“Use a VPN” is the default advice for opening a blocked page in 2026. It is often the wrong answer. VPNs are heavyweight — an app to install, permission to grant, a background tunnel that stays on. For a single blocked page in a browser tab, a web proxy does the same job in three clicks with nothing installed.
This guide covers when a proxy beats a VPN, when it does not, and the exact steps for either path.
What is a web proxy — and why it works without a VPN
A web proxy is a website that fetches other websites for you. You visit the proxy, type in the blocked URL, and the proxy loads the destination page from its own server, then hands the page back to your browser tab.
The trick that unblocks the page: your device is talking to anyproxy.site, not the blocked destination. Whatever firewall or DNS filter your network runs sees a normal-looking connection to our domain and lets it through. Meanwhile, our server — sitting outside your network — has no problem reaching the destination.
Three filtering layers, all defeated by the same mechanism:
- DNS block — your resolver refuses to look up the blocked domain. Irrelevant, because you asked for our domain.
- IP block — your firewall drops packets to specific IP addresses. Irrelevant, because your packets are going to our IPs.
- TLS SNI / DPI inspection — your firewall reads the encrypted handshake and blocks by hostname. Still irrelevant — the hostname on your side is ours.
The one layer this does not defeat is a category filter that specifically blocks “proxy avoidance” sites. Some corporate networks pay for that categorisation. Most schools do not.
The three-click flow, on any device
- Open anyproxy.site in any browser — Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge.
- Paste the blocked URL — plain domain (
youtube.com), full URL (https://youtube.com/watch?v=...), or partial link. - Pick a region and press Open. The blocked page loads in the same tab.
No app installs. No account is required. No settings on your device change. If it works, it works in seconds; if it does not, you have wasted no setup time.
Web proxy vs VPN — when to use which
| Situation | Proxy wins | VPN wins |
|---|---|---|
| One page, one browser tab | ✓ | |
| Managed Chromebook, school iPad, work laptop | ✓ | |
| Need every app on your device on a foreign network | ✓ | |
| Streaming Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video | ✓ | |
| Torrenting, WebRTC video calls, VoIP | ✓ | |
| No install permission on the device | ✓ | |
| Full-device privacy, all day, always on | ✓ | |
| Cost matters | ✓ (free) | Depends |
| Setup time | ✓ (10 sec) |
The short version: a proxy is a tool, a VPN is a service. Pick a proxy when you need to open one page. Pick a VPN when you want an ongoing privacy layer.
For the long version, see proxy vs VPN.
What about DNS-over-HTTPS or public DNS resolvers?
Sometimes the recommended answer is “just switch to 1.1.1.1 or 8.8.8.8”. That defeats DNS-only blocks — nothing else. If your network uses IP-level blocking or DPI (most enterprise and modern school networks do), changing DNS does nothing.
A web proxy defeats DNS, IP, and TLS SNI blocks in one move because it moves the destination lookup off your network entirely.
When the proxy itself is blocked
If anyproxy.site does not load, one of three things is happening:
- Your network specifically blocks our domain. Rare on schools, occasional on corporate networks. Try from a mobile hotspot or a different Wi-Fi.
- A regional block is affecting your route. Some countries (Iran, China) have periodic issues with specific circumvention domains. Try switching to a different region inside the proxy.
- A category filter is dropping “proxy avoidance” sites. Corporate Zscaler / Cloudflare Gateway can do this. In that case, a VPN app (if installs are allowed) or a mobile hotspot is your fallback.
See fix proxy not loading for the debug order.
Sites people commonly open this way
- Social: YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, Reddit.
- AI tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini.
- Messaging: WhatsApp Web, Telegram, Discord.
- News: BBC, CNN, Wikipedia.
Each has its own country-level block-status grid showing where the site is blocked nationally versus just on managed networks.
After the blocked page loads
Read the page, do what you came for, close the tab. Nothing persists on your device. Nothing persists on our servers — we do not keep the URLs you visit.
If you want details on what we do and do not log, is AnyProxy safe? has the full privacy breakdown.