A proxy server is a computer or service that sits between your device and the internet, passing your requests to websites and then returning the responses back to you. In other words, instead of your phone or PC talking directly to a website, it talks to the proxy, and the proxy talks to the website on your behalf.

What it does

• Hides your real IP address by having websites see the proxy’s IP instead of yours, which can add privacy and help bypass some geographic or network restrictions.

• Filters and controls traffic, for example blocking certain sites at a school or company or logging which sites are visited.

• Caches (temporarily stores) frequently requested content so that repeated requests can be answered faster and use less bandwidth.

• Adds security features, such as checking traffic for threats or acting as part of a firewall around a private network.

Main types

• Forward proxy: Used by clients (like users inside a company) to access many external sites; it enforces internal policies, hides client addresses, and can add caching and filtering.

• Reverse proxy: Placed in front of one or more web servers to protect them, balance load, terminate encryption, and cache content while external users think they are talking directly to the site.