How to Turn Off Proxy [Explained + Screenshots]

A proxy is great for protecting your privacy online, unlocking blocked sites, web scraping, etc. Once activated, however, it can be difficult to turn it off.

But don’t worry.

This step-by-step guide will show you multiple ways to disable your proxy across different platforms. Moreover, I will share helpful tips on when to leave it active or deactivate it.

Ready? Let’s go!

How to Turn Off Proxy?

Turning off your proxy is easy. Here are the detailed instructions:

Windows

Windows is the most popular operating system (OS), with a 75% market share. So it’s very likely that you use it to browse the internet. To turn off its proxy, follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Click Start and select Settings on your Windows PC.

Step 2: Choose Network and Internet.

Step 3: Scroll down and click on Proxy.

Step 4: Switch Automatic Detect Settings to ON.

Step 5: Click Set up under Manual Proxy Setup.

Step 6: Set Use a Proxy Server to OFF under the popup options and click Save. 

Easy-peasy!

MacOS

MacOS is another popular operating system. Here’s what you need to do to turn off proxy settings on your Mac:

Step 1: Click on the Apple icon on the menu bar.

Step 2: From the dropdown list, select System Preferences.

Step 3: Choose Network.

Step 4: Select the preferred network from the list of options on the left pane. Next, click on Advanced.

Step 5: Locate and select the Proxies tab.

Step 6: Uncheck all the options under Select a protocol to configure.

Step 7: Click Ok on the bottom right of the window to save.

Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a popular browser for users across different platforms. The following procedure should help you disable its anonymous proxy:

Step 1: Click on Menu on Chrome’s toolbar.

Step 2: Scroll down and select Settings.

Step 3: Choose System from the left pane options. Some Google Chrome versions display Show Advanced Settings instead. 

Step 4: Hit Open your computer’s proxy settings.

From here, follow instructions from Step 5 under Windows or macOS above to turn off proxy in Chrome.

Mobile Phones

Over 52% of internet traffic comes from mobile devices. If you’re using a proxy by default, here’s how to disable it based on your platform.

iOS (iPhone/iPad)

Disabling proxy from your iOS device is a piece of cake. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1: Locate and tap Settings from the apps drawer.

Step 2: Go to Wi-Fi and select the active network.

Step 3: Scroll down, locate the HTTP Proxy, and tap Configure Proxy.

Step 4: Check Off to disable the anonymous proxy tool on your device.

Some iOS versions have all the options available under Configure Proxy listed right below HTTP Proxy.

In that case, all you need to do is tap Off to disable proxy.

Android

Disabling proxy on Android devices is similar to iOS but with some minor differences:

Step 1: Open your app drawer and select Settings.

Step 2: Choose Connections or Network & Internet in some Android versions.

Step 3: Tap Wi-Fi.

Step 4: Long press on the active Wi-Fi network to see more options.

Step 5: Tap Manage Network Settings.

Step 6: Choose Show Advanced Options.

Step 7: Scroll down and tap Proxy.

Step 8: Tap None and hit Save to disable the proxy server on your Android.

Now to the elephant in the room.

Should You Turn Off Proxy?

Proxies, sometimes referred to as anonymizers, help shield your privacy online while enabling you to bypass firewalls and web filters. Unlike VPNs, not all proxies use encryption, so it’s important to choose a good one. Here’s what a proxy can help you with:

• Browsing the internet privately
• Conducting sensitive tasks online
• Unlocking geo-blocked websites
• Gathering data through web scraping
• Improving your company/institution’s security

That said, you should turn off your device’s proxy server unless you need it for any of the abovementioned functions. Many programs will not update correctly while the proxy settings are on. Moreover, sometimes a proxy may slow down your bandwidth speed.

Wrap Up

A proxy is a handy feature for browsing the internet. It protects your online anonymity, unlocks blocked sites, etc.

While that sounds good, you mostly don’t need it for day-to-day web surfing. So whenever it’s not in use, it’s always advisable to disable it.

You now know how to turn off the proxy on your device. All it takes is just a few steps.