# How to use a different proxy for each Chrome profile > Chrome has no proxy setting per profile. Use a proxy extension in each profile, or launch Chrome with its own data folder and --proxy-server. Source: https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/use-a-different-proxy-for-each-chrome-profile ## How to use a different proxy for each Chrome profile Chrome has no built-in proxy setting per profile, so every profile uses the computer's network settings. Install a proxy extension in each profile, or start a separate Chrome with its own --user-data-dir and a --proxy-server flag; neither changes the fingerprint or timezone. ![A proxy per profile, without the system setting](https://mosaicbrowser.com/covers/use-a-different-proxy-for-each-chrome-profile.webp) Chrome's settings page has no proxy field. **Settings › System › Open your computer's proxy settings** sends you to macOS or Windows, and whatever you set there applies to every Chrome profile and every other app on the machine. So the honest answer to "how do I use a different proxy for each Chrome profile" is that Chrome itself does not offer it, and there are two ways around that. ## Where Chrome gets its proxy Chromium's network documentation lists the sources, in the order it consults them ([proxy.md](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/HEAD/net/docs/proxy.md), read 2 November 2026): 1. managed Chrome policy, which an employer or school sets 2. command-line flags such as `--proxy-server` 3. "(per-profile) Chrome extensions", through the `chrome.proxy` API 4. "(per-network) System proxy settings" Only the third is per profile. The second applies to one running Chrome process, which matters for method 2 below. The fourth is what you get with no changes, and it is the same for all profiles. ## Method 1: a proxy extension in each profile This keeps everything inside the Chrome you already use. 1. Switch to the first profile from the profile icon at the top right. 2. Install a proxy-switching extension from the Chrome Web Store. Pick one with recent updates and a privacy policy you have read, because it sees every address the profile visits. 3. Add the proxy's scheme, host and port in the extension, and set it as the active one. 4. Visit a what-is-my-IP page and check the address and location. 5. Repeat in the next profile with its own proxy. Extensions installed in one profile do not exist in another, so each profile keeps its own setting. If the proxy needs a username and password over HTTP or HTTPS, Chrome asks for them in a sign-in box, and some extensions fill it for you. Mosaic is a desktop app Email yourself the link and open it on your computer. [How it works: Provider minting](https://mosaicbrowser.com/features/proxy-providers) ## Method 2: a separate Chrome per proxy The `--proxy-server` flag sets a proxy for one Chrome process. A Chrome that is already running ignores the flag when you open another window, so the trick is to start a separate copy of Chrome with its own user data directory, which Chromium's [user data directory notes](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/HEAD/docs/user_data_dir.md) describe. On a Mac, in Terminal: ``` open -na "Google Chrome" --args --user-data-dir="$HOME/chrome-client-a" --proxy-server="http://203.0.113.10:8080" ``` On Windows, as a shortcut target: ``` "C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe" --user-data-dir="C:\chrome-client-a" --proxy-server="http://203.0.113.10:8080" ``` Each folder is a completely separate Chrome, with its own profiles, cookies and extensions, started fresh the first time. Use one folder per proxy and one shortcut per folder. The proxy.md page shows the other forms the flag takes, such as `socks5://host:1080` or a list with `direct://` as a fallback. Leave the fallback out: if the proxy fails, you want the page to fail, not to load from your home connection. ## Three limits neither method removes ### SOCKS5 with a password does not work Chromium's document is direct: "No authentication methods are supported for SOCKSv5 in Chrome". If your seller gives you `socks5://user:pass@host:port`, use its HTTP endpoint instead. ### WebRTC can go around the proxy A page can open a WebRTC connection over UDP, which an HTTP proxy does not carry, and learn your real address that way. Run a leak test in each profile; the fixes for Chrome are in [how to fix a WebRTC leak in Chrome](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/fix-webrtc-leak-in-chrome). ### The rest of the browser still describes your computer A profile with a Berlin proxy still reports your own timezone, your own language list, your own graphics card and your own screen. A site comparing the Berlin address with a Pacific-time clock sees a mismatch, which [browser timezone does not match IP](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/browser-timezone-does-not-match-ip) walks through. And two profiles with two proxies still read as one machine on two addresses, which is why a proxy alone does little for [multiple accounts on the same IP address](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/multiple-accounts-on-the-same-ip-address). For a handful of your own profiles, method 1 is fine. Once each profile belongs to a different client and needs its own region, the shortcuts and extensions pile up, and nothing in Chrome keeps them consistent. ## How Mosaic gives each profile its own proxy In Mosaic the proxy is a field of the profile, so there is nothing to install per profile and nothing shared with the system. 