Self Proxy
At a glance
| Location | Settings → WhatsApp → Health → Self Proxy card |
| Plan | All plans, including the free tier |
| Related features | 2 |
Route your WhatsApp Web session through your own home or office internet connection for a far more stable link and fewer QR re-scans. A small background service runs on one of your Windows or Mac computers, so WhatsApp sees the same home IP your phone uses; Self Proxy is optional. A new account connects WhatsApp with nothing to install, through a Spun-managed connection in the country it confirms: "a Spun connection in [country]" where Spun has its own connection in that country, or "a temporary connection in [country]" where it does not yet. Self Proxy ("your own computer") is never the default; it is an upgrade you can choose at any time and the most stable setup: pick "Set that up instead" on the QR screen (on a temporary connection, "Use my computer" on the "Want a connection that never changes?" card under the QR), or, once connected, use "Set it up" on the "Run your connection from your computer" card that admins on the managed connection see in Settings → WhatsApp → Health ("Learn more" opens the Self Proxy guide), on the "Current connection" card, or on the one-time "Your chats are in. Ready to make the connection permanent?" banner a temporary connection gets after its first sync. An organisation Spun recommends this for may also see "We recommend running your connection from your own computer" at the top of the inbox and in Settings; "Not now" hides the inbox card for 7 days. The switch is one-way and deliberate: from a temporary connection it is available now; from a Spun connection the "Your computer is ready" sheet reads "Switch now" once Spun has switched that step on, and "Coming soon" until then, with the installed computer waiting on standby. Switching takes about a minute, and in rare cases WhatsApp asks you to scan the code again. An organisation that has a Spun connection in its country and runs WhatsApp through a computer can move back on purpose: a manager presses "Use the Spun connection instead" under the active computer card and confirms with "Switch". It takes about a minute, in rare cases WhatsApp asks you to scan the code again, and the computer is no longer needed for the connection. "Switch now" moves it to the computer again later, using another online approved computer when the one chosen earlier is offline; if the number was never linked, it opens the connect screen so the QR is scanned through the computer. After any switch, a line under the card says how it went: "Your connection now runs from your computer.", "Your connection now runs on the Spun connection.", a request to scan again, a note that the computer did not answer, or "The switch did not go through. Your connection stayed where it was." The switch away from the computer is always offered, with a warning while the computer is working: it lands on the Spun connection in your country when there is one, otherwise on a Spun address in your country, and only when neither exists does the card say so instead of showing the button. About three days after the first connection, the account owner of an account still on the managed connection with no computer installed gets one email, "Run your WhatsApp connection from your own computer", with a download link; it says the current connection stays active while you install, and that switching to your computer briefly pauses the WhatsApp connection and may require linking again. Nothing about Self Proxy is emailed at signup any more. Spun never switches between the managed connection and Self Proxy by itself: accounts already on Self Proxy stay on it, and if their computers go offline WhatsApp waits for one to come back. Requires a computer that stays powered on and online, and account-admin access: Windows 10 or 11, or a recent macOS (the download page states the minimum version; Linux is not supported). Download buttons offer "Download for Windows" and, when the Mac installer is available, "Download for Mac", and the page puts the button for the computer you are reading this on first. The Mac download is a .pkg installer signed by Spun Life LLC and notarized by Apple; double-click it and follow the prompts. If the Mac still shows "not yet connected" when the installer finishes, open Terminal and run the sudo enroll line shown on the same page, using the install code printed there. Keep the Mac awake: a sleeping Mac takes your WhatsApp offline exactly like a switched-off Windows PC, so set System Settings > Lock Screen so the machine never sleeps while plugged in. On the small number of Macs that run Microsoft Defender (usually a work-managed Mac, or a Mac with the Defender app from a Microsoft 365 subscription), Defender sometimes quarantines the proxy engine inside the installer and labels it "HackTool:MacOS/Gost"; the computer then shows Offline in Spun until the file is restored, and the Self Proxy guide explains how to restore it yourself or ask IT for a folder exclusion. Pair more than one computer and the extra ones wait as standbys: when the active computer goes offline, Spun promotes the next backup proxy computer in your priority order (drag to reorder), but only a standby that has checked in very recently is eligible, a fresh failover pauses further automatic switches for a short cooldown so a flapping machine cannot bounce the line back and forth, and you can always promote a computer yourself. Automatic failover skips a backup whose network blocks WhatsApp (its row says "Not promoted: network blocks WhatsApp on this computer", and you can still switch to it yourself after a warning) and a backup that cannot reach the Spun relay (its row asks your network admin to allow outgoing ports 8443 and 443), and a backup that keeps failing to take over waits longer each time before it is tried automatically again. When your WhatsApp is connected through a phone instead of a computer, installing a computer with the same account that set up the phone pre-approves it and shows a single "Switch to this computer" button on both the computer's