Self-help Tools

Though everyone could use the benefits of an ad blocker, Privoxy is one of the more technical ad blockers around so it may not be the best choice for those who are looking for a plug-and-play solution. But if you are planning on going with this ad blocker, then you can take advantage of all the self-help tools offered by the company. They have a Quickstart Guide User Manual, FAQ section and Developer manual to help users with everything from the basics to configuration.

The Quickstart guides gives users an easy look as to what the basic features of Privoxy are with a guide to using the software and ad blocking in quick, easy to understand bullet points. The User Manual is the complete guide on how to install, configure and use Privoxy in its entirety. These 2 guides can show you just how to use it to its potential.

They also have an FAQ section that answers all the common concerns asked by users about the software but is not a substitute for the user manual. As well as the developer manual that provides guides on coding, testing, packaging, documentation and other issues involved with Privoxy development. All these are available right on the Privoxy website.

 

Pricing and Features

Privoxy is a non-caching web proxy with advanced filtering capabilities for enhancing privacy, modifying web page data and HTTP headers, controlling access and removing ads and other internet junk. It is free to use and has the same base features as many ad blockers. It is able to block all kinds of online ads, manage cookies and also has supplementary features to give users more control, privacy and freedom.

It supports “Connection: keep-alive” that keeps outgoing connections alive independently from the client. It also supports IPv6 as long as the operating system supports it as well. The software supports tagging, which allows users to change the behaviour based on client and server headers. It can also be run as an interception proxy, which eliminates the need to individually configure browsers. Other features include the software being chained with other proxies, integrated browser-based configuration, web page filtering, GIF de-animation, bypass click-tracking scripts and user-customizable HTML templates for most proxy-generated pages.

Most features are controllable on a per-site or per-location basis and newer features are constantly added with bugs and errors removed. Since Privoxy is free to use, you can check out all the features they have to offer yourself, and the company makes it easy for you to do so with all the self-help articles they provide right on their website.

 

Customer Support

In terms of the customer support offered by Privoxy, it is very limited as all they have is an FAQ section. While the FAQ section is very extensive and informative on more than just basic concerns, it still lacks the benefits of being able to communicate directly with a support representative. The FAQ section is broken down into different topics such as General Inquiry, Installation, Configuration, Miscellaneous, Troubleshooting, Contact and History. They do not offer any email address, hotline number, live chat or even mailing address.

What's the Verdict on Privoxy?

Worth It, Some Issues

Privoxy Review 2020 – Conclusion

If you are looking for more than just simple ad blocking features and do not mind the extra technical skill involved then Privoxy is right for you. Aside from the very effective two-fold ad blocking that removes all online nuisances from your browsing experience, it also offers a highly configurable interface and also allows you to use it as a proxy LAN server. It may not be able to remove spyware, malware or viruses but can detect them and works with other services that can perform this. Privoxy only works on Windows browsers so those looking for Mac of mobile device solutions would need to check elsewhere. If you are on Windows, then go ahead and check out Privoxy today!