Privoxy is a free non-caching web proxy with filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, manipulating cookies and modifying web page data and HTTP headers before the page is rendered by the browser. Privoxy is a "privacy enhancing proxy", filtering web pages and removing advertisements. Privoxy can be customized by users, for both stand-alone systems and multi-user networks. Privoxy can be chained to other proxies and is frequently used in combination with Squid among others and can be used to bypass Internet censorship.
Privoxy is based on the Internet Junkbuster and is released under the GNU General Public License. It runs on Linux, OpenWrt, DD-WRT, Windows, macOS, OS/2, AmigaOS, BeOS, and most flavors of Unix. Almost any Web browser can use it. The software is hosted at SourceForge. Historically the Tor Project bundled Privoxy with Tor but this was discontinued in 2010 as they pushed their own internal Tor Browser project and recommended against external third party proxies. Privoxy still works if manually configured and is still recommended for third party non-browser applications which do not natively support SOCKS.
What is Privoxy?
Privoxy by Privoxy Developers is open-source Windows software in the firewall & privacy category. It ranks 26th by popularity among firewall & privacy in this catalogue. The first release dates back to 2001. It is written in C. Besides Windows, it is available for Unix, AmigaOS, BeOS, OS/2 and Haiku.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (NSIS) installers for 32-bit Windows. The main installer is 1.3 MB. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 4.1.0, released on January 5, 2026. The version history goes back to July 25, 2025: 2 releases, all linked to the official files.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 7,042 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 12 of our languages. Similar programs include OnionShare, Portmaster and dnscrypt-proxy.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Documented silent install
- Small download (1.3 MB)
- Also runs on Unix, AmigaOS and BeOS
- Mature project (since 2001)
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- 32-bit only
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Privoxy is an open-source firewall & privacy tool for 32-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Privoxy safe to download?
- The file is served by privoxy.org, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
88BC92E3D01F437F231B079A6137540FCA8DBC1964020BE1D8631F3C5E18CDA8· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link answered when we last checked it (October 22, 2026)
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 2 versions ›| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.1.0Latest | January 5, 2026 | 1.3 MB | 32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
| 4.0.0-1 | July 25, 2025 | 1.2 MB | 32-bit EXE (NSIS) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Privoxy.Privoxy -echoco install privoxy -yscoop install extras/privoxyprivoxy_setup_4.1.0.exe /SRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Also for other systems
brew install privoxyInformation
- Publisher
- Privoxy Developers
- Category
- Firewall & privacy
- Licence
- GPLv2
- Price
- Free
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 32-bit
- Installer
- EXE (NSIS)
- Other platforms
- Unix, AmigaOS, BeOS, OS/2, Haiku
- Version
- 4.1.0
- Released
- January 5, 2026
- First release
- 2001
- Added to the catalogue
- July 25, 2025
- Versions listed
- 2
- Chocolatey downloads
- 7,042
- Website
- privoxy.org
- winget ID
- Privoxy.Privoxy
- Chocolatey package
- privoxy
- Scoop package
- extras/privoxy
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Privoxy
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Frequently asked questions
Is Privoxy free?
Yes. Privoxy is open-source software under the GPLv2 licence.
Is Privoxy safe to download?
The download comes from privoxy.org, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Privoxy with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Privoxy be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Privoxy run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 32-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Privoxy?
The versions page lists all 2 versions with links to their official installer files, back to July 25, 2025.
What are alternatives to Privoxy?
OnionShare, Portmaster, dnscrypt-proxy, Prey Anti-Theft and DingTalk Workspace CLI. The alternatives page compares them.
