Culvert VPNVPN vs proxy: what is the difference?
A proxy forwards one app's traffic and usually leaves it unencrypted; a VPN carries every app on the phone in one encrypted tunnel. When each fits.
A proxy is a server that one app, usually a browser, sends its requests through, so the website sees the proxy's address instead of yours. A VPN does the same job for every app on the phone at once, and wraps all of it in encryption so the Wi-Fi network and your carrier cannot read it. The short version: a proxy changes where one app appears to come from; a VPN changes where everything comes from and hides it on the way.
Side by side
| Proxy | VPN | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | One app, configured to use it | Every app on the device |
| Encrypts traffic on the local network | Usually not | Yes, always |
| Hides your IP from the website | Yes, for that app | Yes, for all apps |
| Hides which sites you visit from the Wi-Fi owner | No, unless the site is HTTPS and the proxy is too | Yes |
| Hides DNS lookups | Depends on the proxy type | Yes, when the VPN runs its own resolver |
| Needs a system permission on Android | No | Yes, the VPN connection request |
| Set up | Per app or per browser | Once, for the whole phone |
| Typical use | Testing, scraping, a single browser | Public Wi-Fi, privacy from the ISP, a stable exit address |
What a proxy actually does
When a browser is set to use a proxy, it sends each request to the proxy server and asks it to fetch the page. The proxy makes the request from its own address and passes the result back. The site logs the proxy's IP. That is the whole mechanism, and it is why proxies are cheap and simple.
Three things follow. First, only the app that was configured uses it; every other app on the phone connects directly and shows your real address. Second, most proxy types, HTTP and SOCKS included, do not encrypt the link between you and the proxy, so anyone on the Wi-Fi can see the traffic just as if there were no proxy at all. A page served over HTTPS is still encrypted by the site, but the destination name and the fact of the connection are visible. Third, DNS may or may not go through the proxy, depending on the type and how the app is set up, so the names of the sites you visit can leak even when the page itself does not.
A proxy is the right tool when you want one app to appear from somewhere else and do not care whether the local network can see it: a developer checking a site from another country, or a scraper that needs a different address per job.
What a VPN adds
A VPN registers itself with Android as the network interface for the whole phone. Every packet from every app goes into an encrypted tunnel to the VPN server, which decrypts it and sends it on. The Wi-Fi owner, the café, the campus and your carrier see one encrypted stream to one address and nothing else. The site at the far end sees the VPN server's exit IP, exactly as it would see a proxy's.
The two differences that matter in practice are coverage and encryption. Coverage means you do not have to remember which app is protected: a messaging app, a game, a background sync all go through the tunnel, and an app installed next month does too. Encryption means the local network learns nothing about where the traffic is going, which is the point of using one on public Wi-Fi. What a VPN hides sets out exactly which parties see what.
Because a VPN takes over the phone's network path, Android requires you to approve a connection request once, and shows a key icon while it is active. A proxy needs neither, which is why proxy-based "VPN" browser extensions can exist without a system prompt, and why they cannot cover other apps.
Where they are the same
Both put a server between you and the site, and both show that server's address to the site. Neither makes you anonymous: a site you are signed into knows who you are whichever address you arrive from, and cookies and device identifiers carry on identifying you. Both also move trust to whoever runs the server, which can now see your traffic. With a proxy that party often sees it in the clear; with a VPN it sees it after decryption. Either way, the question is what the operator does with what it can see, and a free proxy with no stated policy is the least reassuring answer available.
The HTTPS question
People sometimes argue that HTTPS makes the encryption difference moot. It does not, quite. HTTPS encrypts the page contents, but the name of the site you are connecting to, the DNS lookup that found it, and the pattern of connections all remain visible on the local network. A VPN hides those; a proxy generally does not. If HTTPS already encrypts, why use a VPN? goes through what is and is not covered.
Choosing
Use a proxy when the job is one app, the network you are on is your own, and simplicity matters more than coverage. Use a VPN when you are on Wi-Fi you do not control, when you want every app covered without configuring each, or when you want the local network and the carrier to learn nothing about your destinations. If the need is stronger than either, VPN vs Tor covers the next step up and what it costs in speed.
Culvert VPN covers every app on the phone in one encrypted tunnel with a single tap and no account on the free tier, and is on Google Play.
Questions people also ask
Is a browser "VPN extension" a VPN or a proxy?
Almost always a proxy. It redirects that browser's traffic and nothing else on the phone, and whether it encrypts depends on the extension. Android apps outside the browser are untouched.
Can I use a proxy and a VPN together?
Yes. With a VPN on, an app configured to use a proxy sends its traffic to the proxy through the tunnel. The VPN hides everything from the local network; the proxy then handles that one app's connection.
Which is faster?
A plain proxy skips encryption, so it does slightly less work, but on a modern phone the difference is small. Distance to the server and how loaded it is matter far more for both.