Quick Answers

What Is an Elite Proxy?

An elite, or high-anonymity, proxy hides your IP and also hides the fact that a proxy is involved: it adds no Via or X-Forwarded-For headers.

By Team of Monkeys Editorial Updated 1 min read Affiliate disclosure

This guide contains affiliate links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. If you buy through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

What Is an Elite Proxy illustration: an elite, or high-anonymity, proxy hides your IP and also hides the fact that a proxy is involved: it adds no Via or X-Forwarded-For headers 3jdej38j4

The short answer

Proxies are traditionally sorted into three anonymity levels:

  • Transparent: passes your real IP in headers. Hides nothing.
  • Anonymous: hides your IP but admits it is a proxy, for example with a Via header.
  • Elite (high anonymity): hides your IP and sends no proxy headers at all.

The catch

"Elite" only describes the headers. Websites can still spot a proxy from the IP's ASN, its reputation, timing differences, or browser fingerprints. So an elite datacenter proxy can still be blocked faster than a plain residential one.

A proxy is basically a very convincing disguise for your IP address (animated GIF) 3jdej38j4
A proxy is basically a very convincing disguise for your IP address. GIF via GIPHY

Also known as

High anonymity proxy, level 1 proxy, HA proxy.

Learn more

Affiliate disclosure: Team of Monkeys is an affiliate of Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte. Links and banners marked as sponsored, and links to Geonode, Webshare and Rayobyte in the text, use our referral links, and we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Our explanations and comparisons are written to be useful whichever provider you choose.

Editorial note: Proxy providers change their pools, features and prices often, so treat any figures here as typical ranges at the time of writing and confirm current terms with the provider before you buy.
Keep reading

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Proxy BasicsProxy Anonymity Levels: Transparent vs Anonymous vs Elite ProxiesWhat transparent, anonymous and elite (high-anonymity) proxies are, which headers give them away, how to test your proxy's anonymity, and why the IP type matters more today. Quick AnswersWhat Is a Transparent Proxy?A transparent proxy intercepts traffic without any setup on your device, and does not hide your IP. Schools, offices and ISPs use them for filtering and caching. Quick AnswersWhat Is X-Forwarded-For?X-Forwarded-For is an HTTP header some proxies add to tell the website your original IP. Transparent proxies send it; anonymous and elite proxies do not. Quick AnswersCan Websites Detect Proxies?Often, yes. Sites check the IP's network owner, reputation and location, plus headers, browser fingerprints and behaviour. Residential and mobile IPs are hardest to spot. Quick AnswersWhat Is a Proxy Timeout?A proxy timeout happens when the proxy or the website takes longer to answer than your tool is willing to wait. Slow IPs, overloaded targets or bad settings are the usual causes. Quick AnswersWhat Is ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED?ERR_PROXY_CONNECTION_FAILED means Chrome could not reach the proxy server set in your system or extension settings. Fix the proxy or switch it off.
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