diff --git a/include/api.php b/include/api.php
index c00578cdf..4fbbc3777 100644
--- a/include/api.php
+++ b/include/api.php
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ use Friendica\Object\Image;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Diaspora;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
 require_once 'include/conversation.php';
@@ -47,7 +48,6 @@ require_once 'mod/share.php';
 require_once 'mod/item.php';
 require_once 'include/security.php';
 require_once 'mod/wall_upload.php';
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 define('API_METHOD_ANY', '*');
 define('API_METHOD_GET', 'GET');
@@ -2518,7 +2518,7 @@ function api_get_entitities(&$text, $bbcode)
 		preg_match_all("/\[img](.*?)\[\/img\]/ism", $bbcode, $images);
 
 		foreach ($images[1] as $image) {
-			$replace = proxy_url($image);
+			$replace = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($image);
 			$text = str_replace($image, $replace, $text);
 		}
 		return [];
@@ -2627,7 +2627,7 @@ function api_get_entitities(&$text, $bbcode)
 				// If image cache is activated, then use the following sizes:
 				// thumb  (150), small (340), medium (600) and large (1024)
 				if (!Config::get("system", "proxy_disabled")) {
-					$media_url = proxy_url($url);
+					$media_url = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($url);
 
 					$sizes = [];
 					$scale = Image::getScalingDimensions($image[0], $image[1], 150);
diff --git a/include/conversation.php b/include/conversation.php
index 89bc4b547..5addb610c 100644
--- a/include/conversation.php
+++ b/include/conversation.php
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Term;
 use Friendica\Object\Post;
 use Friendica\Object\Thread;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Temporal;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
@@ -407,7 +408,6 @@ function visible_activity($item) {
  *
  */
 function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $order = 'commented', $uid = 0) {
-	require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 	$ssl_state = ((local_user()) ? true : false);
 
@@ -418,8 +418,10 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 
 	if (local_user()) {
 		$str_blocked = PConfig::get(local_user(), 'system', 'blocked');
+
 		if ($str_blocked) {
 			$arr_blocked = explode(',', $str_blocked);
+
 			for ($x = 0; $x < count($arr_blocked); $x ++) {
 				$arr_blocked[$x] = trim($arr_blocked[$x]);
 			}
@@ -477,6 +479,7 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 		}
 	} elseif ($mode === 'notes') {
 		$profile_owner = local_user();
+
 		if (!$update) {
 			$live_update_div = '<div id="live-notes"></div>' . "\r\n"
 				. "<script> var profile_uid = " . local_user()
@@ -484,6 +487,7 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 		}
 	} elseif ($mode === 'display') {
 		$profile_owner = $a->profile['uid'];
+
 		if (!$update) {
 			$live_update_div = '<div id="live-display"></div>' . "\r\n"
 				. "<script> var profile_uid = " . defaults($_SESSION, 'uid', 0) . ";"
@@ -492,6 +496,7 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 	} elseif ($mode === 'community') {
 		$items = conversation_add_children($items, true, $order, $uid);
 		$profile_owner = 0;
+
 		if (!$update) {
 			$live_update_div = '<div id="live-community"></div>' . "\r\n"
 				. "<script> var profile_uid = -1; var netargs = '" . substr($a->cmd, 10)
@@ -523,7 +528,7 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 
 	$page_template = get_markup_template("conversation.tpl");
 
-	if ($items && count($items)) {
+	if (!empty($items)) {
 		if ($mode === 'community') {
 			$writable = true;
 		} else {
@@ -645,7 +650,7 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 					'name' => $profile_name_e,
 					'sparkle' => $sparkle,
 					'lock' => $lock,
-					'thumb' => System::removedBaseUrl(proxy_url($item['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB)),
+					'thumb' => System::removedBaseUrl(ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($item['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB)),
 					'title' => $title_e,
 					'body' => $body_e,
 					'tags' => $tags_e,
@@ -664,7 +669,7 @@ function conversation(App $a, array $items, $mode, $update, $preview = false, $o
 					'indent' => '',
 					'owner_name' => $owner_name_e,
 					'owner_url' => $owner_url,
-					'owner_photo' => System::removedBaseUrl(proxy_url($item['owner-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB)),
+					'owner_photo' => System::removedBaseUrl(ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($item['owner-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB)),
 					'plink' => get_plink($item),
 					'edpost' => false,
 					'isstarred' => $isstarred,
diff --git a/include/dba.php b/include/dba.php
index 86ca2ac2d..6480b28ed 100644
--- a/include/dba.php
+++ b/include/dba.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
  *
  * @param $args Query parameters (1 to N parameters of different types)
  * @return array|bool Query array
+ * @deprecated
  */
 function q($sql) {
 	$args = func_get_args();
diff --git a/include/text.php b/include/text.php
index aee0a7034..7c8632643 100644
--- a/include/text.php
+++ b/include/text.php
@@ -20,8 +20,8 @@ use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Render\FriendicaSmarty;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Map;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
-require_once "mod/proxy.php";
 require_once "include/conversation.php";
 
 /**
@@ -858,7 +858,7 @@ function micropro($contact, $redirect = false, $class = '', $textmode = false) {
 		'$click' => defaults($contact, 'click', ''),
 		'$class' => $class,
 		'$url' => $url,
-		'$photo' => proxy_url($contact['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+		'$photo' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 		'$name' => $contact['name'],
 		'title' => $contact['name'] . ' [' . $contact['addr'] . ']',
 		'$parkle' => $sparkle,
diff --git a/mod/acl.php b/mod/acl.php
index 5d155511d..29e53394b 100644
--- a/mod/acl.php
+++ b/mod/acl.php
@@ -9,9 +9,9 @@ use Friendica\Core\Addon;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Item;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 function acl_content(App $a)
 {
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ function acl_content(App $a)
 		$contacts = [];
 		foreach ($r as $g) {
 			$contacts[] = [
-				'photo'   => proxy_url($g['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+				'photo'   => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($g['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 				'name'    => $g['name'],
 				'nick'    => defaults($g, 'addr', $g['url']),
 				'network' => $g['network'],
@@ -214,7 +214,7 @@ function acl_content(App $a)
 		foreach ($r as $g) {
 			$entry = [
 				'type'    => 'c',
-				'photo'   => proxy_url($g['micro'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+				'photo'   => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($g['micro'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 				'name'    => htmlentities($g['name']),
 				'id'      => intval($g['id']),
 				'network' => $g['network'],
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ function acl_content(App $a)
 			if (count($contact) > 0) {
 				$unknown_contacts[] = [
 					'type'    => 'c',
-					'photo'   => proxy_url($contact['micro'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+					'photo'   => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['micro'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 					'name'    => htmlentities($contact['name']),
 					'id'      => intval($contact['cid']),
 					'network' => $contact['network'],
diff --git a/mod/allfriends.php b/mod/allfriends.php
index b9cf2c39c..32cd23ec6 100644
--- a/mod/allfriends.php
+++ b/mod/allfriends.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
 require_once 'mod/contacts.php';
@@ -80,7 +81,7 @@ function allfriends_content(App $a)
 			'url'          => $rr['url'],
 			'itemurl'      => defaults($contact_details, 'addr', $rr['url']),
 			'name'         => htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
-			'thumb'        => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'thumb'        => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact_details['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 			'img_hover'    => htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
 			'details'      => $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'         => $contact_details['keywords'],
diff --git a/mod/common.php b/mod/common.php
index 5c2cf0049..5955b5143 100644
--- a/mod/common.php
+++ b/mod/common.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
 require_once 'mod/contacts.php';
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@ function common_content(App $a)
 			'url'          => $rr['url'],
 			'itemurl'      => defaults($contact_details, 'addr', $rr['url']),
 			'name'         => $contact_details['name'],
-			'thumb'        => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'thumb'        => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact_details['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 			'img_hover'    => htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
 			'details'      => $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'         => $contact_details['keywords'],
diff --git a/mod/contacts.php b/mod/contacts.php
index f4cbbf44d..3650939cc 100644
--- a/mod/contacts.php
+++ b/mod/contacts.php
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Group;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function contacts_init(App $a)
 {
@@ -970,7 +969,7 @@ function _contact_detail_for_template(array $rr)
 		'id' => $rr['id'],
 		'alt_text' => $alt_text,
 		'dir_icon' => $dir_icon,
-		'thumb' => proxy_url($rr['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+		'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($rr['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 		'name' => htmlentities($rr['name']),
 		'username' => htmlentities($rr['name']),
 		'account_type' => Contact::getAccountType($rr),
diff --git a/mod/directory.php b/mod/directory.php
index 129c3388c..9cddf3b4b 100644
--- a/mod/directory.php
+++ b/mod/directory.php
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\L10n;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function directory_init(App $a)
 {
@@ -35,8 +36,6 @@ function directory_post(App $a)
 
