Use the proxy in Google Chrome

Chrome has no proxy settings of its own: it uses the operating system's. The cleanest way is to launch a separate profile with the proxy, so the rest of your computer is unaffected.

Step by step

1. 1

   Set the proxy protocol to HTTP in the client area: Chrome doesn't support username/password on SOCKS5 proxies.

2. 2

   Quit Chrome and launch it from a terminal with a dedicated profile and the --proxy-server argument (see the command below).

3. 3

   On the first page Chrome asks for the proxy username and password: enter them from the Connection section.

4. 4

   Alternatively, set the proxy in the system network settings (Windows: Settings › Network & Internet › Proxy; macOS: System Settings › Network › Details › Proxies), but it applies to the whole computer.

5. 5

   Check the IP with ProxyHub's What is my IP tool.

# Windows (PowerShell)
& "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir="$env:TEMP\chrome-proxy" --proxy-server="http://HOST:PORT"

# macOS
open -na "Google Chrome" --args --user-data-dir="/tmp/chrome-proxy" --proxy-server="http://HOST:PORT"

Replace USER, PASSWORD, HOST and PORT with your proxy's data (client area › proxy › Connection).

Tips

• The dedicated profile (--user-data-dir) keeps cookies and history apart from your everyday Chrome.
• A proxy-switcher extension lets you change proxy in one click, but pick a trustworthy one: it sees all browser traffic.
• To manage many profiles with different proxies, an antidetect browser is more convenient.
• Chrome can reveal your real IP through WebRTC: check with the WebRTC test in the What is my IP tool.