting ranges and known proxies, and some proxies add headers that say so: how websites detect proxies.
How your real IP can still leak
A proxy covers only the traffic that goes through it, unchanged. Four gaps can show your real IP, or the sites you visit, anyway.
1. Headers added by the proxy. A transparent proxy passes your IP on to the site in a header such as X-Forwarded-For (MDN: X-Forwarded-For) or the standard Forwarded header (RFC 7239). That hides nothing. Anonymous proxies drop your IP but announce themselves; elite proxies add no proxy headers at all. The three levels are explained in transparent proxies, anonymous proxies and elite proxies. Over HTTPS, a tunneling proxy cannot add headers to requests it cannot read. For ProxyField's gateway: it adds no Via, X-Forwarded-For or Forwarded header and removes Proxy-Authorization before the request goes to the site
2. WebRTC. Browsers use WebRTC for calls and video, and to connect peers they ask a STUN server for the device's public address (MDN: WebRTC protocols). That request often goes over UDP, outside an HTTP proxy, so the browser learns your real public IP and a page's script can read it. The WebRTC standard defines 4 handling modes, from listing every address to a "force proxy" mode that sends WebRTC only through the configured proxy (RFC 8828); which one your browser uses decides whether it leaks. In Firefox, setting media.peerconnection.enabled to false in about:config turns WebRTC off; Chrome has no switch in its settings, so an extension or, on managed computers, a browser policy does it. Browser profile tools set it per profile: see antidetect browsers.
3. DNS. Before connecting, an app looks up the site's name. With an HTTP proxy, the browser sends the host name to the proxy, which resolves it. With SOCKS5, the app may look up names itself through your own DNS resolver, usually your internet provider's, so that resolver sees which sites you open, though the website still sees only the proxy. SOCKS5 can carry the host name to the proxy instead (RFC 1928): in curl, use socks5h:// or --socks5-hostname, which "let the proxy resolve the hostname" (curl man page); in Firefox, tick "Proxy DNS when using SOCKS v5" in the connection settings (Mozilla: Connection settings in Firefox).
4. Apps outside the proxy. A proxy set in one browser covers that browser. A system proxy covers the apps that honor the system setting; other apps and some system services connect directly with your IP. Where each system keeps the setting: proxy settings.
Free public proxies add a fifth risk: you do not know who runs them or what they log. See are free proxies safe.
Does the proxy type matter?
Every working proxy type hides your IP from the website. The type changes what the site can tell about the IP it sees, and what the proxy can carry.
| Proxy | Hides your IP from the site? | What the site sees |
|---|---|---|
| Datacenter | Yes | An IP from a hosting company's range, which many sites recognize as a server |
| Residential | Yes | An IP from a home internet provider; ProxyField has 412M+ in 195+ countries |
| Mobile | Yes | An IP on a 5G, 4G or LTE carrier network; ProxyField has 10.2M+ |
| HTTP or HTTPS (protocol) | Yes | The proxy's IP; the proxy resolves host names for you |
| SOCKS5 (protocol) | Yes | The proxy's IP; it also relays traffic that is not web pages; DNS goes through the proxy only if the app sends host names |
ProxyField runs residential and mobile proxies over HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 through one gateway, gate.proxyfield.io:7000.
How to check that a proxy hides your IP
Compare the IP with and without the proxy. For example:
curl https://api.ipify.org curl -x gate.proxyfield.io:7000 -U "<login>-country-us-city-new_york:<password>" https://api.ipify.orgThe second answer should be a US residential IP, not yours.
Check the headers. Request a page that echoes request headers over plain HTTP, through the proxy, and look for
X-Forwarded-For,ForwardedandVia. Your own IP should not appear.Check for leaks in the browser. With the proxy on, run a WebRTC leak test and a DNS leak test. Our proxy checker shows the IP, location and type a site sees.
Check every app that matters. Run the IP check from each app or script that should use the proxy, not only from the browser. Setup per tool: cURL, Firefox.
Proxy, VPN or Tor for hiding your IP
| Feature | Proxy | VPN | Tor Browser |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hides your IP from websites | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| What it covers | The apps you set it in | The whole device | The Tor Browser |
| Encrypts your traffic before it leaves your network | Not by itself | Yes, up to the VPN server | Yes, in layers, up to the exit relay |
| Many IPs, a new IP per request | Yes, with a rotating proxy | No, one at a time | No |
| Choose a country or city | Depends on the provider | From the server list | Limited |
A VPN hides more from your own network; a proxy gives an app other IPs in the places you choose. The full comparison: proxy and VPN compared. To change the IP itself, step by step: how to change your IP address with a proxy.
