SOCKS5
Also called: socks proxy, socks5 proxy
SOCKS5 is a proxy protocol that forwards raw TCP and UDP traffic between a client and a destination without interpreting it. Because it works below the application layer, it can carry any protocol — not just HTTP — which makes it the usual choice for routing an entire device.
An HTTP proxy understands HTTP. It reads requests, can modify headers, and only handles web traffic. SOCKS5 does none of that: it opens a tunnel and moves bytes. Whatever protocol the application speaks travels through unchanged.
Why that suits a device
A phone does not only make web requests. Apps use their own protocols, push notifications maintain persistent connections, and some traffic is UDP. Routing at the device level means routing all of it, which requires a protocol that does not care what it is carrying. SOCKS5 also supports username-password authentication and can resolve DNS at the proxy rather than locally — closing a leak where the destination is revealed by a DNS lookup that bypassed the tunnel.
What to check
- Authentication — username and password rather than IP whitelisting, so credentials work from anywhere.
- UDP support — advertised by many providers, actually implemented by fewer.
- Remote DNS resolution, to avoid leaking lookups outside the tunnel.
A provider that only offers a browser extension cannot serve a device-level setup at all, whatever its pool size.