 function directory_content(App $a)
 {
-	require_once("mod/proxy.php");
-
 	if ((Config::get('system', 'block_public') && !local_user() && !remote_user())
 		|| (Config::get('system', 'block_local_dir') && !local_user() && !remote_user())
 	) {
@@ -165,7 +164,7 @@ function directory_content(App $a)
 				'id'           => $rr['id'],
 				'url'          => $profile_link,
 				'itemurl'      => $itemurl,
-				'thumb'        => proxy_url($rr[$photo], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+				'thumb'        => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($rr[$photo], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 				'img_hover'    => $rr['name'],
 				'name'         => $rr['name'],
 				'details'      => $details,
diff --git a/mod/dirfind.php b/mod/dirfind.php
index 0171da1b0..333d9086e 100644
--- a/mod/dirfind.php
+++ b/mod/dirfind.php
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'mod/contacts.php';
 
@@ -226,7 +227,7 @@ function dirfind_content(App $a, $prefix = "") {
 					'url' => Contact::magicLink($jj->url),
 					'itemurl' => $itemurl,
 					'name' => htmlentities($jj->name),
-					'thumb' => proxy_url($jj->photo, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+					'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($jj->photo, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 					'img_hover' => $jj->tags,
 					'conntxt' => $conntxt,
 					'connlnk' => $connlnk,
diff --git a/mod/follow.php b/mod/follow.php
index 6f938ebbb..15a5b2f40 100644
--- a/mod/follow.php
+++ b/mod/follow.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function follow_post(App $a)
 {
@@ -144,7 +145,7 @@ function follow_content(App $a)
 
 	$o = replace_macros($tpl, [
 		'$header'        => htmlentities($header),
-		//'$photo' => proxy_url($ret['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_SMALL),
+		//'$photo'         => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($ret['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_SMALL),
 		'$desc'          => '',
 		'$pls_answer'    => L10n::t('Please answer the following:'),
 		'$does_know_you' => ['knowyou', L10n::t('Does %s know you?', $ret['name']), false, '', [L10n::t('No'), L10n::t('Yes')]],
diff --git a/mod/hovercard.php b/mod/hovercard.php
index 038d278c5..8b51eb00a 100644
--- a/mod/hovercard.php
+++ b/mod/hovercard.php
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function hovercard_init(App $a)
 {
@@ -96,7 +97,7 @@ function hovercard_content()
 		'name'     => $contact['name'],
 		'nick'     => $contact['nick'],
 		'addr'     => defaults($contact, 'addr', $contact['url']),
-		'thumb'    => proxy_url($contact['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+		'thumb'    => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 		'url'      => Contact::magicLink($contact['url']),
 		'nurl'     => $contact['nurl'], // We additionally store the nurl as identifier
 		'location' => $contact['location'],
diff --git a/mod/match.php b/mod/match.php
index 75e7403d7..c4bea6767 100644
--- a/mod/match.php
+++ b/mod/match.php
@@ -11,9 +11,9 @@ use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/text.php';
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 /**
  * @brief Controller for /match.
@@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ function match_content(App $a)
 						'tags'          => $contact_details['keywords'],
 						'about'         => $contact_details['about'],
 						'account_type'  => Contact::getAccountType($contact_details),
-						'thumb' => proxy_url($jj->photo, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+						'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($jj->photo, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 						'inttxt' => ' ' . L10n::t('is interested in:'),
 						'conntxt' => L10n::t('Connect'),
 						'connlnk' => $connlnk,
diff --git a/mod/message.php b/mod/message.php
index ac93cc73e..8c9aa657d 100644
--- a/mod/message.php
+++ b/mod/message.php
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Mail;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Temporal;
 
 require_once 'include/conversation.php';
@@ -388,7 +389,7 @@ function message_content(App $a)
 				'from_url' => $from_url,
 				'from_addr' => $contact['addr'],
 				'sparkle' => $sparkle,
-				'from_photo' => proxy_url($from_photo, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+				'from_photo' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($from_photo, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 				'subject' => $subject_e,
 				'body' => $body_e,
 				'delete' => L10n::t('Delete message'),
@@ -489,7 +490,7 @@ function render_messages(array $msg, $t)
 			'$from_url' => Contact::magicLink($rr['url']),
 			'$from_addr' => $contact['addr'],
 			'$sparkle' => ' sparkle',
-			'$from_photo' => proxy_url($from_photo, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'$from_photo' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($from_photo, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 			'$subject' => $subject_e,
 			'$delete' => L10n::t('Delete conversation'),
 			'$body' => $body_e,
diff --git a/mod/network.php b/mod/network.php
index b96ba96e1..4609674fc 100644
--- a/mod/network.php
+++ b/mod/network.php
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
 use Friendica\Module\Login;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/conversation.php';
 require_once 'include/items.php';
@@ -652,7 +653,7 @@ function networkThreadedView(App $a, $update, $parent)
 				'id' => 'network',
 				'name' => htmlentities($contact['name']),
 				'itemurl' => defaults($contact, 'addr', $contact['nurl']),
-				'thumb' => proxy_url($contact['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+				'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 				'details' => $contact['location'],
 			];
 
diff --git a/mod/ping.php b/mod/ping.php
index 4c4bc81ac..2ac4924a9 100644
--- a/mod/ping.php
+++ b/mod/ping.php
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ use Friendica\Model\Group;
 use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Temporal;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 require_once 'include/enotify.php';
 
 /**
@@ -356,9 +356,9 @@ function ping_init(App $a)
 
 				$contact = Contact::getDetailsByURL($notif['url']);
 				if (isset($contact['micro'])) {
-					$notif['photo'] = proxy_url($contact['micro'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO);
+					$notif['photo'] = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['micro'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO);
 				} else {
-					$notif['photo'] = proxy_url($notif['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO);
+					$notif['photo'] = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($notif['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO);
 				}
 
