Telegram proxy settings: set up SOCKS5 on Android, iPhone and desktop

Proxy settings are built into the Telegram apps for Android, iPhone, Windows, macOS and Linux, but not into Telegram Web. This guide covers which proxy types each app accepts, which Proxeta strings to use with it, how to change Telegram proxy settings on a phone and a computer, and what to check if the proxy won’t connect.

What a Telegram proxy is and why you would connect one

A proxy server is an intermediary between the app and Telegram’s servers: the app connects to the proxy, and the proxy connects to Telegram.

People connect a proxy for Telegram in situations like these:

• You need an IP from a specific country or city. Proxeta proxies are issued for the location you choose.
• You need a separate IP for a work account. Give each employee or work device its own string with a sticky session.
• Telegram’s servers should see the proxy’s IP, not yours. The exception is calls, covered below.
• Your network only reaches the internet through a proxy. In that case, enter the proxy details from your network administrator in Telegram’s settings.

The proxy applies to the whole app: if several accounts are added to Telegram on the device, they all connect through this proxy.

Use proxies in line with applicable law, Telegram’s rules and the Proxeta Acceptable Use Policy, which among other things prohibits spam and automated activity that violates a platform’s rules.

Which proxy Telegram needs: SOCKS5 or HTTP

The Telegram apps for Android, iPhone, desktop (Telegram Desktop) and macOS all accept a SOCKS5 proxy with a username and password, so you can add a SOCKS5 proxy for Telegram in any of these apps. Telegram for Android and iPhone and the native macOS app have no HTTP proxy type; you can add an HTTP proxy in Telegram Desktop. Telegram Web has no proxy settings of its own.

MTProto and WEB proxies are set up with a secret key from the server owner; Proxeta does not issue them. Which Proxeta strings to use:

• Protocol: SOCKS5 on port 1080 for any of these apps, HTTP on port 8080 for Telegram Desktop.
• IP type: residential or mobile; both are billed by traffic from one balance.
• Session mode: “Sticky session”.

Why Telegram needs a sticky session

Telegram keeps several connections to its servers open at once, for messages and for downloading and uploading files, and reconnects when the network changes. In “Rotation” mode, every new connection gets a new IP from the pool, so a single app can go online from several addresses at the same time and changes them after every reconnect. In “Sticky session” mode, a string’s connections go through one IP for as long as possible, until the provider drops the connection.

In your Dashboard, sticky session is the default mode, and the @proxetabot bot only issues sticky-session strings. Each string has its own session ID, which makes it a separate session with its own IP: give each device its own string if the devices need different addresses. For more, see sticky session vs rotating proxies.

Where to get proxy details: your Dashboard or the @proxetabot bot

Proxeta issues each proxy as a host:port:login:password string. If you sign in on the site with “Sign in with Telegram”, the bot and the Dashboard share one balance; an account created with email only is a separate account.

In your Dashboard

1. Sign in to your Dashboard with a one-time code from your email or with Telegram, and open the “Generate proxies” section.
2. Under “Connection type”, choose “Residential” or “Mobile”. Then check the “Country” field (United States is selected by default) and, if needed, set “Region / State” and “City”. The location fields are covered in choosing locations.
3. Under “Session type”, keep “Sticky session”.
4. Under “Protocol”, choose “SOCKS5 1080”: HTTP is selected by default. For Telegram Desktop, “HTTP 8080” works too.
5. Set “Number of proxies (1–100)”: the default is 10, and one device needs just 1. Click “Generate N proxies” (“Generate 1 proxy” for a single one).
6. Copy a string or download the list with “Download .txt”.

Proxies work while your balance has traffic left, and the bot issues strings only when the balance is above zero. You can top up from 1 GB, as described in topping up your balance.

With the @proxetabot Telegram bot

The bot’s features are described on the bot page. The bot replies in Russian only, so the steps below describe its buttons in English.