1. Open **New profile**. On the General tab, under **Connection › Source**, choose **Custom** to paste a proxy for this profile only, pick one from **Saved proxies**, or pick a provider. 2. For many profiles, add your seller once in Proxies › **Add provider** by pasting one gateway line. Every profile then mints its own session, so no two profiles share an exit by accident. 3. Start the profile. Mosaic checks the proxy first and refuses to launch behind one that has not answered and tunnelled, saying which part failed. ![A proxy provider in Mosaic: one gateway line that mints a separate session for every profile](https://mosaicbrowser.com/shots/provider-mint.png) *One gateway line, one session per profile* HTTP, HTTPS and SOCKS5 all take a username and password, because the sign-in goes through a small relay on your computer rather than through Chrome. With a proxy attached, WebRTC is stopped from sending UDP around it, and the profile's timezone, language and location are set from where the exit actually is. How the minting works, seller by seller, is on [the proxy providers page](https://mosaicbrowser.com/features/proxy-providers). ## Sources 1. [Chromium: Proxy support in Chrome (net/docs/proxy.md)](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/HEAD/net/docs/proxy.md), read November 2, 2026 2. [Chromium: User Data Directory (docs/user_data_dir.md)](https://chromium.googlesource.com/chromium/src/+/HEAD/docs/user_data_dir.md), read November 2, 2026 3. [Google Chrome Help: Manage Chrome with multiple profiles](https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/2364824?hl=en), read November 2, 2026 ## Questions ### Why does Chrome use the same proxy in every profile? Because by default Chrome reads the proxy from the operating system's network settings, which belong to the computer, not to a Chrome profile. Only an extension or a launch flag gives one profile a different proxy. ### Can Chrome use a SOCKS5 proxy with a username and password? No. Chromium's own documentation says no authentication methods are supported for SOCKSv5 in Chrome. Use an HTTP or HTTPS endpoint from the same seller, or a tool that handles the sign-in for Chrome. ### Does a proxy extension hide my real IP from WebRTC? Not necessarily. WebRTC can send traffic outside the HTTP proxy and reveal your real address. Check with a WebRTC leak test after setting the proxy. ### Will the proxy change my timezone in Chrome? No. Chrome takes the timezone from the computer's clock, so a profile with a German proxy still reports your own timezone unless you change it separately. ## Related [Chrome profiles vs an anti-detect browser: which do you need?](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/chrome-profiles-vs-anti-detect-browser): Chrome profiles separate cookies for free. An anti-detect browser also gives each profile its own fingerprint and proxy, which matters for client accounts. [Multiple accounts on the same IP address: is it a problem?](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/multiple-accounts-on-the-same-ip-address): Multiple accounts on the same IP address are normal: homes, offices and mobile carriers share one. It matters when the accounts share more than the IP. [How to fix a WebRTC leak in Chrome](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/fix-webrtc-leak-in-chrome): How to fix a WebRTC leak in Chrome: one setting stops WebRTC sending UDP around your proxy, by policy, flag or Google's extension. Measured: 2 to 0. [Browser timezone does not match IP: what it means and the fix](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/browser-timezone-does-not-match-ip): Browser timezone does not match IP? Your browser reads the computer's clock, and a proxy or VPN moves only the address. Match the zone to the exit. [Provider accounts: one gateway line, one exit per profile](https://mosaicbrowser.com/features/proxy-providers): Paste your proxy seller's gateway line once and Mosaic mints a separate session for every profile, so each one browses from its own exit address. [Residential proxy: an exit on a home internet connection](https://mosaicbrowser.com/glossary/residential-proxy): A residential proxy sends your traffic out through an address an ISP assigned to a home connection, so sites see a household rather than a data center. [Chrome SOCKS5 proxy with username and password](https://mosaicbrowser.com/guides/chrome-socks5-proxy-with-username-and-password): A Chrome SOCKS5 proxy with username and password fails: Chromium has no SOCKS5 sign-in. Use the seller's HTTP port, allowlist your IP, or relay it. [What happens to QUIC when Chrome has a proxy](https://mosaicbrowser.com/blog/chrome-quic-through-a-proxy): With an HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS5 proxy set, Chrome reaches sites over TCP tunnels, so a page that gets HTTP/3 direct gets HTTP/2 through the proxy. ## Run this guide on your own accounts Every Mosaic profile is a fingerprint, a proxy exit and a cookie jar that agree with each other, kept on your computer. Free holds 3 profiles. Pro is $49 a month for any number. Mosaic is a desktop app Email yourself the link and open it on your computer.