 				$local_time = DateTimeFormat::local($notif['date']);
diff --git a/mod/proxy.php b/mod/proxy.php
deleted file mode 100644
index 29367347c..000000000
--- a/mod/proxy.php
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,375 +0,0 @@
-<?php
-/**
- * @file mod/proxy.php
- * @brief Based upon "Privacy Image Cache" by Tobias Hößl <https://github.com/CatoTH/>
- */
-
-use Friendica\App;
-use Friendica\Core\Config;
-use Friendica\Core\System;
-use Friendica\Database\DBA;
-use Friendica\Model\Photo;
-use Friendica\Object\Image;
-use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
-use Friendica\Util\Network;
-
-define('PROXY_DEFAULT_TIME', 86400); // 1 Day
-
-define('PROXY_SIZE_MICRO', 'micro');
-define('PROXY_SIZE_THUMB', 'thumb');
-define('PROXY_SIZE_SMALL', 'small');
-define('PROXY_SIZE_MEDIUM', 'medium');
-define('PROXY_SIZE_LARGE', 'large');
-
-require_once 'include/security.php';
-
-function proxy_init(App $a) {
-	// Pictures are stored in one of the following ways:
-	// 1. If a folder "proxy" exists and is writeable, then use this for caching
-	// 2. If a cache path is defined, use this
-	// 3. If everything else failed, cache into the database
-	//
-	// Question: Do we really need these three methods?
-
-	if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE'])) {
-		header('HTTP/1.1 304 Not Modified');
-		header('Last-Modified: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time()) . ' GMT');
-		header('Etag: ' . $_SERVER['HTTP_IF_NONE_MATCH']);
-		header('Expires: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + (31536000)) . ' GMT');
-		header('Cache-Control: max-age=31536000');
-
-		if (function_exists('header_remove')) {
-			header_remove('Last-Modified');
-			header_remove('Expires');
-			header_remove('Cache-Control');
-		}
-		exit;
-	}
-
-	if (function_exists('header_remove')) {
-		header_remove('Pragma');
-		header_remove('pragma');
-	}
-
-	$thumb = false;
-	$size = 1024;
-	$sizetype = '';
-	$basepath = $a->get_basepath();
-
-	// If the cache path isn't there, try to create it
-	if (!is_dir($basepath . '/proxy') && is_writable($basepath)) {
-		mkdir($basepath . '/proxy');
-	}
-
-	// Checking if caching into a folder in the webroot is activated and working
-	$direct_cache = (is_dir($basepath . '/proxy') && is_writable($basepath . '/proxy'));
-
-	// Look for filename in the arguments
-	if ((isset($a->argv[1]) || isset($a->argv[2]) || isset($a->argv[3])) && !isset($_REQUEST['url'])) {
-		if (isset($a->argv[3])) {
-			$url = $a->argv[3];
-		} elseif (isset($a->argv[2])) {
-			$url = $a->argv[2];
-		} else {
-			$url = $a->argv[1];
-		}
-
-		if (isset($a->argv[3]) && ($a->argv[3] == 'thumb')) {
-			$size = 200;
-		}
-
-		// thumb, small, medium and large.
-		if (substr($url, -6) == ':micro') {
-			$size = 48;
-			$sizetype = ':micro';
-			$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
-		} elseif (substr($url, -6) == ':thumb') {
-			$size = 80;
-			$sizetype = ':thumb';
-			$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
-		} elseif (substr($url, -6) == ':small') {
-			$size = 175;
-			$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
-			$sizetype = ':small';
-		} elseif (substr($url, -7) == ':medium') {
-			$size = 600;
-			$url = substr($url, 0, -7);
-			$sizetype = ':medium';
-		} elseif (substr($url, -6) == ':large') {
-			$size = 1024;
-			$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
-			$sizetype = ':large';
-		}
-
-		$pos = strrpos($url, '=.');
-		if ($pos) {
-			$url = substr($url, 0, $pos + 1);
-		}
-
-		$url = str_replace(['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.gif', '.png'], ['','','',''], $url);
-
-		$url = base64_decode(strtr($url, '-_', '+/'), true);
-
-		if ($url) {
-			$_REQUEST['url'] = $url;
-		}
-	} else {
-		$direct_cache = false;
-	}
-
-	if (!$direct_cache) {
-		$urlhash = 'pic:' . sha1($_REQUEST['url']);
-
-		$cachefile = get_cachefile(hash('md5', $_REQUEST['url']));
-		if ($cachefile != '' && file_exists($cachefile)) {
-			$img_str = file_get_contents($cachefile);
-			$mime = image_type_to_mime_type(exif_imagetype($cachefile));
-
-			header('Content-type: ' . $mime);
-			header('Last-Modified: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time()) . ' GMT');
-			header('Etag: "' . md5($img_str) . '"');
-			header('Expires: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + (31536000)) . ' GMT');
-			header('Cache-Control: max-age=31536000');
-
-			// reduce quality - if it isn't a GIF
-			if ($mime != 'image/gif') {
-				$Image = new Image($img_str, $mime);
-				if ($Image->isValid()) {
-					$img_str = $Image->asString();
-				}
-			}
-
-			echo $img_str;
-			killme();
-		}
-	} else {
-		$cachefile = '';
-	}
-
-	$valid = true;
-	$photo = null;
-	if (!$direct_cache && ($cachefile == '')) {
-		$photo = DBA::selectFirst('photo', ['data', 'desc'], ['resource-id' => $urlhash]);
-		if (DBA::isResult($photo)) {
-			$img_str = $photo['data'];
-			$mime = $photo['desc'];
-			if ($mime == '') {
-				$mime = 'image/jpeg';
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	if (!DBA::isResult($photo)) {
-		// It shouldn't happen but it does - spaces in URL
-		$_REQUEST['url'] = str_replace(' ', '+', $_REQUEST['url']);
-		$redirects = 0;
-		$img_str = Network::fetchUrl($_REQUEST['url'], true, $redirects, 10);
-
-		$tempfile = tempnam(get_temppath(), 'cache');
-		file_put_contents($tempfile, $img_str);
-		$mime = image_type_to_mime_type(exif_imagetype($tempfile));
-		unlink($tempfile);
-
-		// If there is an error then return a blank image
-		if ((substr($a->get_curl_code(), 0, 1) == '4') || (!$img_str)) {
-			$img_str = file_get_contents('images/blank.png');
-			$mime = 'image/png';
-			$cachefile = ''; // Clear the cachefile so that the dummy isn't stored
-			$valid = false;
-			$Image = new Image($img_str, 'image/png');
-			if ($Image->isValid()) {
-				$Image->scaleDown(10);
-				$img_str = $Image->asString();
-			}
-		} elseif ($mime != 'image/jpeg' && !$direct_cache && $cachefile == '') {
-			$image = @imagecreatefromstring($img_str);
-
-			if ($image === FALSE) {
-				die();
-			}
-
-			$fields = ['uid' => 0, 'contact-id' => 0, 'guid' => System::createGUID(), 'resource-id' => $urlhash, 'created' => DateTimeFormat::utcNow(), 'edited' => DateTimeFormat::utcNow(),
-				'filename' => basename($_REQUEST['url']), 'type' => '', 'album' => '', 'height' => imagesy($image), 'width' => imagesx($image),
-				'datasize' => 0, 'data' => $img_str, 'scale' => 100, 'profile' => 0,
-				'allow_cid' => '', 'allow_gid' => '', 'deny_cid' => '', 'deny_gid' => '', 'desc' => $mime];
-			DBA::insert('photo', $fields);
-		} else {
-			$Image = new Image($img_str, $mime);
-			if ($Image->isValid() && !$direct_cache && ($cachefile == '')) {
-				Photo::store($Image, 0, 0, $urlhash, $_REQUEST['url'], '', 100);
-			}
-		}
-	}
-
-	$img_str_orig = $img_str;
-
-	// reduce quality - if it isn't a GIF
-	if ($mime != 'image/gif') {
-		$Image = new Image($img_str, $mime);
-		if ($Image->isValid()) {
-			$Image->scaleDown($size);
-			$img_str = $Image->asString();
-		}
-	}
-
-	// If there is a real existing directory then put the cache file there
-	// advantage: real file access is really fast
-	// Otherwise write in cachefile
-	if ($valid && $direct_cache) {
-		file_put_contents($basepath . '/proxy/' . proxy_url($_REQUEST['url'], true), $img_str_orig);
-		if ($sizetype != '') {
-			file_put_contents($basepath . '/proxy/' . proxy_url($_REQUEST['url'], true) . $sizetype, $img_str);
-		}
-	} elseif ($cachefile != '') {
-		file_put_contents($cachefile, $img_str_orig);
-	}
-
-	header('Content-type: ' . $mime);
-
-	// Only output the cache headers when the file is valid
-	if ($valid) {
-		header('Last-Modified: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time()) . ' GMT');
-		header('Etag: "' . md5($img_str) . '"');
-		header('Expires: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + (31536000)) . ' GMT');
-		header('Cache-Control: max-age=31536000');
-	}
-
-	echo $img_str;
-
-	killme();
-}
-
-/**
- * @brief Transform a remote URL into a local one
- *
- * This function only performs the URL replacement on http URL and if the
- * provided URL isn't local, "the isn't deactivated" (sic) and if the config
- * system.proxy_disabled is set to false.
- *
- * @param string $url       The URL to proxyfy
- * @param bool   $writemode Returns a local path the remote URL should be saved to
- * @param string $size      One of the PROXY_SIZE_* constants
- *
- * @return string The proxyfied URL or relative path
- */
-function proxy_url($url, $writemode = false, $size = '') {
-	$a = get_app();
-
-	if (substr($url, 0, strlen('http')) !== 'http') {
-		return $url;
-	}
-
-	// Only continue if it isn't a local image and the isn't deactivated
-	if (proxy_is_local_image($url)) {
-		$url = str_replace(normalise_link(System::baseUrl()) . '/', System::baseUrl() . '/', $url);
-		return $url;
-	}
-
-	if (Config::get('system', 'proxy_disabled')) {
-		return $url;
-	}
-
-	// Image URL may have encoded ampersands for display which aren't desirable for proxy
-	$url = html_entity_decode($url, ENT_NOQUOTES, 'utf-8');
-
-	// Creating a sub directory to reduce the amount of files in the cache directory
-	$basepath = $a->get_basepath() . '/proxy';
-
-	$shortpath = hash('md5', $url);
-	$longpath = substr($shortpath, 0, 2);
-
-	if (is_dir($basepath) && $writemode && !is_dir($basepath . '/' . $longpath)) {
-		mkdir($basepath . '/' . $longpath);
-		chmod($basepath . '/' . $longpath, 0777);
-	}
-
-	$longpath .= '/' . strtr(base64_encode($url), '+/', '-_');
-
-	// Extract the URL extension
-	$extension = pathinfo(parse_url($url, PHP_URL_PATH), PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
-
-	$extensions = ['jpg', 'jpeg', 'gif', 'png'];
-	if (in_array($extension, $extensions)) {
-		$shortpath .= '.' . $extension;
-		$longpath .= '.' . $extension;
-	}
-
-	$proxypath = System::baseUrl() . '/proxy/' . $longpath;
-
-	if ($size != '') {
-		$size = ':' . $size;
-	}
-
-	// Too long files aren't supported by Apache
-	// Writemode in combination with long files shouldn't be possible
-	if ((strlen($proxypath) > 250) && $writemode) {
-		return $shortpath;
-	} elseif (strlen($proxypath) > 250) {
-		return System::baseUrl() . '/proxy/' . $shortpath . '?url=' . urlencode($url);
-	} elseif ($writemode) {
-		return $longpath;
-	} else {
-		return $proxypath . $size;
-	}
-}
-
-/**
- * @param $url string
- * @return boolean
- */
-function proxy_is_local_image($url) {
-	if ($url[0] == '/') {
-		return true;
-	}
-
-	if (strtolower(substr($url, 0, 5)) == 'data:') {
-		return true;
-	}
-
-	// links normalised - bug #431
-	$baseurl = normalise_link(System::baseUrl());
-	$url = normalise_link($url);
-	return (substr($url, 0, strlen($baseurl)) == $baseurl);
-}
-
-/**
- * @brief Return the array of query string parameters from a URL
- *
- * @param string $url
- * @return array Associative array of query string parameters
- */
-function proxy_parse_query($url) {
-	$query = parse_url($url, PHP_URL_QUERY);
-	$query = html_entity_decode($query);
-	$query_list = explode('&', $query);
-	$arr = [];
-
-	foreach ($query_list as $key_value) {
-		$key_value_list = explode('=', $key_value);
-		$arr[$key_value_list[0]] = $key_value_list[1];
-	}
-
-	unset($url, $query_list, $url);
-	return $arr;
-}
-
-function proxy_img_cb($matches) {
-	// if the picture seems to be from another picture cache then take the original source
-	$queryvar = proxy_parse_query($matches[2]);
-	if (($queryvar['url'] != '') && (substr($queryvar['url'], 0, 4) == 'http')) {
-		$matches[2] = urldecode($queryvar['url']);
-	}
-
-	// following line changed per bug #431
-	if (proxy_is_local_image($matches[2])) {
-		return $matches[1] . $matches[2] . $matches[3];
-	}
-
-	return $matches[1] . proxy_url(htmlspecialchars_decode($matches[2])) . $matches[3];
-}
-
-function proxy_parse_html($html) {
-	$html = str_replace(normalise_link(System::baseUrl()) . '/', System::baseUrl() . '/', $html);
-
-	return preg_replace_callback('/(<img [^>]*src *= *["\'])([^"\']+)(["\'][^>]*>)/siU', 'proxy_img_cb', $html);
-}
diff --git a/mod/suggest.php b/mod/suggest.php
index c43ae47c1..8330250a7 100644
--- a/mod/suggest.php
+++ b/mod/suggest.php
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function suggest_init(App $a) {
 	if (! local_user()) {
@@ -51,11 +52,10 @@ function suggest_init(App $a) {
 