1. Send the /start command to @proxetabot. On first launch, review the terms and tap the accept-and-continue button.
2. In the main menu, tap the first button, for mobile and residential proxies. The button with the 📶 icon shows your remaining balance in GB; if it is zero, tap the 💰 button to top up.
3. Tap the button to generate proxies.
4. Tap a country in the list, and the bot will ask for the number of connections right away. Alternatively, tap the button to search by country or by city, start typing the name and pick an option from the pop-up list without sending the message; then, in the message that confirms the selected entry point, tap the button to get the proxy list.
5. Enter the number of connections as a whole number from 1. For one device, 1 is enough.
6. The bot sends up to 4 connections as a message and 5 or more as a connections.txt file. Each connection comes as four strings: residential and mobile, HTTP and SOCKS. For a phone, take a string from the residential SOCKS group or the mobile SOCKS group.

How to enter the proxy string in Telegram settings

Telegram has a separate field for each part, so you need to split the string at the colons. A sample string:

proxy.example.invalid:1080:login-country-de-sid-k7m2q9x4ab:password

Copy the login in full: it stores the location, the session ID and the string’s other parameters (mobile strings also include type-mobile). All residential and mobile strings on an account share one password. Check that the fields contain no spaces and that the port matches the protocol: 1080 for SOCKS5, 8080 for HTTP. The string structure is also covered in the help center: proxy string format.

How to set up a Telegram proxy on Android

1. Open “Settings” → “Data and Storage”.
2. Under the “Proxy” header, tap “Proxy Settings”, then “Add Proxy”.
3. Keep the “SOCKS5 Proxy” type: it is selected by default.
4. Fill in “Server”, “Port” (1080), “Username” and “Password”.
5. Tap the “Done” checkmark.

In Telegram for Android, a new proxy becomes the current one and turns on right away. While it connects, the chat list header shows “Connecting to proxy...”, and in the list a working proxy shows the status “Connected” and its ping.

How to set up a Telegram proxy on iPhone

1. Open “Settings” → “Data and Storage”.
2. Under “CONNECTION TYPE”, tap “Proxy”, then “Add Proxy”.
3. Keep the SOCKS5 type: it is selected by default.
4. Under “CONNECTION”, enter “Server” and “Port” (1080); below that, under “CREDENTIALS (OPTIONAL)”, enter “Username” and “Password”.
5. Save the proxy with the checkmark button and turn on the “Use Proxy” switch, which doesn’t turn on by itself after saving. If the list already had other proxies, tap the new entry to make it the current one.

While it connects, Telegram for iPhone shows “Connecting...” in the chat list header, and a working proxy in the list shows “connected” and its ping. After that, a “Proxy” item also appears on the main Settings screen.

How to set up a Telegram proxy on PC and Mac

Computers have two Telegram clients with different menus: Telegram Desktop for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the native Telegram app for macOS.

Telegram Desktop proxy settings

To add a proxy for Telegram Desktop on Windows, macOS or Linux:

1. Open “Settings” → “Advanced”.
2. In the “Data and storage” section, click “Connection type”.
3. Choose “Use custom proxy”. If the list is empty, the add window opens right away; otherwise, click “Add proxy”.
4. Switch the type to SOCKS5 or HTTP: MTPROTO is selected by default.
5. Under “Socket address”, fill in “Hostname” and “Port”: 1080 for SOCKS5, 8080 for HTTP.
6. Under “Credentials (optional)”, fill in “Username” and “Password” and click “Save”.

In the list, the active proxy shows the status “online”, and other available ones show “available (ping: N ms)”.

The native Telegram app for macOS

This app has no HTTP type, so use a SOCKS string.

1. Open “Settings” → “Data and Storage” and, under “CONNECTION TYPE”, click “Use Proxy”.
2. Click “Add Proxy”: SOCKS5 is already selected under “PROXY TYPE”.
3. Enter “Server”, “Port” (1080), “Username” and “Password”.
4. Click “Done”: the new proxy becomes the current one and turns on right away, and the “Proxy” switch in the list will be on.

These steps are for version 13.1. If your settings include an “Advanced” section, you have Telegram Desktop; use the instructions above.

Telegram Web

Telegram Web has no proxy settings of its own. To connect through a proxy on a computer, use Telegram Desktop or the macOS app.

