There’s no denying that technology has opened up immense opportunities for us. This is true in the business world, as well as in our personal lives. Our mobile devices are a part of this new reality. Smartphones make it possible for us to live our best lives from anywhere. You can work remotely using your phone, stream your favorite movies, enjoy social media, create content, and so much more, all from this one device. But, there are still a few risks despite the convenience. Risks such as content restrictions, online privacy, and more can make it a challenge to your device the way you want to.
In this article, we explore how a mobile proxy can help you overcome these challenges for a safer, unrestricted browsing experience. Continue reading to discover how these proxies work and why you need one.
What Is a Mobile Proxy?
A mobile proxy is a specialized proxy developed specifically for use on a mobile device. Mobile proxies are remote intermediary servers that connect users to the internet. This means that whenever the user wants to browse the internet, they’ll connect to the proxy first. The request is then sent via the proxy to the applicable web server.
One of the biggest differences between these proxies and others is that others will assign you a new IP address, whereas mobile proxies use the IPs from mobile networks. As such, when you use a mobile proxy on your device, you’ll still have a mobile IP even when connecting to Wi-Fi. Without a proxy, when you connect your phone to Wi-Fi, you’ll be assigned the IP address of the Wi-Fi instead of your mobile IP.
How Do Mobile Proxies Work?
Mobile devices connect to the internet in a different way than PCs or laptops. For one thing, when you make a request, the smartphone will connect to the cellphone tower first. Here, it’ll be given an available IP. This IP will then be used to connect to the internet for browsing or other purposes.
Mobile proxies follow this same process, but instead of connecting to the cell tower to be given a mobile IP, you’ll connect to the proxy. An important characteristic of these mobile proxies is that they don’t assign unique IPs to your connection. This is a good thing if you want to browse anonymously, hide your personal information and keep it from being tracked.
Why Should You Consider a Mobile Proxy?
There are a number of reasons why you should consider using a mobile proxy. Despite being more anonymous than PCs and laptops, mobile devices still aren’t 100% anonymous. Your actions can still be tracked, and restrictions still bind you. Here are just a few of the reasons why you should consider using mobile proxies.
Safeguard Your Online Privacy
Proxies are one of the best tools to use to safeguard your online privacy. If you travel a lot or always find yourself working on the go, then a mobile proxy is the perfect way to protect your anonymity. Public Wi-Fi spots such as those on trains, in coffee shops, or even the airport aren’t as secure as you think. However, if you use mobile proxies, you can still access these networks, but without the fear of being tracked or spied on.
Bypass Restrictions
Proxies are also great tools for bypassing restrictions. Some of the most common restrictions you’ll encounter online are based on your location. This is why you might not be able to stream certain shows even though you know the provider has them in other countries. This can also be why collecting information from markets in other countries is challenging. With proxies, you can choose IPs in specific locations so that you can bypass these restrictions and browse freely.
Faster Internet Connection
Proxies also have the added benefit of being able to speed up your internet connections. Proxies run on large server networks that are much better equipped to handle your connections than your smartphone alone. Also, these servers store all the cache data and cookies on their side. This means you can quickly connect to your favorite sites and platforms without clogging up your connection with large caches of data.
Greater Flexibility for Working Remotely
Using a mobile proxy opens up the world to you in many different ways. Whether you have your own business or work remotely, proxies can help to make your work more efficient. Automation tools such as web scrapers and others work more effectively when used alongside a proxy. Similarly, proxies enable you to create and manage multiple social media accounts without IP bans. Proxies give you greater flexibility if you often find yourself working remotely.
How to Use Mobile Proxies?
Setting up a mobile proxy can be straightforward. However, if you’ve used proxies before, it can get a little confusing as these need to be set up in a different section of your settings. That’s because mobile proxies are set up through the mobile network and not just general internet settings.
Here are the basic steps to start using a mobile proxy on your device:
- Get the proxy details from your provider.
- Navigate to settings on your mobile.
- Choose ‘Network and Internet’ in the options and then ‘Internet’.
- Select your mobile network provider (not Wi-Fi), then scroll to the bottom and tap on ‘Access Point Names’ (APN).
- Select your active APN.
- Enter your proxy details and credentials.
Final Thoughts
Using a mobile proxy isn’t just about convenience. It’s about safeguarding your online privacy and bypassing content restrictions to get more out of your browsing experience. Follow the advice above to discover just what you can do when you start using mobile proxies on your device.