 }
 
-function suggest_content(App $a) {
-
-	require_once("mod/proxy.php");
-
+function suggest_content(App $a)
+{
 	$o = '';
+
 	if (! local_user()) {
 		notice(L10n::t('Permission denied.') . EOL);
 		return;
@@ -91,7 +91,7 @@ function suggest_content(App $a) {
 			'itemurl' => (($contact_details['addr'] != "") ? $contact_details['addr'] : $rr['url']),
 			'img_hover' => $rr['url'],
 			'name' => $contact_details['name'],
-			'thumb' => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact_details['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 			'details'       => $contact_details['location'],
 			'tags'          => $contact_details['keywords'],
 			'about'         => $contact_details['about'],
diff --git a/mod/viewcontacts.php b/mod/viewcontacts.php
index 3869f5a80..f0a5f0cd8 100644
--- a/mod/viewcontacts.php
+++ b/mod/viewcontacts.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\L10n;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Profile;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function viewcontacts_init(App $a)
 {
@@ -39,8 +40,6 @@ function viewcontacts_init(App $a)
 
 function viewcontacts_content(App $a)
 {
-	require_once("mod/proxy.php");
-
 	if ((Config::get('system', 'block_public')) && (! local_user()) && (! remote_user())) {
 		notice(L10n::t('Public access denied.') . EOL);
 		return;
@@ -102,7 +101,7 @@ function viewcontacts_content(App $a)
 			'id' => $rr['id'],
 			'img_hover' => L10n::t('Visit %s\'s profile [%s]', $contact_details['name'], $rr['url']),
 			'photo_menu' => Contact::photoMenu($rr),
-			'thumb' => proxy_url($contact_details['thumb'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB),
+			'thumb' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact_details['thumb'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB),
 			'name' => htmlentities(substr($contact_details['name'], 0, 20)),
 			'username' => htmlentities($contact_details['name']),
 			'details'       => $contact_details['location'],
diff --git a/src/Content/ForumManager.php b/src/Content/ForumManager.php
index d5105fd08..0e6b39e4d 100644
--- a/src/Content/ForumManager.php
+++ b/src/Content/ForumManager.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\L10n;
 use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
 