install-complete screen and the phone: the connection moves in about a minute, messages may pause meanwhile, you never scan again, and the phone stays as a backup. Computers are always tried before phones in the failover order (a phone cannot be dragged above a computer, and Spun refuses such an order), and among computers Spun prefers one in the same country as the phone and warns when the countries differ. Upgrading to a paid plan prompts the same switch once; a paid account with only a phone is told that a computer would make the connection more reliable. A newly installed standby must be approved first ("Approve as backup"), exactly as it always was. Separately, your account has one protected country: the first time a computer connects, a manager confirms which country your WhatsApp connects from ("Confirm [country] as your protected country", one click, and WhatsApp is not routed through the computer until it is done), and from then on a backup computer in another country will not take over, so keep at least one approved backup inside the protected country. If WhatsApp was linked on the Spun connection before the computer was installed, the Self Proxy card shows "One step left: confirm your country" with a "Confirm country" button once the computer is online, and the computer reads "Selected, waiting for the country" until a manager confirms it. A manager can change the protected country later from the Self Proxy card, and when the country Spun sees does not match the one on file the card asks a manager to confirm which one is right. Making a computer in another country your connection asks "Move your WhatsApp to [country]?": type the country exactly as shown and add a short reason, which is kept in the log, then press "Move to [country]". Do this only if the phone that uses the number is now in that country, and WhatsApp may ask you to scan again afterwards. "Switch now" asks the same when the computer is in a different country from the Spun connection ("This computer is in [country]"). If the active computer suddenly appears outside the protected country, for example because a VPN was switched on, Spun pauses WhatsApp instead of connecting from the wrong place: the screen says "WhatsApp is paused", there is nothing to scan or replace, your number and messages are safe, and WhatsApp resumes by itself once the computer is back in the protected country. You can also invite someone else to install a computer by email, or lean on another organization's shared connection as a backup. The card shows the machine's state: Connecting (waiting for it to finish connecting), Switching (moving your WhatsApp connection onto it), Active (WhatsApp is routed through this computer), Not in use (the computer is connected but WhatsApp is not using it as a proxy yet, or no computer is selected as the active proxy), Needs re-activation (WhatsApp is pointed at an outdated proxy address; click Activate to fix it), Tunnel down (the computer is online but its tunnel to Spun is not answering; restart the Spun Proxy service or check its firewall), Unreachable (machine asleep or service stopped), or Offline. If another program is using the port Spun needs, the card says so; restarting the Spun Proxy service makes it pick a free port. The service also checks its own tunnel on every heartbeat and reopens it if it died, so a computer that is switched on stays usable without anyone touching it. When downloading and running the installer, the browser or Windows SmartScreen may warn that the file is unfamiliar; this is expected for a newly released, digitally signed installer: choose "Keep", then "More info" → "Run anyway". While the connect screen is still "Waiting for your computer to connect", press "Verify now" to check immediately instead of waiting for the next automatic check; if a second check within a few minutes still finds no computer, the screen shows a checklist inline (SmartScreen "Keep" / "More info" / "Run anyway", turning off Smart App Control under Settings > Privacy & security, running the installer as administrator) together with a "Send diagnostics" button that reports the failed verification to Spun support and confirms "Sent to support". If the installer is downloaded twice or more and no computer ever connects, Spun also sends the account owner one rescue email, some hours after the first download, titled "Did Windows block the Spun Self Proxy installer?" (in English, or in Hebrew when the account signed in on a Hebrew Spun domain or connected its WhatsApp from Israel): it walks through the four things that stop a signed installer before it runs (SmartScreen "More info" then "Run anyway", switching off Smart App Control under Windows Security > App & browser control, restoring a file Windows Defender quarantined from Protection history, and running the file as administrator when it asks for a password you do not have), ends with a "Download and try again" button that opens the reconnect screen, and invites a reply with a photo of the message on screen so a person can help. It is sent at most once per account ever, only while no computer is enrolled and the installer never got as far as starting its setup, and only when Spun has switched the rescue email on for the platform. If you just need to re-scan a QR with no computer nearby, use the "Share to Friend" tab on the reconnect screen instead (generate the link, open it on another device and enter the passcode shown). The computer WhatsApp is connected through cannot be removed while the number is linked: its Remove button is replaced by "In use by WhatsApp" and an explanation. To replace it, set up a new computer first and switch to it; to stop using WhatsApp through Spun, disconnect WhatsApp first. A Self Proxy line never falls back to a Spun datacenter address or to the managed connection. Uninstalling the software without removing the computer in Settings simply takes WhatsApp offline until a proxy computer is back; reinstalling on the same computer re-joins it after a manager re-approves it. The Self Proxy card also carries the "Auto-download videos" choice: "Download