Hiding your IP from websites is lawful in itself in most places; what you do through the proxy is what a site's terms and the law judge. More in the legal side of proxies, and ProxyField's rules are in its acceptable use policy.
Need websites to see another IP? ProxyField residential proxies: 412M+ IPs in 195+ countries, targeting by country, region (state) and city, per-request rotation or sticky sessions up to 36 h, from $1.95/GB. Start with the Easy Trial: 1 GB for $2.95; traffic never expires.
Does a Proxy Hide Your IP Address? FAQ
Do proxies hide your IP address?
ProxyField residential proxies show websites one of 412M+ residential IPs instead of yours, so yes: proxies hide your IP address from the sites you visit. It does not hide it from the proxy provider, which forwards your traffic, and the site can still recognize you by your logins, cookies and browser fingerprint. Test for WebRTC leaks too, since the browser can reveal your real IP around the proxy.
What does a proxy not hide?
Your logins, cookies and browser fingerprint, which identify you whatever the IP, and your IP from the proxy provider and your internet provider. It also leaves out the traffic of apps that are not set to use it, and a transparent proxy even passes your IP on in a header.
If a proxy hides my IP, can websites still identify me?
Yes, in several ways. Signing in tells the site who you are, cookies from earlier visits link your sessions, and your browser's fingerprint, such as screen, fonts, time zone and language, can recognize the same device on a new IP. A proxy changes one signal, the IP, and leaves the others as they are.
Does a SOCKS5 proxy hide your IP address?
Yes: the website sees the SOCKS5 proxy's IP, as it would with an HTTP proxy. SOCKS5 also relays traffic that is not web pages, but it does not encrypt anything by itself, and if your app resolves host names locally, your DNS lookups still go to your own resolver. In curl, socks5h:// makes the proxy resolve them.
Do datacenter proxies hide your IP address?
Yes: the website sees the datacenter IP instead of yours. What differs is how the site classifies that IP: datacenter ranges belong to hosting companies, so many sites recognize them as servers and may challenge or block them, while residential IPs belong to home internet providers.
Can I completely hide my IP address?
Not from everyone. From the websites you visit, yes, as long as every app goes through the proxy or VPN and nothing leaks around it. Your internet provider assigned the IP and sees your connection, and the proxy or VPN provider sees it too, because it has to send the answers back to you.
Does a proxy hide my IP from the proxy provider?
No. The provider receives your connection, so it sees your IP, or your allowlisted IP, and the hosts you connect to. ProxyField does not record the content of your traffic or the pages you visit; it keeps only the service data it needs to count your traffic, keep the network running and handle abuse reports. Connection metadata is kept for up to 30 days.
Who can still see my IP address when I use a proxy?
Your internet provider, which assigned it; the proxy provider, which forwards your traffic; and any website reached by an app that does not use the proxy. A browser that sends WebRTC around the proxy can also reveal it to a web page.
Why can WebRTC expose your real IP address through a proxy?
To connect calls directly, WebRTC asks a STUN server for your device's public address, and that request often goes over UDP outside an HTTP proxy. The browser then knows your real public IP, and a page's script can read it. The WebRTC standard, RFC 8828, describes a mode that forces WebRTC through the proxy, but browsers do not all use it by default.
Does a proxy stop WebRTC leaks automatically?
No. A proxy carries only the traffic the browser sends to it, and WebRTC can go around it. Turn WebRTC off or limit it to the proxy in the browser, or use a browser profile tool that does it per profile, then run a WebRTC leak test with the proxy on.
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How do I check and fix DNS leaks when using a proxy?
Run a DNS leak test with the proxy on: if it lists your own provider's resolvers, your lookups go around the proxy. With SOCKS5, let the proxy resolve names: in Firefox, tick "Proxy DNS when using SOCKS v5", and in curl use socks5h:// or --socks5-hostname. With an HTTP proxy the browser already sends host names to the proxy, so leaks usually come from apps that do not use it.
Does Smart DNS hide your IP address?
Not in general. Smart DNS answers lookups for a few chosen domains with the address of the provider's relay servers, so only that traffic arrives from another IP; everything else, and the lookups themselves, still come from your own connection. It encrypts nothing.
Does a proxy hide my IP in every app on my device?
Only in the apps that use it. A proxy set in one browser covers that browser, a system proxy covers the apps that honor the system setting, and other apps and some system services connect directly with your IP. To cover a whole device, use a VPN or a tool that forces apps through the proxy.
What is proxy masking?
Proxy masking means hiding your IP address behind a proxy's: the proxy makes the requests for you, so websites record its IP instead of yours. It masks the IP only, since logins, cookies and your browser fingerprint still identify you, and the proxy provider still sees your real IP.
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