@@ -110,7 +111,7 @@ class ForumManager
 					'name' => $contact['name'],
 					'cid' => $contact['id'],
 					'selected' 	=> $selected,
-					'micro' => System::removedBaseUrl(proxy_url($contact['micro'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO)),
+					'micro' => System::removedBaseUrl(ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['micro'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO)),
 					'id' => ++$id,
 				];
 				$entries[] = $entry;
diff --git a/src/Content/OEmbed.php b/src/Content/OEmbed.php
index 0c05b0108..dd6ac7caa 100644
--- a/src/Content/OEmbed.php
+++ b/src/Content/OEmbed.php
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\ParseUrl;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 /**
  * Handles all OEmbed content fetching and replacement
@@ -191,13 +191,16 @@ class OEmbed
 					$ret = $oembed->html;
 				}
 				break;
+
 			case "photo":
-				$ret .= '<img width="' . $oembed->width . '" src="' . proxy_url($oembed->url) . '">';
+				$ret .= '<img width="' . $oembed->width . '" src="' . ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($oembed->url) . '">';
 				break;
+
 			case "link":
 				break;
+
 			case "rich":
-				$ret .= proxy_parse_html($oembed->html);
+				$ret .= ProxyUtils::proxifyHtml($oembed->html);
 				break;
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php b/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php
index da9279900..801e7054b 100644
--- a/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php
+++ b/src/Content/Text/BBCode.php
@@ -24,10 +24,9 @@ use Friendica\Object\Image;
 use Friendica\Util\Map;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
 use Friendica\Util\ParseUrl;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use League\HTMLToMarkdown\HtmlConverter;
 
-require_once "mod/proxy.php";
-
 class BBCode extends BaseObject
 {
 	/**
@@ -361,7 +360,7 @@ class BBCode extends BaseObject
 	{
 		// Only send proxied pictures to API and for internal display
 		if (in_array($simplehtml, [false, 2])) {
-			return proxy_url($image);
+			return ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($image);
 		} else {
 			return $image;
 		}
@@ -1033,7 +1032,7 @@ class BBCode extends BaseObject
 				} else {
 					$text = trim($share[1]) . "\n";
 
-					$avatar = proxy_url($avatar, false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB);
+					$avatar = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($avatar, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB);
 
 					$tpl = get_markup_template('shared_content.tpl');
 					$text .= replace_macros($tpl, [
diff --git a/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php b/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php
index da0e55a5f..55effc14a 100644
--- a/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php
+++ b/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Temporal;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
@@ -243,7 +244,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 					case 'system':
 						$default_item_label = 'notify';
 						$default_item_link = System::baseUrl(true) . '/notify/view/' . $it['id'];
-						$default_item_image = proxy_url($it['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO);
+						$default_item_image = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO);
 						$default_item_url = $it['url'];
 						$default_item_text = strip_tags(BBCode::convert($it['msg']));
 						$default_item_when = DateTimeFormat::local($it['date'], 'r');
@@ -253,7 +254,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 					case 'home':
 						$default_item_label = 'comment';
 						$default_item_link = System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'];
-						$default_item_image = proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO);
+						$default_item_image = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO);
 						$default_item_url = $it['author-link'];
 						$default_item_text = L10n::t("%s commented on %s's post", $it['author-name'], $it['parent-author-name']);
 						$default_item_when = DateTimeFormat::local($it['created'], 'r');
@@ -263,7 +264,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 					default:
 						$default_item_label = (($it['id'] == $it['parent']) ? 'post' : 'comment');
 						$default_item_link = System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'];
-						$default_item_image = proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO);
+						$default_item_image = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO);
 						$default_item_url = $it['author-link'];
 						$default_item_text = (($it['id'] == $it['parent'])
 									? L10n::t("%s created a new post", $it['author-name'])
@@ -278,7 +279,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 						$notif = [
 							'label' => 'like',
 							'link' => System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'],
-							'image' => proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+							'image' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 							'url' => $it['author-link'],
 							'text' => L10n::t("%s liked %s's post", $it['author-name'], $it['parent-author-name']),
 							'when' => $default_item_when,
@@ -291,7 +292,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 						$notif = [
 							'label' => 'dislike',
 							'link' => System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'],
-							'image' => proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+							'image' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 							'url' => $it['author-link'],
 							'text' => L10n::t("%s disliked %s's post", $it['author-name'], $it['parent-author-name']),
 							'when' => $default_item_when,
@@ -304,7 +305,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 						$notif = [
 							'label' => 'attend',
 							'link' => System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'],
-							'image' => proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+							'image' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 							'url' => $it['author-link'],
 							'text' => L10n::t("%s is attending %s's event", $it['author-name'], $it['parent-author-name']),
 							'when' => $default_item_when,
@@ -317,7 +318,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 						$notif = [
 							'label' => 'attendno',
 							'link' => System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'],
-							'image' => proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+							'image' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 							'url' => $it['author-link'],
 							'text' => L10n::t("%s is not attending %s's event", $it['author-name'], $it['parent-author-name']),
 							'when' => $default_item_when,
@@ -330,7 +331,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 						$notif = [
 							'label' => 'attendmaybe',
 							'link' => System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'],
-							'image' => proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+							'image' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 							'url' => $it['author-link'],
 							'text' => L10n::t("%s may attend %s's event", $it['author-name'], $it['parent-author-name']),
 							'when' => $default_item_when,
@@ -347,7 +348,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 						$notif = [
 							'label' => 'friend',
 							'link' => System::baseUrl(true) . '/display/' . $it['parent-guid'],
-							'image' => proxy_url($it['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+							'image' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 							'url' => $it['author-link'],
 							'text' => L10n::t("%s is now friends with %s", $it['author-name'], $it['fname']),
 							'when' => $default_item_when,
@@ -622,7 +623,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 					'madeby_zrl' => Contact::magicLink($it['url']),
 					'madeby_addr' => $it['addr'],
 					'contact_id' => $it['contact-id'],
-					'photo' => ((x($it, 'fphoto')) ? proxy_url($it['fphoto'], false, PROXY_SIZE_SMALL) : "images/person-175.jpg"),
+					'photo' => ((x($it, 'fphoto')) ? ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['fphoto'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_SMALL) : "images/person-175.jpg"),
 					'name' => $it['fname'],
 					'url' => $it['furl'],
 					'zrl' => Contact::magicLink($it['furl']),
@@ -650,7 +651,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 					'uid' => $_SESSION['uid'],
 					'intro_id' => $it['intro_id'],
 					'contact_id' => $it['contact-id'],
-					'photo' => ((x($it, 'photo')) ? proxy_url($it['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_SMALL) : "images/person-175.jpg"),
+					'photo' => ((x($it, 'photo')) ? ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($it['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_SMALL) : "images/person-175.jpg"),
 					'name' => $it['name'],
 					'location' => BBCode::convert($it['glocation'], false),
 					'about' => BBCode::convert($it['gabout'], false),
diff --git a/src/Model/Profile.php b/src/Model/Profile.php
index 5180a3ea2..9d1b002a7 100644
--- a/src/Model/Profile.php
+++ b/src/Model/Profile.php
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@ use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Protocol\Diaspora;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Temporal;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 class Profile
 {
@@ -495,7 +495,7 @@ class Profile
 		}
 
 		if (isset($p['photo'])) {
-			$p['photo'] = proxy_url($p['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_SMALL);
+			$p['photo'] = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($p['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_SMALL);
 		}
 
