What's the real difference between proxy and VPN? Which one should I use? or Can someone explain the

A proxy is like a middleman for your internet traffic—it hides your IP but doesn’t encrypt your data. A VPN does both: hides your IP *and* encrypts everything.

For streaming, a proxy might work if the site doesn’t block it, but for torrenting or anything risky, go VPN.

Check out [hide.me](https://hide.me) for a free proxy/VPN comparison. They break it down well.