Internet privacy is a serious concern that makes internet users anxious. With constant discoveries of negligence towards user privacy, the marvelous technological achievements of our beloved tech giants are getting overshadowed by the inhumane use of technology. The dependence on the internet and IT systems forces us to sacrifice our privacy for efficiency and convenience.
Many internet users are still unfamiliar with how much private data is being left on the table after agreeing to privacy policies for downloaded apps, visited websites, and creating social media accounts. To make matters worse, many companies have been exposed for lying about their treatment of private user information. Promises of comfort are perfect, addictive distractions that maximize user engagement while ensuring unrestricted access to sensitive data. Every decision on the web is being tracked and utilized to the benefit of companies that provide these services.
The modern web has no privacy, and every user is at the mercy of data-hungry tech companies. When average web surfers start to feel uneasy about the accuracy of ads and algorithmic predictions, the convenience transforms into anxiety.
However, even if every decision on the web is being watched, that does not mean that we cannot fight to preserve information that is possible to conceal. For example, your IP address is a sensitive piece of digital user data that should be protected from both tech companies and third parties with malicious intent.
In recent years, the usage of proxies — intermediary servers that mask your IP address, has skyrocketed. Instead of connecting to the web and exposing your digital identity and approximate location, you can choose any address and place in the world as your access point.
Still, even though internet users pay closer attention to the importance of online privacy and anonymity, these concerns suddenly evaporate when we access the web with a mobile phone. Most web surfers care about proxy servers while using a computer but never bother to protect an even more vulnerable connection. In this article, we want to discuss the importance of proxies for android phones. If you are interested in learning more about the technical side of proxies, check out Smartproxy, one of the best proxy providers and find out more.
Start using a proxy server
Setting up a proxy server for your Android device is very easy. Get into the settings menu and choose “Wi-fi”. Press and hold on to your network name. Then, click on “Modify Network” and proceed to advanced options. Select “Manual” to add your proxy server and save the changed settings. Visit whatismyip.com or any other website that lets you check your IP. If everything went smoothly, your IP address will be changed.
Avoid HTTP Cookies
In theory, HTTP cookies are great tools that keep track of your website visits to speed up the connection if you decide to come back to the same page later. If you want to opt out of this feature and avoid data collection during your browsing sessions, use proxy servers.
Protect yourself from cybercriminals
Hackers and cybercriminals can disrupt your internet connection or even find weaknesses in your network if they know your IP address. To avoid the exposure of your digital identity and approximate location, utilize legitimate proxies on your android phone.
Change your geolocation
Proxy servers give us the immensely valuable flexibility that comes with geolocation changes. Best providers supply their clients with addresses from most countries around the world. If you ever encounter a page that is unavailable in your region, choose the server that will ignore this restriction. With different proxies, you can mess around and test different versions of encountered pages, changes in search recommendations on search engines, or discover lower prices for travel tickets.
You heard that the right airline and booking websites show different prices depending on the location provided by your IP address. With a large pool of IP addresses at your disposal, you can go through them to find the best deal and save money.
What about free proxies?
While proxy servers are great privacy tools that let us fight for partial anonymity on the web, most new users fall into the trap of public proxies. Luring in users with free servers, the unknown third parties behind such proxies are usually criminals searching for valuable information. By using public servers, you endanger yourself more than accessing the web without a proxy at all! If you are a first-time user, the market is full of providers with affordable deals for both beginners and large companies. Even if you do not send any sensitive data through a public proxy. Third parties can tamper with the connection and inject the browsing experience with unwanted ads. Even without security threats, public proxies are used by many people at the same time, causing a severe reduction in internet speed. Get yourself a legitimate provider and avoid free proxies for your own good.