 		$p['url'] = Contact::magicLink(defaults($p, 'url', $profile_url));
diff --git a/src/Module/Proxy.php b/src/Module/Proxy.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..6287727dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Module/Proxy.php
@@ -0,0 +1,268 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * @file src/Module/Proxy.php
+ * @brief Based upon "Privacy Image Cache" by Tobias Hößl <https://github.com/CatoTH/>
+ */
+namespace Friendica\Module;
+
+use Friendica\App;
+use Friendica\BaseModule;
+use Friendica\Core\Config;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
+use Friendica\Database\DBA;
+use Friendica\Model\Photo;
+use Friendica\Object\Image;
+use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
+
+require_once 'include/security.php';
+
+/**
+ * @brief Module Proxy
+ */
+class Proxy extends BaseModule
+{
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Initializer method for this class.
+	 *
+	 * Sets application instance and checks if /proxy/ path is writable.
+	 *
+	 * @param \Friendica\App $app Application instance
+	 */
+	public static function init()
+	{
+		// Set application instance here
+		$a = self::getApp();
+
+		/*
+		 * Pictures are stored in one of the following ways:
+		 *
+		 * 1. If a folder "proxy" exists and is writeable, then use this for caching
+		 * 2. If a cache path is defined, use this
+		 * 3. If everything else failed, cache into the database
+		 *
+		 * Question: Do we really need these three methods?
+		 */
+		if (isset($_SERVER['HTTP_IF_MODIFIED_SINCE'])) {
+			header('HTTP/1.1 304 Not Modified');
+			header('Last-Modified: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time()) . ' GMT');
+			header('Etag: ' . $_SERVER['HTTP_IF_NONE_MATCH']);
+			header('Expires: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + (31536000)) . ' GMT');
+			header('Cache-Control: max-age=31536000');
+
+			if (function_exists('header_remove')) {
+				header_remove('Last-Modified');
+				header_remove('Expires');
+				header_remove('Cache-Control');
+			}
+
+			/// @TODO Stop here?
+			exit();
+		}
+
+		if (function_exists('header_remove')) {
+			header_remove('Pragma');
+			header_remove('pragma');
+		}
+
+		$thumb = false;
+		$size = 1024;
+		$sizetype = '';
+		$basepath = $a->get_basepath();
+
+		// If the cache path isn't there, try to create it
+		if (!is_dir($basepath . '/proxy') && is_writable($basepath)) {
+			mkdir($basepath . '/proxy');
+		}
+
+		// Checking if caching into a folder in the webroot is activated and working
+		$direct_cache = (is_dir($basepath . '/proxy') && is_writable($basepath . '/proxy'));
+
+		// Look for filename in the arguments
+		if ((isset($a->argv[1]) || isset($a->argv[2]) || isset($a->argv[3])) && !isset($_REQUEST['url'])) {
+			if (isset($a->argv[3])) {
+				$url = $a->argv[3];
+			} elseif (isset($a->argv[2])) {
+				$url = $a->argv[2];
+			} else {
+				$url = $a->argv[1];
+			}
+
+			if (isset($a->argv[3]) && ($a->argv[3] == 'thumb')) {
+				$size = 200;
+			}
+
+			// thumb, small, medium and large.
+			if (substr($url, -6) == ':micro') {
+				$size = 48;
+				$sizetype = ':micro';
+				$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
+			} elseif (substr($url, -6) == ':thumb') {
+				$size = 80;
+				$sizetype = ':thumb';
+				$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
+			} elseif (substr($url, -6) == ':small') {
+				$size = 175;
+				$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
+				$sizetype = ':small';
+			} elseif (substr($url, -7) == ':medium') {
+				$size = 600;
+				$url = substr($url, 0, -7);
+				$sizetype = ':medium';
+			} elseif (substr($url, -6) == ':large') {
+				$size = 1024;
+				$url = substr($url, 0, -6);
+				$sizetype = ':large';
+			}
+
+			$pos = strrpos($url, '=.');
+			if ($pos) {
+				$url = substr($url, 0, $pos + 1);
+			}
+
+			$url = str_replace(['.jpg', '.jpeg', '.gif', '.png'], ['','','',''], $url);
+
+			$url = base64_decode(strtr($url, '-_', '+/'), true);
+
+			if ($url) {
+				$_REQUEST['url'] = $url;
+			}
+		} else {
+			$direct_cache = false;
+		}
+
+		if (!$direct_cache) {
+			$urlhash = 'pic:' . sha1($_REQUEST['url']);
+
+			$cachefile = get_cachefile(hash('md5', $_REQUEST['url']));
+			if ($cachefile != '' && file_exists($cachefile)) {
+				$img_str = file_get_contents($cachefile);
+				$mime = image_type_to_mime_type(exif_imagetype($cachefile));
+
+				header('Content-type: ' . $mime);
+				header('Last-Modified: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time()) . ' GMT');
+				header('Etag: "' . md5($img_str) . '"');
+				header('Expires: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + (31536000)) . ' GMT');
+				header('Cache-Control: max-age=31536000');
+
+				// reduce quality - if it isn't a GIF
+				if ($mime != 'image/gif') {
+					$image = new Image($img_str, $mime);
+
+					if ($image->isValid()) {
+						$img_str = $image->asString();
+					}
+				}
+
+				echo $img_str;
+				exit();
+			}
+		} else {
+			$cachefile = '';
+		}
+
+		$valid = true;
+		$photo = null;
+
+		if (!$direct_cache && ($cachefile == '')) {
+			$photo = DBA::selectFirst('photo', ['data', 'desc'], ['resource-id' => $urlhash]);
+
+			if (DBA::isResult($photo)) {
+				$img_str = $photo['data'];
+				$mime = $photo['desc'];
+
+				if ($mime == '') {
+					$mime = 'image/jpeg';
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		if (!DBA::isResult($photo)) {
+			// It shouldn't happen but it does - spaces in URL
+			$_REQUEST['url'] = str_replace(' ', '+', $_REQUEST['url']);
+			$redirects = 0;
+			$img_str = Network::fetchUrl($_REQUEST['url'], true, $redirects, 10);
+
+			$tempfile = tempnam(get_temppath(), 'cache');
+			file_put_contents($tempfile, $img_str);
+			$mime = image_type_to_mime_type(exif_imagetype($tempfile));
+			unlink($tempfile);
+
+			// If there is an error then return a blank image
+			if ((substr($a->get_curl_code(), 0, 1) == '4') || (!$img_str)) {
+				$img_str = file_get_contents('images/blank.png');
+				$mime = 'image/png';
+				$cachefile = ''; // Clear the cachefile so that the dummy isn't stored
+				$valid = false;
+				$image = new Image($img_str, 'image/png');
+
+				if ($image->isValid()) {
+					$image->scaleDown(10);
+					$img_str = $image->asString();
+				}
+			} elseif ($mime != 'image/jpeg' && !$direct_cache && $cachefile == '') {
+				$image = @imagecreatefromstring($img_str);
+
+				if ($image === FALSE) {
+					die();
+				}
+
+				$fields = ['uid' => 0, 'contact-id' => 0, 'guid' => System::createGUID(), 'resource-id' => $urlhash, 'created' => DateTimeFormat::utcNow(), 'edited' => DateTimeFormat::utcNow(),
+					'filename' => basename($_REQUEST['url']), 'type' => '', 'album' => '', 'height' => imagesy($image), 'width' => imagesx($image),
+					'datasize' => 0, 'data' => $img_str, 'scale' => 100, 'profile' => 0,
+					'allow_cid' => '', 'allow_gid' => '', 'deny_cid' => '', 'deny_gid' => '', 'desc' => $mime];
+				DBA::insert('photo', $fields);
+			} else {
+				$image = new Image($img_str, $mime);
+
+				if ($image->isValid() && !$direct_cache && ($cachefile == '')) {
+					Photo::store($image, 0, 0, $urlhash, $_REQUEST['url'], '', 100);
+				}
+			}
+		}
+
+		$img_str_orig = $img_str;
+
+		// reduce quality - if it isn't a GIF
+		if ($mime != 'image/gif') {
+			$image = new Image($img_str, $mime);
+
+			if ($image->isValid()) {
+				$image->scaleDown($size);
+				$img_str = $image->asString();
+			}
+		}
+
+		/*
+		 * If there is a real existing directory then put the cache file there
+		 * advantage: real file access is really fast
+		 * Otherwise write in cachefile
+		 */
+		if ($valid && $direct_cache) {
+			file_put_contents($basepath . '/proxy/' . ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($_REQUEST['url'], true), $img_str_orig);
+
+			if ($sizetype != '') {
+				file_put_contents($basepath . '/proxy/' . ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($_REQUEST['url'], true) . $sizetype, $img_str);
+			}
+		} elseif ($cachefile != '') {
+			file_put_contents($cachefile, $img_str_orig);
+		}
+
+		header('Content-type: ' . $mime);
+
+		// Only output the cache headers when the file is valid
+		if ($valid) {
+			header('Last-Modified: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time()) . ' GMT');
+			header('Etag: "' . md5($img_str) . '"');
+			header('Expires: ' . gmdate('D, d M Y H:i:s', time() + (31536000)) . ' GMT');
+			header('Cache-Control: max-age=31536000');
+		}
+
+		echo $img_str;
+
+		exit();
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/Object/Post.php b/src/Object/Post.php
index 27fdb7cee..a055f6525 100644
--- a/src/Object/Post.php
+++ b/src/Object/Post.php
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Model\Term;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\Temporal;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
@@ -112,8 +113,6 @@ class Post extends BaseObject
 	 */
 	public function getTemplateData($conv_responses, $thread_level = 1)
 	{
-		require_once "mod/proxy.php";
-
 		$result = [];
 
