WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular messaging and communication apps. Originally founded by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009 for iPhone only, WhatsApp has gradually included versions for almost every major OS and platform, including a web version. WhatsApp’s usefulness and popularity soon led to its acquisition by Facebook, now known as Meta, for a reported $14 billion. But soon with their success came problems in some parts of the world. As an online tool facilitating personal communication between individuals around the world, WhatsApp soon drew the ire of restrictive governments. This means WhatsApp is basically banned in many countries around the world like China and Iran. This is where WhatsApp proxy plays an effective role.
If you choose to use WhatsApp proxy, your country restricts your access to free internet in general, not just WhatsApp. You can use our articles to bypass these restrictions Our blog will provide you with a wide range of VPN-related articles that can help you bypass internet restrictions.
For years, third-party proxies and VPNs were the only way to access WhatsApp in restricted regions. Now, however, all that has changed as Meta has introduced its own WhatsApp proxy support. Not only allows you to connect to a proxy using WhatsApp’s own interface and options but also allows you to host your own exclusive WhatsApp proxy and use it to bypass internet censorship.
So in this article, I will discuss what exactly WhatsApp proxy is and then I will also include step by step guide for iOS and Android. Lastly, I will show you how to set up your own WhatsApp web proxy server.
Does WhatsApp support proxy?
In short, WhatsApp Proxy is a new service of WhatsApp that allows a two-way exchange of proxying utilities. On one end, volunteers and organizations can use WhatsApp proxy to deploy proxy servers exclusively on the platform, on the other hand, users can use the same servers to connect and bypass WhatsApp restrictions. But what makes WhatsApp Proxy different from using third-party alternatives? Well, there are a number of noteworthy differences. The first is that the proxy server you are using will affect your WhatsApp instance, leaving other parts of your online operations intact.
This gives you the ability to use two proxies at the same time, one for your other activities and one for WhatsApp only. Furthermore, since almost all WhatsApp users have personal and sensitive contact data, using a separate, advanced and self-configured proxy will make it safer for users looking for that extra layer of protection. Finally, in cases where access to third-party options and other Internet content is blocked, a user can use WhatsApp’s native interface to enable proxies and bypass restrictions. WhatsApp proxy support really makes a secure and free communication app worldwide, at least in theory.
How to Setup WhatsApp Proxy on Android
In this section, I will cover how to use a WhatsApp proxy on your WhatsApp instance, as well as how to configure WhatsApp proxy settings to get the desired connection and performance. Let’s go.
1. Go to settings
Open your WhatsApp on your Android phone. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner and from there click on Settings to navigate to the Settings menu. From here, click on Storage and Data. Make sure your WhatsApp version is up to date. If so, you will see the proxy option here.
Step 2: Configure the proxy
When in the proxy menu, first, tick the Use Proxy option to enable it. Then you need to enter the proxy server address to make the connection. You can find proxy addresses online.
Generally, free servers aren’t that great for this. But if paid options are not your cup of tea, you can host your own WhatsApp proxy support server instead. Note that only proxy servers using ports 80, 443, & 5222 will work with WhatsApp proxy support.
Click on the Save option. If you configured everything correctly, a green checkmark will flash, indicating a successful operation.
Learn How you can use WhatsApp by proxy on iPhone
Now I’ll cover how to configure WhatsApp proxy settings on iPhone. This guide can also be used for other devices using the iOS system, such as the iPad. The process is almost the same as what we covered for configuring WhatsApp proxy settings on Android. Just follow the steps and you’ll be fine.
Step 1: Update WhatsApp
Go to AppStore and look for WhatsApp. If the app doesn’t have an update option, keep it as it is and exit, otherwise make sure the program is updated as the proxy feature is only available in the latest version.
Step 2: Head into Settings
Launch your WhatsApp instance and in the lower right corner, you will see the cog icon and settings icon. Tap on it and go to the Settings menu. From here again tap on Storage & Data.
In this menu, you’ll see a proxy option. Press on it to enter the WhatsApp proxy settings menu.
Step 3: Configure the Proxy
Here, first, tick the Use Proxy option to on the proxy. Then, similar to the steps we took for the Android version, you need to enter a proxy server that runs on one of ports 80, 5222, or 443.
Once entered, tap on save and if everything is performed correctly, you will see the WhatsApp check mark confirming the process.
How to set up a WhatsApp proxy server?
If you don’t want to use free VPN options and don’t want to pay for a proxy server that you can’t securely verify, self-hosting is your best bet. It may also happen that you are one of those volunteers who want to set up a WhatsApp proxy server for others to use. In any case, I am going to cover how to set up a WhatsApp proxy.
Step 1: Download and install Docker
First, you need to start docker and docker-compose. Feel free to skip this step if you have these installed.
sudo apt update sudo apt install docker.io sudo curl -L https://github.com/docker/compose/releases/latest/download/docker-compose-$(uname -s)-$(uname -m) -o /usr/bin/docker-compose sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/docker-compose
Step 2: Download the repository
Once you’re sure your Linux distro is updated and you have both Docker and Docker Compose installed and ready, download the repository that contains a pre-configured set of coding that will allow you to quickly install a WhatsApp proxy server. So clone the repository to the local machine.
git clone https://github.com/WhatsApp/proxy.git cd proxy/
Step 3: Create the proxy container
Now it’s time to create the proxy host container. Note that the downloaded file is saved as “whatsapp_proxy: 1.0”. Use the following command:
docker build proxy/ -t whatsapp_proxy:1.0
After this command, you will see the return of “successfully tagged whatsapp_proxy:1.0”.
Step 4: Run the proxy
Use this below command line to use the cloned repository to run the proxy:
docker run -it -d -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -p 5222:5222 -p 8080:8080 -p 8443:8443 -p 8222:8222 -p 8199:8199 whatsapp_proxy:1.0
