Set up an iPhone as a mobile proxy

Install

Download the installer for the computer your iPhones plug into from the download page.

System	Installer	What it installs
macOS 14+	`OwnYourProxy.pkg`	the app in `~/Applications`; its window installs the command to `/usr/local/bin`
Windows 10/11 64-bit	`OwnYourProxy.msi`	the app and the command (on PATH) for the current user
Linux (Debian 11+, Ubuntu 20.04+, Raspberry Pi OS)	`ownyourproxy-arm64.deb`, `-amd64.deb`	the command and a systemd user service

On Linux, see Linux and Raspberry Pi. On Windows, see Windows.

Set up an iPhone

Turn on Personal Hotspot
On the iPhone, open Settings > Personal Hotspot and turn on Allow Others to Join.
Plug it in
Connect the iPhone to the computer with a USB cable.
Trust the computer
If the iPhone asks, tap Trust and enter its passcode.

Personal Hotspot stays on while the cable is plugged in, so after this the phone is ready every time you plug it in.

Use the proxy

Every phone gets one port for both HTTP and SOCKS5, starting at 7701. The number stays the same across restarts.

1234ownyourproxy list                                      # phones, their proxy URLs and warnings
ownyourproxy run -p 1 -- curl https://api.ipify.org     # run one command through phone 1
curl -x http://127.0.0.1:7701 https://api.ipify.org    # or point any program at the port
curl -x socks5h://127.0.0.1:7701 https://api.ipify.org # SOCKS5, DNS through the phone

curl honors NO_PROXY even with -x. If a request skips the proxy, add --noproxy ''.

Nothing leaks. Every outbound connection and every DNS lookup is bound to the phone's USB link. A phone without a hotspot link fails the request instead of falling back to Wi-Fi.

macOS: "Disable unless needed"

macOS keeps a new iPhone's link off while Wi-Fi works. OwnYourProxy shows a warning with Fix, which turns that off once per phone. It asks for an administrator password; on a Mac without a screen run:

1sudo ownyourproxy routing --fix

Wi-Fi stays the Mac's network. OwnYourProxy also warns when an iPhone service sits above Wi-Fi in the service order, because then macOS sends all the Mac's traffic through the phone, and fixes the order with one click.