How To Use Proxies With Slack

Slack is one of the most popular workspace messaging apps today. Its instant messaging system, alongside its multitude of add-ins for other workplace tools, has helped a lot of companies maintain high productivity in their workspace, especially during the recent pandemic. Slack's improved design and ability to understand its users' needs are the two core reasons why it’s so popular. It’s also available for all devices and can work as a desktop app or on a web browser.

Slack channels are where you can talk to people. Here, you can read and reply to messages, use various emoji reactions, add gifs, set reminders, get add-in notifications, and many other plug-ins that can be used. Your Slack workspace is also heavily protected. To protect your data and keep it secure, Slack has employed enterprise-grade protection. This ensures that only the right people have access to your data and people without the proper permissions can’t access it. Slack also encrypts all your data and further protects it with tools such as its Slack Enterprise Key Management tool. Another way to increase your protection would be having a VPN or installing a proxy server.

Proxies bring in a lot of benefits when used with the Slack app. It can enable access to a more reliable network connection thus speeding up the app and helping you work faster and also helps you avoid troubleshooting any connection issues you may encounter. Slack is also not available for some countries so using a proxy server allows you access to it. Slack has support for proxy configurations for all of its versions, and you can use either residential proxies, which are more secure, or datacenter proxies, which are usually faster. Additionally, Slack app proxy settings are obtained from your own system's proxy settings.

Here’s how to set up a slack proxy.

Note: If you’re using a web browser for Slack then make sure that your browser is set to use your system’s proxy settings. It’s recommended that you use Google Chrome as it automatically does this.

How To Use Proxies With Slack

For Windows:

To set up proxies in Windows, simply search for “Proxy Settings” in your windows search bar and open the search result.

You are then given two options to choose from: Automatic proxy setup or Manual proxy setup. If you want windows to automatically detect your proxy settings, choose the first option. Choose the second option if you want to utilize a specific ip address and port number.

If you chose the first option, then:

1. Turn on Automatically detect Settings
2. Turn on Use setup script
3. Enter the script address
4. Click Save

If you chose the second option, then:

1. Turn on Use a proxy server
2. Input both server address and port number
3. If you have any addresses you would like to visit without a proxy, enter them here
4. Turn on Don’t use the proxy server for local addresses check box if you want to access a local server without a proxy
5. Click Save

For Mac:

To start configuring your proxy settings in MacOS, simply:

Step 1. Click on the Apple Icon.

Step 2. On the drop down menu, click on “System Preferences”.

Step 3. Click on “Network”

Step 4. Click on “Advanced”

Note: Make sure to connect to your wi-fi first.

Step 5. Click on “Proxies”

This should then redirect you to MacOS proxy settings. MacOS is more straightforward compared to windows. You only have one option which is to manually configure your proxy server.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Select which proxy IP protocol you want to configure. This depends on which protocols your proxy service provider offers.
2. Turn on Secure Web Proxy
3. Input the Proxy Server Address and Port Number
4. Click OK to save the configurations

Note: You may be prompted for your Mac user password to save your settings.

Congratulations! You have now set up a proxy server for Slack. If you’re using a web browser, remember to double-check if it’s set to copy your system’s proxy settings.

For Mobile:

To configure mobile Slack proxy settings, simply configure your phone’s proxy settings . This is applicable for both Android and IOS. Here’s a thorough guide on how to configure a proxy server for Android slack and how to configure proxy server for slack on iPhone.