 		$a = self::getApp();
@@ -150,6 +149,7 @@ class Post extends BaseObject
 			|| strlen($item['deny_cid']) || strlen($item['deny_gid']))))
 			? L10n::t('Private Message')
 			: false);
+
 		$shareable = in_array($conv->getProfileOwner(), [0, local_user()]) && $item['private'] != 1;
 
 		if (local_user() && link_compare($a->contact['url'], $item['author-link'])) {
@@ -367,7 +367,7 @@ class Post extends BaseObject
 			'profile_url'     => $profile_link,
 			'item_photo_menu' => item_photo_menu($item),
 			'name'            => $name_e,
-			'thumb'           => $a->remove_baseurl(proxy_url($item['author-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB)),
+			'thumb'           => $a->remove_baseurl(ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($item['author-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB)),
 			'osparkle'        => $osparkle,
 			'sparkle'         => $sparkle,
 			'title'           => $title_e,
@@ -380,7 +380,7 @@ class Post extends BaseObject
 			'indent'          => $indent,
 			'shiny'           => $shiny,
 			'owner_url'       => $this->getOwnerUrl(),
-			'owner_photo'     => $a->remove_baseurl(proxy_url($item['owner-avatar'], false, PROXY_SIZE_THUMB)),
+			'owner_photo'     => $a->remove_baseurl(ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($item['owner-avatar'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_THUMB)),
 			'owner_name'      => htmlentities($owner_name_e),
 			'plink'           => get_plink($item),
 			'edpost'          => Feature::isEnabled($conv->getProfileOwner(), 'edit_posts') ? $edpost : '',
diff --git a/src/Protocol/OStatus.php b/src/Protocol/OStatus.php
index bf0abc643..532151519 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/OStatus.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/OStatus.php
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Object\Image;
 use Friendica\Util\DateTimeFormat;
 use Friendica\Util\Network;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 use Friendica\Util\XML;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
@@ -30,7 +31,6 @@ require_once 'include/items.php';
 require_once 'mod/share.php';
 require_once 'include/enotify.php';
 require_once 'include/api.php';
-require_once 'mod/proxy.php';
 
 /**
  * @brief This class contain functions for the OStatus protocol
@@ -1214,7 +1214,7 @@ class OStatus
 			}
 
 			// Is it a remote picture? Then make a smaller preview here
-			$preview = proxy_url($preview, false, PROXY_SIZE_SMALL);
+			$preview = ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($preview, false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_SMALL);
 
