# What is a VPN, and how is it different from a proxy? | SoftGlaze Browser glossary > A VPN encrypts all of a device's traffic to a server and exits from there. How it differs from a per-profile proxy and an antidetect browser, and when to use which. - Canonical URL: https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary/vpn - Last updated 2026-11-09 --- [Proxies and networking](https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary?category=proxies-and-networking) ## VPN Also called virtual private network, VPN vs proxy, WireGuard, OpenVPN Definition A VPN (virtual private network) is an encrypted tunnel that carries all of a device's network traffic to a VPN server, so every app on the device appears to come from the server's IP address. Last updated 7 November 2026 ### How it works VPN software creates a virtual network adapter on your device and encrypts everything sent through it to a VPN server, using a protocol such as WireGuard, IPsec or OpenVPN. The server decrypts the traffic and sends it on to the internet. Sites see the server’s IP address; your internet provider sees only an encrypted stream to the server. Because the tunnel sits at the system level, every app on the device uses it, not just the browser. A proxy works at the application level: only the program that is told to use it sends traffic through it, and different programs, or different browser profiles, can use different proxies. ### Why it matters when you run several accounts A VPN gives the whole computer one new address. Every profile behind it then shares that address, which is the opposite of what separate profiles need. A VPN also changes nothing about the browser: cookies, storage and device values stay as they were. For several accounts, the useful unit is one exit per profile, which is what a proxy assigned per profile gives you. ### How SoftGlaze Browser handles it SoftGlaze Browser isn’t a VPN. Each profile uses its own proxy from the pool (HTTP and SOCKS5), or a direct connection if you choose. If a system VPN is also running, the proxied profiles connect to their proxies through it, and profiles set to a direct connection use the VPN’s address. An option can refuse to open a profile when no proxy is available, so it never falls back to your own connection by accident. ### Sources 1. [SP 800-77 Rev. 1: Guide to IPsec VPNs](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/sp/800/77/r1/final) NIST 2. [WireGuard: fast, modern, secure VPN tunnel](https://www.wireguard.com/) WireGuard Outside sources were checked in November 2026. Browsers, standards and vendors' pages change, so details that depend on them are as of that month. ### Related terms - [Proxy server](https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary/proxy-server) A proxy server is a computer that forwards your requests to websites and passes the answers back, so the sites see the proxy's IP address instead of yours. - [Antidetect browser](https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary/antidetect-browser) An antidetect browser is a browser that runs many separate profiles, each with its own cookies, its own set of device values and its own proxy, so accounts kept in different profiles share nothing a site can compare. - [DNS leak](https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary/dns-leak) A DNS leak is when the lookups that turn site names into IP addresses go out through your own network and resolver instead of through the proxy or VPN, revealing which sites you visit and roughly where you are. - [WebRTC leak](https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary/webrtc-leak) A WebRTC leak is when a page learns your real IP address through the browser's real-time communication feature, which gathers network addresses directly instead of through the proxy that carries the rest of your traffic. ### Read more on this site - [Antidetect browser vs VPN vs proxy: what each one actually changes](https://browser.softglaze.com/blog/antidetect-browser-vs-vpn) - [Proxy pool](https://browser.softglaze.com/features/proxy-pool) - [Docs: proxies](https://browser.softglaze.com/docs/proxies) ### See it in SoftGlaze Browser Separate profiles, each with its own cookies, device values and proxy, on Windows. Try the app's screens in your browser first, or start the free trial; no card needed. [Download for Windows](https://browser.softglaze.com/download) [Try the demo](https://browser.softglaze.com/demo) [All terms](https://browser.softglaze.com/glossary)