Postern is one of those apps that doesn't get enough attention. It's been around for years, it's rock solid, and it does one thing exceptionally well: route Android traffic through proxies without root.

What Is Postern?

Postern is a VPN/proxy client for Android that uses the VpnService API to create a virtual network interface. All device traffic flows through this interface, and Postern routes it through your configured proxies. It supports SOCKS5, SOCKS4, HTTP, and HTTPS proxies — individually or in chains.

Installation

Download Postern from the Google Play Store or get the APK from their website.

Configuration

  1. Open Postern
  2. Tap the + icon to add a proxy
  3. Configure:
    • Type: SOCKS5
    • Server: gw.snowpad.io
    • Port: 9999
    • Username: Your Snowpad username
    • Password: Your Snowpad password
  4. Tap Save
  5. Go back to the main screen
  6. Tap the Connect button
  7. Accept the VPN permission prompt

Postern will show a key icon in your notification bar when connected.

Per-App Routing

Postern's rule engine is one of its strongest features. You can create rules that route specific apps through the proxy while excluding others.

To set up per-app rules:

  1. Go to Rules → Add Rule
  2. Set the condition type to Application
  3. Select the apps you want to route through the proxy
  4. Set the action to Proxy and select your Snowpad proxy
  5. Create a default rule that either routes everything through the proxy or lets everything through directly

This is useful when you want your scraping tools and browsers to use Snowpad's Indian mobile IPs while keeping banking apps and maps on your real connection.

Proxy Chains

Postern supports proxy chains — routing traffic through multiple proxies in sequence. This is an advanced feature, but it's useful if you need to combine Snowpad with another proxy for specific use cases.

Working Alongside DNS Blockers

Postern works well alongside DNS-based ad blockers like AdGuard or Blokada. Since Postern uses the VPN API and DNS blockers typically use a local VPN or DNS-over-HTTPS, you may need to configure them carefully. The simplest approach is to use Postern's built-in DNS settings to point to a blocking DNS server.

Testing

Open Chrome and visit http://httpbin.org/ip. If you see an Indian mobile IP, Postern is working correctly. You can also check Postern's traffic log to see which apps are using the proxy.

For a comparison of all Android proxy options, check the Android proxy setup guide. For a deeper understanding of proxy types, read the types of proxies guide.