Can someone explain what is proxy settings and how they work? or What is proxy settings and why would

Thanks for all the replies! Super helpful to understand what is proxy settings and how they work. I tried Hide.me like someone suggested, and it was pretty easy to set up.

One follow-up though—do proxies affect download speeds a lot? I noticed a slight lag when streaming. Is that normal, or did I just pick a slow server?

Also, any tips for spotting sketchy free proxies? Don’t wanna risk my data. Thanks again!