every video" saves each arriving video to your Spun storage right away, while "Only when I tap" leaves it in the chat as a thumbnail with "Tap to load video" and saves nothing until someone opens it. It is the same setting as "Auto-download videos" under Settings > Storage, so changing it in either place changes both. This choice only affects what Spun keeps; videos never travel over your own internet connection, whether or not a proxy computer is carrying your WhatsApp session. The same is true of all media: photos, videos, voice notes and documents are transferred between Spun's WhatsApp gateway and WhatsApp directly, never through your computer, a Spun connection or a temporary connection; only the WhatsApp session itself goes through the connection. A video nobody opened is kept by WhatsApp for a limited time only, so the placeholder shows the date it stays available until, and once that has passed Spun says the video is no longer available instead of pretending it can still be fetched. Managers also see a "Proxy history" section on the Health tab. It opens with one line saying whether a proxy is in use for the line and in which country. For each WhatsApp line it shows which connection carried it and for how long it was online, the connection events in each period, switches (for example "Switched computer automatically", "You switched computer", "Protected country changed", "Switched to Self Proxy", "Switched to the Spun connection"), and network changes. A Windows computer reports the kind of network it is on (Wi-Fi, cable or mobile data) and the Wi-Fi name, so a disconnect can be tied to a network change. It never sends other or saved networks, or the computer's own address. If the computer sits behind an internet filter that inspects secure connections, Spun recognises known filter products and allows that inspection for the country check automatically (a manager can turn it off in the computer's Secure connection check). Unless the WhatsApp provider Spun uses already trusts that filter (the computer card then says "Your filter inspects HTTPS, and WhatsApp connects anyway"), WhatsApp itself will not connect through such a computer until the filter exempts web.whatsapp.com, *.whatsapp.com and *.whatsapp.net from inspection, so Spun says so before offering the QR code, names the filter product when it recognises it, and offers the Spun connection instead; a manager can still choose Try anyway. When a filter is detected, Spun records it and notifies its own team automatically, and the problem screen and the computer card say the team was notified; the customer does not need to write in, and no explanation is emailed to them.
How to use
- Go to Settings → WhatsApp → Health and scroll to the Self Proxy card (on the managed connection, press "Set it up" on the "Run your connection from your computer" card), or choose "Set that up instead" under the QR while connecting.
- Click "Download installer" (or "Download installer again" any time to retry).
- On the Windows computer, double-click the downloaded SpunProxySetup file (digitally signed by Spun Life LLC); if the browser or Windows SmartScreen warns the file isn't commonly downloaded, choose "Keep", then "More info" → "Run anyway", and accept the admin (UAC) prompt. On a Mac, click "Download for Mac" instead, double-click the downloaded SpunProxySetup .pkg (signed by Spun Life LLC and notarized by Apple), and if the page still says the computer is not connected, paste the sudo enroll line it shows into Terminal with the install code printed beside it; then stop the Mac from sleeping in System Settings > Lock Screen.
- Wait until the card moves from "Waiting for your computer to connect" to Active with a green dot (press "Verify now" to check right away; after a second failed check the screen shows the SmartScreen / Smart App Control / run-as-administrator checklist and a "Send diagnostics" button); if it shows "Not in use", click Activate.
- When asked, confirm your protected country (managers only), then scan the QR code so the session runs on your home IP.
- Add another computer for automatic failover (approve it as a backup, drag to reorder priority, and keep at least one backup inside your protected country because a backup computer in another country will not take over), invite someone else to install one by email, or manage existing computers with Test Connection, Activate, Disconnect only, or Disconnect and uninstall.
Related features
FAQ
- What is Self Proxy?
- My WhatsApp keeps disconnecting - what is the strongest fix?
- How do I set up the home proxy?
- Why does my QR code need re-scanning so often?
- Does Self Proxy work on Mac?
- Can Self Proxy automatically switch to a backup computer if mine goes offline?
- My WhatsApp runs through my phone - how do I move it to my computer?
- Why can I not drag my phone above my computer in the failover order?
- What happens when my proxy computer goes to sleep?
- Do I have to use Self Proxy?
- Can I invite someone else to set up a Self Proxy computer for me?
- I installed the proxy but Spun still says it is waiting for my computer - what now?
- Why did I get an email asking whether Windows blocked the installer?
- Why do videos say "Tap to load video" instead of playing?
- How do I stop videos from using my own internet connection?
- Why is my backup computer paused?
- What is my protected country?
- Why did my backup computer in another country not take over?
- How do I change my protected country?
- Can I use Spun without Self Proxy?
- How do I switch from the Spun-managed connection to my own computer?
- Will switching to Self Proxy make me scan the QR again?
- Why is my WhatsApp paused?
- What does tunnel down mean?
- Why does the switch to my computer say Coming soon?
- How do I move from a temporary connection to my computer?
- Can I go back from Self Proxy to the Spun connection?
- How do I move my WhatsApp back to the Spun connection?
- What is the Proxy history?
- Why do I have to type the country to move my connection?
- Why was my backup computer not promoted?
- Why does my Self Proxy card say One step left?