Best for Signal
Residential proxies
from $0.27/GB
Residential IPs rarely appear on network blocklists. A sticky session keeps one IP for up to 24 hours, which suits Signal Desktop's long-lived connection
Messengers & social apps
Proxy Address for Signal Where to Find One and Connect
Signal works on
- Android
- iOS
- Windows
- macOS
- Linux
Key facts
Where to get an address
Signal publishes no list. Search #SignalProxy on X or Mastodon, get a signal.tube link from someone you trust, or run your own. Volunteer proxies are free.
Try this before a proxy
Signal has a Censorship circumvention switch under Settings, then Privacy, then Advanced. Signal turns it on automatically for phone numbers from some countries where the app is blocked. You don't need a proxy address for it.
One address at a time
The phone apps keep one proxy address. A new one overwrites the old, so write a spare address down somewhere.
What the proxy owner sees
Your IP address and that you use Signal. Everything else stays inside Signal's encrypted connection.
Signal TLS proxy vs HTTP vs SOCKS5
The proxy setting in the Android and iPhone apps accepts only a Signal TLS proxy. Signal Desktop is the only Signal app that takes HTTP or SOCKS5.
| Name | Works In | Auth | Blocking Resistance | Best For | Where To Get |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Signal TLS proxy | Signal for Android, iPhone and iPad; not Signal Desktop | None. You get a domain name, often shared as a https://signal.tube/#domain link | High. The connection looks like normal HTTPS to a site with a valid certificate, and there is no plaintext proxy request | Countries or networks where Signal is blocked | The #SignalProxy hashtag, friends and family, or your own server. Geonode does not sell these |
| HTTP / HTTPS | Signal Desktop on Windows, macOS and Linux, through the HTTPS_PROXY environment variable | Username and password inside the proxy URL | Low | Office networks that allow only an HTTP proxy | Geonode residential, ISP or datacenter proxies; Geonode free list |
| SOCKS5 | Signal Desktop, through the same HTTPS_PROXY variable with a socks5:// URL | Username and password inside the proxy URL, or none | Medium | Running Signal Desktop from a chosen country or through a local tunnel client | Geonode residential or ISP proxies; Geonode free list |
| Device-wide proxy client | Android and iPhone, through an app that sets up a VPN profile and sends all device traffic to an HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy | Username and password in the client app | Medium | Routing Signal and every other app on the phone through one paid proxy | Geonode residential or ISP proxies |
Which proxy type to use with Signal
For Signal Desktop or a device-wide proxy client on a phone. Paid proxies work in both.
Good
ISP proxies
from $1.25/IP
The IP never changes, so the linked desktop always connects from the same address
Works on open networks
Datacenter proxies
from $0.14/GB
Fast and cheap. Networks that block Signal usually filter hosting IP ranges first, though
Testing only
Free public proxies
Free
Fine for a quick Signal Desktop test. Free HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies are shared and often go offline within hours
How to set up a proxy in Signal
Have the address ready first: a signal.tube link or domain for a phone, or a proxy URL with host, port, username and password for Signal Desktop.
Update Signal to the latest version.
If you have a signal.tube link or QR code, open it and tap Use proxy.
Otherwise, open Signal and go to Settings, then Data and storage, then Proxy.
Turn on Use proxy.
Enter the domain in Proxy address.
Tap Save and wait for Connected to proxy.
Not registered yet? On the registration screen, tap the menu, then Use proxy, and enter the address.
How to check that the proxy works
Android and iPhone: watch the proxy indicator. A green check means connected, a black alert icon means connecting, and a red alert icon means disconnected.
Send a message and a photo to Note to Self or a test contact. If both arrive while the proxy is on, Signal is using it.
Signal Desktop: start it once with a wrong port in the proxy URL. If it can't connect, the variable is being read. Then restart it with the correct URL.
How to turn the proxy off
Android: Settings, then Data and storage, then Proxy, and switch off Use proxy. iPhone and iPad: Settings, then Privacy, then Advanced, then Proxy, and switch off Use Proxy.
Signal Desktop: quit it, then start it from the Start menu, Dock or app launcher, where HTTPS_PROXY is not set. If you set the variable permanently in Windows Environment Variables, delete it there.
Common Signal proxy problems and fixes
"Couldn't connect to the proxy" error in Signal
- An IP and port from an HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy list was entered, or the domain has a typo
- Enter only the domain, the part after # in a signal.tube link.
CauseFixThe proxy worked for days, then the icon turned red
- Someone posted the address publicly and the network operator blocked it
- Get a new address, or run your own proxy (see setup above).
CauseFixSignal Desktop ignores the proxy or will not connect
- Signal was still running in the tray, it was started from a different window, or the password contains characters such as @ or # that break the URL
- Quit Signal fully and start it from the window where HTTPS_PROXY is set. Percent-encode special characters in the username and password, for example @ as %40.
CauseFixYour own Signal TLS proxy does not accept connections
- The domain does not point to the server yet, port 80 or 443 is closed, or the certificate step failed
- Check the domain's A record, open both ports in the server firewall, and run ./init-certificate.sh again before starting the container.
CauseFix
More for Signal users
Signal proxy FAQ
It is the domain name of a server running Signal's TLS proxy software. In a https://signal.tube/# link, it is the part after #. You enter it under Proxy in Signal's settings, and Signal reaches its servers through that domain.
Signal doesn't publish one. Its help center suggests the #SignalProxy hashtag on social networks, links from friends and family, or running your own server. It also asks people to share addresses privately, because public ones get blocked fast.
Yes. Signal TLS proxies run by volunteers cost nothing, and the proxy software is free to host on your own server. Free HTTP and SOCKS5 proxies from public lists won't work in the phone apps.
Not in the Android or iPhone proxy setting, which accepts only a Signal TLS proxy. Signal Desktop reads an HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy URL from the HTTPS_PROXY environment variable. On a phone, a device-wide proxy client can route Signal along with every other app.
Not in its settings screen, and Signal's help center says the phone proxy method doesn't work there. Signal Desktop does pick up an HTTP or SOCKS5 proxy from the HTTPS_PROXY environment variable if it is set before the app starts.
Signal's help center doesn't say, and we haven't tested it. A Signal TLS proxy relays only Signal's TLS connections on port 443, including the group-call server sfu.voip.signal.org. Call audio and video normally travel over UDP, which the proxy doesn't carry, so messages are the dependable part.
No. Signal keeps its own encrypted connection to its servers inside the proxy tunnel, and messages are end-to-end encrypted on top of that. The person running the proxy sees your IP address and that you use Signal.
