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HTTP or SOCKS5 — which to pick, and why
Every FRProxy proxy opens two ports: one HTTP, one SOCKS5, same credentials and same exit IP. Two doors into the same device.
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Here is how to choose once and not come back to it.
The difference in one image
The HTTP proxy understands what it carries. It reads the request header, knows which domain you are asking for, and can rewrite it.
The SOCKS5 proxy understands nothing at all. It opens a pipe between you and the destination and copies the bytes across. It does not even know this is the web.
That ignorance is an advantage: what is not interpreted cannot be distorted.
Decision table
| Your need | Port to use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Antidetect browser (AdsPower, Dolphin, BitBrowser) | SOCKS5 | Handles DNS remotely, less interference with the fingerprint |
| Proxifier, application tunnels | SOCKS5 | The only one Proxifier routes cleanly |
| Browser extension (FoxyProxy) | Both work | Take SOCKS5 out of habit |
| Phone, native Wi-Fi setting | HTTP | Android and iOS cannot do SOCKS5 natively |
Old software, a curl/requests script |
HTTP | Often the only one supported |
| Anything other than the web (mail, games, IRC) | SOCKS5 | HTTP only carries HTTP |
The point that matters: DNS
This is the real reason to prefer SOCKS5.
With an HTTP proxy, your machine sometimes resolves the domain name itself, against your provider's DNS server, before asking the proxy for the page. The traffic goes through the proxy; the question "what is the IP of vinted.fr?" does not. Your provider therefore sees the list of sites you visit, and the lookup happens from your country, not from the proxy's France.
With SOCKS5 you can send the name to the proxy and let it resolve. That is what Firefox's "Proxy DNS when using SOCKS v5" checkbox does, and what antidetect browsers do by default.
DNS resolved at your end while traffic exits in France creates one more inconsistency. It is not the strongest signal, but it costs nothing to remove.
Common misconceptions
"SOCKS5 is faster." Not measurably, here. Both go through the same dongle, the same cell, the same line. Latency comes from 4G, not from the protocol.
"SOCKS5 encrypts." No. Neither encrypts. HTTPS is what encrypts, end to end, and it works through both. The proxy sees which server you are talking to, never what you say to it.
"You have to choose once and for all." No: both ports are open permanently. Nothing stops you running the browser on SOCKS5 and a script on HTTP at the same time, on the same proxy.
See also: Checking that your proxy works · WebRTC and DNS leaks
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