ZNC is described as 'Znc is an IRC proxy. It runs as a daemon and connects to IRC server, then allows you to connect from a workstation and work as the user that is logged in to the IRC server. After you disconnect, it maintains the connection to the server' and is a IRC Client in the social & communications category. There are more than 10 alternatives to ZNC for a variety of platforms, including Web-based, Self-Hosted, Linux, npm and Node.JS apps. The best ZNC alternative is IRCCloud, which is free. Other great apps like ZNC are The Lounge, jsIRC, Shout and relay.js.
It's an IRC client not a proxy/bouncer