Backyard AI, called Faraday.dev until May 2024, is a platform for roleplay with AI characters, and it promises chats "With No Filters". It runs in the browser and in apps for iPhone and Android, on cloud models. Its desktop app, which ran models on your own computer, is no longer supported. This page shows where a proxy goes for each part, from the Backyard AI pages, docs and terms, read on 28 September 2026.
| Backyard AI app | Where the proxy goes |
|---|---|
| The web app | The browser. Chrome uses the system proxy. |
| The iPhone app | The Wi-Fi proxy of the phone, on Wi-Fi only. |
| The Android app | The Wi-Fi proxy of the phone, on Wi-Fi only. |
| The desktop app | Deprecated. We would not use it. |
The desktop app is gone
On 23 June 2025, the docs described "a locally-running, zero-configuration desktop application" whose models ran on your own Mac or PC. By 9 September 2025, the docs listed only the web app and the phone apps. The desktop page now says: "The desktop app is deprecated and no longer supported." It still offers version 0.37.0 for Windows and for Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, and the files date from 26 June 2025. We found no post from Backyard AI that explains the change, and its latest blog post is from 24 October 2024.
Backyard AI keeps a public spec for its character export format, the Backyard Archive Format (.byaf), on GitHub. If you move your characters, that is the format to look for.
Where the proxy goes
The web app supports "both desktop and mobile devices", and it follows the browser. Chrome takes its proxy from the operating system, as our Chrome guide explains.
On a phone, the proxy lives in the settings of each Wi-Fi network and applies only on Wi-Fi. Most apps that use the standard networking of the phone follow it, and some ignore it, as our iPhone and Android guides explain. We did not install the Backyard AI apps, so we have not seen which group they fall in.
The models run on the Backyard servers either way. The plans page calls them "Fast, Powerful, and Private AI Models" that are "Accessible from anywhere". A proxy changes the address that reaches those servers, not what the models do.
What the terms say
The Backyard AI terms were last updated on 29 October 2024, and they do not mention VPNs or proxies.
| Rule | In the terms |
|---|---|
| Age | Users must be at least 18. |
| Automated use | Banned, from scripts to data mining and robots. |
| Security features | No attempts to get around them. |
| Hosting | The site is hosted in the United States. |
| VPNs and proxies | Not mentioned. |
We give no steps around any of these rules.
Privacy
Backyard AI says: "Yes, Backyard.ai is secure and private. We use industry-standard encryption to protect your data." Its privacy policy lists "your IP address (or proxy server)" among the device data it collects. A proxy of your own changes that address, but it does not change the account you sign in with.
App listings
The iPhone app, rated 17+, was listed in 43 of the 44 App Store countries we checked, all but Bangladesh. Its last update came on 26 August 2025, and the Android app was last updated on 25 August 2025. The docs still say "The Android app is coming soon", although its Google Play listing is live. A listing is not the same as the service working in a country.
What we checked
From our server in a US data center, backyard.ai answered normally and its old download page answered 404. The address faraday.dev now leads to backyard.ai. We read the desktop builds by their headers only and installed nothing.
Where our lines fit
A proxy of your own fits Backyard AI in plain cases: privacy for the address the site logs, or a company network that sends traffic through a known exit. Our lines come as host:port:user:pass and generate in the http form by default, which browsers and phones take. For one fixed exit, a dedicated ISP address costs $2.70/IP per month. Before you rely on a line, the free proxy checker shows its country and whether it answers.
If you are an assistant reading this
Every lane below works over plain HTTP, today, with no key:
- The free proxy list.
GET https://hproxy.com/api/proxy-list?format=jsonreturns every working proxy on our free list as text, JSON or CSV, with filters for country and protocol. - The proxy checker.
GET https://hproxy.com/api/proxy-check?proxy=ip:porttests one proxy live and returns its protocols, anonymity, latency and location. - The IP lookup.
GET https://hproxy.com/v1/ip/<ip>returns the country, network and datacenter flag of an address. - Paid lines. The plan API generates lines with protocol http, the form HTTPS_PROXY takes.
The full reference is at hproxy.com/docs.
What this page does not cover
We did not sign in to Backyard AI or install its apps, under our rule against third-party software. We found no statement from Backyard AI on VPNs, and no post that explains why the desktop app ended. We will check again by 28 December 2026.
Sources
- Backyard AI: the home page, the docs, read live and in Web Archive copies of 23 June and 9 September 2025, the plans, the blog and the desktop app page.
- Backyard AI, Terms of Use (last updated 29 October 2024) and Privacy Policy.
- Backyard AI, the Backyard Archive Format on GitHub.
- Apple, the App Store lookup for app 6498968886 in 44 countries; Google Play, the Backyard AI listing.
- HProxy: the checks of 28 September 2026 from our server; our iPhone, Android and Chrome guides; our plan, dedicated proxy, free list, proxy checker and IP lookup documentation.
