What is a Residential Proxy (In-depth Guide)

Residential Proxy: Everything You Should Know About it in 2023

The internet presents several benefits. However, several websites and applications are geographically blocked. Additionally, bad actors have made stealing data and launching malicious attacks a regular practice. In the first half of 2023 alone, more than six million data were exposed online.

As such, privacy and anonymity while surfing the internet have become essential. But what tools are available to guarantee enhanced privacy and security while using the internet?

In this comprehensive guide, we explore residential proxies in their entirety, how a residential proxy works, and its role in enhancing anonymity and security, as well as bypassing geo-restricted sites and applications.

What is a Residential Proxy?

A residential proxy is an interwoven network of IP addresses unique to specific locations that act as an intermediary when you surf the internet. These servers convey and relay messages when a smaller server (your device) communicates with a bigger server (the Internet), ensuring guaranteed privacy and anonymity.

Several applications or web content are usually blocked or geo-restricted, preventing people who stay in a different location from the application or web content from viewing them. Such individuals would be restricted from viewing important information such as data, competitive prices, movies, games, or even tutorials.

But with residential proxies, your original IP address which is trackable can be masked and routed with a random but real IP address, giving you unrestricted access to as many sites and applications as you wish. This means all your internet traffic will look like it’s coming from the location of the IP address that the residential proxy server provider assigned to you.

Residential proxies are quite different from other proxy servers because they route your internet traffic through devices that are connected to the usual house network from internet server providers and not Data Centers. This way, your privacy and anonymity are top-notch.

Let’s proceed to explore why you need residential proxies to surf the internet.

Why Do You Need a Residential Proxy to Surf the Web?

Having access to the internet comes with so many benefits. Besides having access to vast pieces of information, you can shop and order goods and services, send and receive money, take professional and educational courses, socially interact, build relationships, and even market your business to your online audience.

Beyond these benefits, severe threats lay ahead. When you surf the internet, you, your device, and your location can be tracked by your IP address which is unique to you alone. Whatever information or data is shared online can be stolen.

To stay safe and ensure your privacy online, you need a residential proxy that will direct your traffic through a different IP address. 

Besides safety reasons, you also need a residential proxy to access applications or internet content that are restricted by governments, schools, or locations.

Types of Residential Proxies

While you often hear about shared and dedicated residential proxies, there are several others. Each of these proxies is unique depending on the purpose they serve. Let’s explore some of them below.

• Dedicated Residential Proxy

This category of proxy is usually assigned to a single user. Dedicated proxies come in handy if you are looking for maximum security and privacy. They are highly reliable and speed is pegged at optimal levels. Despite its high security levels, there are major setbacks which include the cost, as well as configuration and setup for those who aren’t tech-savvy. 

Overall, it’s one of the best residential proxies in the market.

• Shared Residential Proxy

As the name implies, this category of proxies is usually shared by two or more people. Its strong network infrastructure is a factor that makes it pretty decent. The major selling point of shared residential proxy is its price – since it’s one of the cheapest in the market. However, its security and reliability are below par when compared to dedicated proxies. This proxy is easy to detect and is often restricted by websites.

• Mobile Residential Proxy

This kind of residential proxy provides the same level of privacy and security as dedicated proxies, however, on a mobile interface. Mobile phones and personal computers access websites differently; as such, mobile residential proxies protect the IP addresses of mobile devices when in use online. These proxies are ideal when trying to access geo-restricted applications and websites. 

A downside, however, is that they can be spotted quickly and blocked compared to other proxy types.

• Rotating Residential Proxy

Rotating proxies, when compared to the others explored above, have a different mode of operation. This category of proxy constantly changes a client’s IP address after a certain period of browsing the internet. This is to say you might start with an IP address of 1.1.1.1 and after 60 seconds, the IP address might randomly change to 8.8.4.4.

This singular act makes it difficult to detect a client’s IP address or spot if a device is using a proxy service provider. Even though it’s pricey, it’s one of the safest proxies available in the market that guarantees optimum security and privacy.