 			// Is it a local picture? Then make it smaller here
 			$preview = str_replace(["-0.jpg", "-0.png"], ["-2.jpg", "-2.png"], $preview);
diff --git a/src/Util/Proxy.php b/src/Util/Proxy.php
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bb26185f4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/Util/Proxy.php
@@ -0,0 +1,221 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Friendica\Util;
+
+use Friendica\BaseModule;
+use Friendica\BaseObject;
+use Friendica\Core\Config;
+use Friendica\Core\System;
+
+require_once 'include/security.php';
+
+/**
+ * @brief Proxy utilities class
+ */
+class Proxy
+{
+
+	/**
+	 * Default time to keep images in proxy storage
+	 */
+	const DEFAULT_TIME = 86400; // 1 Day
+
+	/**
+	 * Sizes constants
+	 */
+	const SIZE_MICRO  = 'micro';
+	const SIZE_THUMB  = 'thumb';
+	const SIZE_SMALL  = 'small';
+	const SIZE_MEDIUM = 'medium';
+	const SIZE_LARGE  = 'large';
+
+	/**
+	 * Accepted extensions
+	 *
+	 * @var array
+	 * @todo Make this configurable?
+	 */
+	private static $extensions = [
+		'jpg',
+		'jpeg',
+		'gif',
+		'png',
+	];
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Private constructor
+	 */
+	private function __construct () {
+		// No instances from utilities classes
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Transform a remote URL into a local one.
+	 *
+	 * This function only performs the URL replacement on http URL and if the
+	 * provided URL isn't local, "the isn't deactivated" (sic) and if the config
+	 * system.proxy_disabled is set to false.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $url       The URL to proxyfy
+	 * @param bool   $writemode Returns a local path the remote URL should be saved to
+	 * @param string $size      One of the ProxyUtils::SIZE_* constants
+	 *
+	 * @return string The proxyfied URL or relative path
+	 */
+	public static function proxifyUrl($url, $writemode = false, $size = '')
+	{
+		// Get application instance
+		$a = BaseObject::getApp();
+
+		// Trim URL first
+		$url = trim($url);
+
+		// Is no http in front of it?
+		/// @TODO To weak test for being a valid URL
+		if (substr($url, 0, 4) !== 'http') {
+			return $url;
+		}
+
+		// Only continue if it isn't a local image and the isn't deactivated
+		if (self::isLocalImage($url)) {
+			$url = str_replace(normalise_link(System::baseUrl()) . '/', System::baseUrl() . '/', $url);
+			return $url;
+		}
+
+		// Is the proxy disabled?
+		if (Config::get('system', 'proxy_disabled')) {
+			return $url;
+		}
+
+		// Image URL may have encoded ampersands for display which aren't desirable for proxy
+		$url = html_entity_decode($url, ENT_NOQUOTES, 'utf-8');
+
+		// Creating a sub directory to reduce the amount of files in the cache directory
+		$basepath = $a->get_basepath() . '/proxy';
+
+		$shortpath = hash('md5', $url);
+		$longpath = substr($shortpath, 0, 2);
+
+		if (is_dir($basepath) && $writemode && !is_dir($basepath . '/' . $longpath)) {
+			mkdir($basepath . '/' . $longpath);
+			chmod($basepath . '/' . $longpath, 0777);
+		}
+
+		$longpath .= '/' . strtr(base64_encode($url), '+/', '-_');
+
+		// Extract the URL extension
+		$extension = pathinfo(parse_url($url, PHP_URL_PATH), PATHINFO_EXTENSION);
+
+		if (in_array($extension, self::$extensions)) {
+			$shortpath .= '.' . $extension;
+			$longpath .= '.' . $extension;
+		}
+
+		$proxypath = System::baseUrl() . '/proxy/' . $longpath;
+
+		if ($size != '') {
+			$size = ':' . $size;
+		}
+
+		// Too long files aren't supported by Apache
+		// Writemode in combination with long files shouldn't be possible
+		if ((strlen($proxypath) > 250) && $writemode) {
+			return $shortpath;
+		} elseif (strlen($proxypath) > 250) {
+			return System::baseUrl() . '/proxy/' . $shortpath . '?url=' . urlencode($url);
+		} elseif ($writemode) {
+			return $longpath;
+		} else {
+			return $proxypath . $size;
+		}
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief "Proxifies" HTML code's image tags
+	 *
+	 * "Proxifies", means replaces image URLs in given HTML code with those from
+	 * proxy storage directory.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $html Un-proxified HTML code
+	 *
+	 * @return string Proxified HTML code
+	 */
+	public static function proxifyHtml($html)
+	{
+		$html = str_replace(normalise_link(System::baseUrl()) . '/', System::baseUrl() . '/', $html);
+
+		return preg_replace_callback('/(<img [^>]*src *= *["\'])([^"\']+)(["\'][^>]*>)/siU', 'self::replaceUrl', $html);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Checks if the URL is a local URL.
+	 *
+	 * @param string $url
+	 * @return boolean
+	 */
+	private static function isLocalImage($url)
+	{
+		if (substr($url, 0, 1) == '/') {
+			return true;
+		}
+
+		if (strtolower(substr($url, 0, 5)) == 'data:') {
+			return true;
+		}
+
+		// links normalised - bug #431
+		$baseurl = normalise_link(System::baseUrl());
+		$url = normalise_link($url);
+
+		return (substr($url, 0, strlen($baseurl)) == $baseurl);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Return the array of query string parameters from a URL
+	 *
+	 * @param string $url URL to parse
+	 * @return array Associative array of query string parameters
+	 */
+	private static function parseQuery($url)
+	{
+		$query = parse_url($url, PHP_URL_QUERY);
+		$query = html_entity_decode($query);
+		$query_list = explode('&', $query);
+
+		$arr = [];
+
+		foreach ($query_list as $key_value) {
+			$key_value_list = explode('=', $key_value);
+			$arr[$key_value_list[0]] = $key_value_list[1];
+		}
+
+		unset($url, $query_list, $url);
+
+		return $arr;
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Call-back method to replace the UR
+	 *
+	 * @param array $matches Matches from preg_replace_callback()
+	 * @return string Proxified HTML image tag
+	 */
+	private static function replaceUrl(array $matches)
+	{
+		// if the picture seems to be from another picture cache then take the original source
+		$queryvar = self::parseQuery($matches[2]);
+
+		if (!empty($queryvar['url']) && substr($queryvar['url'], 0, 4) == 'http') {
+			$matches[2] = urldecode($queryvar['url']);
+		}
+
+		// Following line changed per bug #431
+		if (self::isLocalImage($matches[2])) {
+			return $matches[1] . $matches[2] . $matches[3];
+		}
+
+		// Return proxified HTML
+		return $matches[1] . self::proxifyUrl(htmlspecialchars_decode($matches[2])) . $matches[3];
+	}
+
+}
diff --git a/src/Worker/CronJobs.php b/src/Worker/CronJobs.php
index 4648c1b4f..19e6fbaf7 100644
--- a/src/Worker/CronJobs.php
+++ b/src/Worker/CronJobs.php
@@ -9,13 +9,14 @@ use Friendica\BaseObject;
 use Friendica\Core\Cache;
 use Friendica\Core\Config;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
+use Friendica\Database\PostUpdate;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
 use Friendica\Model\Photo;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
 use Friendica\Protocol\PortableContact;
-use Friendica\Database\PostUpdate;
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 require_once 'include/dba.php';
 require_once 'mod/nodeinfo.php';
@@ -159,9 +160,11 @@ class CronJobs
 			clear_cache($a->get_basepath(), $a->get_basepath() . "/proxy");
 
 			$cachetime = Config::get('system', 'proxy_cache_time');
+
 			if (!$cachetime) {
-				$cachetime = PROXY_DEFAULT_TIME;
+				$cachetime = ProxyUtils::DEFAULT_TIME;
 			}
+
 			$condition = ['`uid` = 0 AND `resource-id` LIKE "pic:%" AND `created` < NOW() - INTERVAL ? SECOND', $cachetime];
 			DBA::delete('photo', $condition);
 		}
diff --git a/view/theme/vier/theme.php b/view/theme/vier/theme.php
index 43b786e6e..2533e50a8 100644
--- a/view/theme/vier/theme.php
+++ b/view/theme/vier/theme.php
@@ -19,8 +19,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\System;
 use Friendica\Database\DBA;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\GContact;
-
-require_once "mod/proxy.php";
+use Friendica\Util\Proxy as ProxyUtils;
 
 function vier_init(App $a)
 {
@@ -154,7 +153,7 @@ function vier_community_info()
 				$entry = replace_macros($tpl, [
 					'$id' => $rr['id'],
 					'$profile_link' => 'follow/?url='.urlencode($rr['url']),
-					'$photo' => proxy_url($rr['photo'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO),
+					'$photo' => ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($rr['photo'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO),
 					'$alt_text' => $rr['name'],
 				]);
 				$aside['$comunity_profiles_items'][] = $entry;
@@ -237,7 +236,7 @@ function vier_community_info()
 					'name'         => $contact['name'],
 					'cid'          => $contact['id'],
 					'selected'     => $selected,
-					'micro'        => System::removedBaseUrl(proxy_url($contact['micro'], false, PROXY_SIZE_MICRO)),
+					'micro'        => System::removedBaseUrl(ProxyUtils::proxifyUrl($contact['micro'], false, ProxyUtils::SIZE_MICRO)),
 					'id'           => ++$id,
 				];
 				$entries[] = $entry;