How to check, switch or turn off the proxy

On a phone, the connection state shows in the chat list header:

• “Connecting...”, or “Connecting to proxy...” on Android when it connects through a proxy: the app is still connecting to Telegram’s servers. If the message doesn’t go away, check the table below.
• “Waiting for network”: the device has no internet connection, and the proxy is not the cause.
• “Updating...”: the app is connected and syncing.

In Telegram Desktop, connection problems show up as a connection indicator in the bottom-left corner of the window: hover over it to see “Connecting...”, and between reconnect attempts it reads “Reconnect in N s...”. Until the app connects, the “Connection type” row reads “Connecting through proxy...”.

To see which address Telegram sees your connection from, open the session list: “Settings” → “Devices” on a phone, or “Settings” → “Privacy and Security” → “Active sessions” in Telegram Desktop, and tap the session you need. Telegram for Android and Telegram Desktop show an “IP address” field and the location (“Location based on the IP address” on Android, “Location” in Telegram Desktop), while Telegram for iPhone shows only “Location”, without the IP address. The location is derived from the IP address, may be inaccurate and may not update right away after a reconnect.

To switch proxies, tap another entry in the list of saved proxies. If you have several strings saved and a single address matters to you, don’t turn on “Auto-switch proxies” (Android, Telegram Desktop): when the current proxy stops responding, the app moves to another entry on its own, which means another IP. To turn the proxy off, switch off “Use Proxy” on a phone or the “Proxy” switch in the macOS app, or choose “Disable proxy” in Telegram Desktop.

A disabled entry stays in the list. To delete it in Telegram for Android, press and hold the entry and tap the trash icon (with 10 or more saved proxies, “Delete All Proxies” also appears at the bottom of the list); on iPhone, swipe the entry left and tap “Delete”; in Telegram Desktop, open the entry’s menu and choose “Delete”.

How much traffic Telegram uses through a proxy

Proxeta residential and mobile proxies are billed for the traffic you use, in gigabytes. Photos, videos and files that Telegram downloads automatically usually account for a noticeable share. You can limit them in the automatic media download settings:

• Android and iPhone: set separately for mobile data and Wi-Fi: on Android, “Data and Storage” → “Automatic media download” (“When using mobile data”, “When connected to Wi-Fi”, plus “When roaming”); on iPhone, “Data and Storage” → the automatic media download section (“Using Cellular” and “Using Wi-Fi”).
• Telegram Desktop: “Advanced” → “Automatic media download”, set separately for “In private chats”, “In groups” and “In channels”.
• macOS: “Data and Storage” → “AUTOMATIC MEDIA DOWNLOAD”, the “Auto-Download Media” switch.

The “Statistics” section shows usage by period; see traffic usage for details. Traffic pricing is published on the home page.

Calls. By default, calls don’t go through the proxy: always in current versions of Telegram for Android and Telegram Desktop, and in Telegram for iPhone and macOS as long as the “Use for calls” switch (“Use for Calls” on macOS) is off. This switch is available when a SOCKS5 proxy is active and is off by default; on iPhone, the note under it says that proxy servers may degrade the quality of your calls. A call that doesn’t go through the proxy is set up from your device’s IP address. We do not guarantee that calls work through the proxy.

Why the proxy won’t connect in Telegram

If the problem persists, contact support. The checks to run before you reach out are described in the Support center article.

Security: what the proxy server and Telegram can see

The proxy server cannot read your messages: Telegram encrypts data between the app and its servers, and protects secret chats and calls with end-to-end encryption. The proxy does see your IP address (Telegram warns about this when you check a proxy’s status), as well as the addresses of Telegram’s servers and the timing and volume of your traffic. The SOCKS5 username and password are sent to the proxy server unencrypted. Proxeta records how much traffic you use but, under its Privacy Policy, does not collect the content of what you open through the proxy. Telegram’s servers see the proxy’s IP address; the exception is calls that don’t go through the proxy, covered in the traffic section.

Proxy strings contain your Proxeta account’s authentication details: keep them safe and don’t share them with third parties. If a string has been exposed to others, contact support.