A Chub AI proxy means one of two things. Most of the time it is a reverse proxy: an address for a language model, entered in the Chub settings instead of an API key. Sometimes it is a network proxy, an exit that your own traffic goes through. This page covers both, from the Chub docs, the Australian regulator and one check from our server. If you know Chub as Venus, the same applies: venus.chub.ai now answers with a permanent redirect to chub.ai.
What proxy means inside Chub
Chub lets you connect a model through several providers. For OpenAI and Anthropic, it says you can connect "with either an API Key or the use of a reverse proxy". The reverse proxy option takes an address in place of the key, and that address decides which server writes your replies. It changes nothing about your own IP address.
| What you connect | How it connects |
|---|---|
| OpenAI or Anthropic | Your API key, or a reverse proxy address. |
| OpenRouter | Your OpenRouter API key, no proxy. |
| Google Gemini | Your Google API key, no proxy. |
| Mars, the Chub models | A subscription, no key at all. |
| Chub in another front end | Mars and Mercury, used like an OpenAI reverse proxy. |
Chub puts its view of the free kind in writing. "We highly recommend using official API keys over third-party reverse proxies for security and ethical reasons." It goes on: "Reverse proxies, on the other hand, are created by unauthorized third parties who gain access to your data and IP address." They "may enable logging, leak your information, and use stolen API keys which you have no control over." And because "the proxy owners are shouldering the costs", they "could shut down access at any time."
The honest options are all in that table. Searches for a Chub OpenRouter or Gemini proxy need none, since both connect with your own key. For an OpenAI-compatible service, the reverse proxy option can take its official address with your own key, such as the DeepSeek API. Mars costs $20 a month "with unlimited messaging", with no key to manage. For free models with your own key, our guide to the best free Janitor AI proxy covers OpenRouter and Gemini, and the settings carry over.
Where a network proxy goes
Chub runs in the browser at chub.ai, so a network proxy goes into the browser or the system settings, and Chrome uses the proxy of the system. Chrome and other Chromium browsers never send a SOCKS5 user name and password, so use the http form of a line. Our Chrome guide shows where the settings live. If you reach Mars from another front end, the proxy belongs in that front end, as our SillyTavern page shows.
A network proxy and a reverse proxy meet at one point. A community reverse proxy sees every message and reply, plus the IP address of the sender, which Chub also names in its warning. A network proxy hides your address from that operator, but the messages still pass through their server. Only your own key with an official endpoint, or Mars, takes the stranger out of the path.
What we measured
We asked Chub for a few pages from our server in a data center in the US, with no proxy and plain curl, on 28 September 2026. chub.ai answered a request that looked like Chrome with its normal page, served through Cloudflare. A request with the user agent of curl got a 403 that read "This service is not available in your country." One with the user agent of Python requests got a 403 that read "This request has been blocked." The API hosts gave the same blocked message.
Our server sits in the US, and the country message appeared for one kind of client only. That text alone does not prove a country block. We give no steps for getting past the checks of Chub.
The regional record, with dates
| date | what happened |
|---|---|
| 22 July 2025 | PygmalionAI, ahead of the UK Online Safety Act date of 25 July, writes that JanitorAI, ChubAI and Civitai had already geoblocked the UK. |
| 1 October 2025 | Chub AI geo-blocks its service from Australia. |
| 16 October 2025 | eSafety gives notices to four AI companion providers. |
| 8 July 2026 | The eSafety findings page is last updated. |
Sources: the eSafety Commissioner and PygmalionAI.
The Australian eSafety Commissioner asked four companion services how they protect children: Character.AI, Nomi, Chai and Chub AI. In its findings, "one service provider, Chub AI, decided to geo-block, or withdraw, its service from Australia." The other providers described improvements instead. eSafety also found that none of the four had strong age assurance in place. It found that "Nomi and Chub AI had no staff dedicated to trust and safety or moderation".
Chub describes itself as uncensored, and says it does not restrict "in any meaningful capacity" the characters that users may post. eSafety defines geo-blocking as a restriction by location, "typically determined by IP address". A block like that is the rule Chub chose for a country. A proxy changes the country your traffic leaves from, which is exactly what such a fence is built against, and we give no steps around it.
Where our lines fit
A network proxy fits Chub the way it fits any website: to carry your own traffic through an exit you choose, in the country where you are. That covers privacy on public Wi-Fi, or a company that sends its devices through its own proxy. Our lines come as host:port:user:pass, in the http form by default. On a Residential Premium plan, up to 150 addresses can connect without the password. Residential lines start at $0.44 per GB, and a dedicated ISP line costs $2.70/IP per month. A network proxy will not make a stranger reverse proxy safe, and it will not raise a limit that belongs to your API key.
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 that browsers take. A Residential Premium plan can allow up to 150 addresses without a password.
The full reference is at hproxy.com/docs.
What this page does not cover
The Chub terms load only inside the web app, so we could not read what they say about proxies or VPNs. Read them yourself before you rely on anything here. We used no account and no exit abroad, so we cannot say how the regional fences look from inside a given country today. The Chub docs do not say which address format the reverse proxy option expects. We will check the docs and the record again by 28 December 2026.
Sources
- Chub AI Guide: API Connections, Usage with Third-Party UIs and What is Chub?.
- eSafety Commissioner, findings from transparency notices on AI companion apps, last updated 8 July 2026.
- PygmalionAI, UK geoblock notice, 22 July 2025.
- HProxy, our DeepSeek, SillyTavern and free Janitor AI proxy pages, and our requests to chub.ai and venus.chub.ai, 28 September 2026.
- HProxy, our plan, free list, proxy checker and IP lookup documentation.
