Glossary · Core proxy

Transparent proxy

Also calledintercepting proxyinline proxy

Definition

A transparent proxy intercepts traffic without the client being explicitly configured for it — the network transparently routes through it.

Explanation

In depth

On a hotel Wi-Fi, café network, or ISP that redirects HTTP traffic to a captive portal, you are already using a transparent proxy — you did not configure your device for it, but the network is routing your traffic through one. Transparent proxies are used for caching, content filtering, ad injection, and lawful interception. Because the client never chose the proxy, transparent proxies can only work on protocols where the destination server can be identified without prior negotiation — plain HTTP is easy; HTTPS is harder (the client validates the certificate). Enterprises deploy transparent proxies with company root certificates installed on managed devices to allow HTTPS interception. Public transparent proxies without cert injection can only see the destination hostname via TLS SNI, not the request contents.

Related terms

ProxyA proxy is a server that acts on your behalf — it makes network requests for you and hands the responses back to your device.Forward proxyA forward proxy sits in front of clients — it hides client identity from the server and controls what clients can reach.TLS SNITLS Server Name Indication (SNI) is a field in the TLS handshake that names the destination hostname — visible to any network observer even when the connection itself is encrypted.MITM (Man-in-the-Middle)A man-in-the-middle intercepts traffic between two parties — reading, modifying, or blocking the communication without either endpoint knowing.

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