How Does Residential Proxy Work?

Accessing content on the internet is pretty simple. All you need to do is open your browser, surf the web, and get the results you seek. However, doing this without any proxy means you connect with the internet directly. This exposes your IP address to various servers and applications. If you reside in a location where web services or applications are blocked, you’ll be restricted from accessing them.

With a residential proxy, you don’t access the internet directly. The proxy acts as an intermediary that relays your messages to the internet and back to your device. For instance, you need fire to prepare a meal but cannot pour your recipes into the fire directly. You need a cooking pot to form a bridge – and that’s how a residential proxy acts.

This scenario below best explains how a residential proxy works.

Let’s assume you’ve set and configured your residential proxy from a reputable provider. You then open your browser to access a particular website. 

Once you’ve typed out the request, the message is transferred to a gateway, otherwise known as a Backconnect server. Rather than accommodating IP addresses, Backconnect servers act as gateways to the residential proxy.

The residential proxy (a server with interconnected IP addresses in a pool) randomly changes your original IP address at specific times, allowing you to connect to any website or application of your choice.

With the IP address assigned to you by the residential proxy, your device can connect to any website, including those that are location-restricted. The major function of residential proxies is for enhanced privacy and anonymity, as well as, routing IP addresses to suit those unique to a specific location. As such, your device, location, and IP address are untrackable, ensuring your safety while using the internet. The issuance of an IP address depends on factors such as your location and type of proxy.

Now, let’s go ahead to see how IP address routing works.

IP Address Routing – How Does it Work?

Besides just determining the path your data request follows, IP routing improves your online experience by giving you unlimited access. To protect your privacy, residential proxies route your IP address based on location. 

But how does the IP address routing occur?

• When you open your browser and make a search over the internet, this request is split into tiny fractions called a packet. Each of these small fractions contains the data itself, the client’s IP address, and the address of the receiving site. A router which contains a list of IP addresses in a table directs traffic and decides which paths the packets should follow.
• Based on the routing table, each packet is sent along a hop base. Depending on the length, faster speed, and less congestion of an assigned IP address, the router selects the best path the packet should follow to reach the destination website.
• The process is repeated over again. Should data packets be found to be bigger, they can be split into smaller units again with the router assigning new IP addresses before they journey along the network. Depending on the network being used (local area network, LAN, or wide area network, WAN) different routing mechanisms can be used.
• Once the packets get to the destination website, the data is processed and the result is sent back to the proxy, and then, the sender via a border gateway protocol such as the Backconcept gateway.

Use Cases of Residential Proxy

Beyond data security and privacy, or accessing geo-restricted platforms, residential proxies have real use cases. They can be used in shopping, corporate business, marketing, and personal uses. Below, we’ll explore the vast use cases of residential proxies.

• Ad verification

With residential proxies, you can check the authenticity of ads or affiliate links that are displayed on your website. This will give more insights into which ads should be flagged and blocked and which of them should stay. You could incur losses in the form of fines or damage to your reputation if advertisements on your page are found to be suspicious.

In essence, you save yourself and your brand from losses by investing in a residential proxy.

• Price monitoring and comparison

If you run a business, over-pricing or under-pricing your products are the last things you’ll want to do. To stay up to date and comply with global price standards, you’ll need price comparison intelligence tools. This way, you’ll be able to track the prices of similar products around the world.

With residential proxies, you get unlimited IP addresses that allow you to see the prices of both local and global competitors. You also get access to geo-restricted intelligence tools to track prices on the go and keep your customers satisfied.

• SEO monitoring and SERP tracking

SEO is an important growth and marketing strategy for any business, allowing you to track necessary keywords and rank on search engines such as Google, Bing, and Opera. Just like data collection, you need to research keywords, audit websites, and track the search engine result pages (SERPs).

However, the majority of these search engines block accounts with corporate or Data Center IP addresses. Fortunately, you can track keywords and SERPs globally with several tracking tools using residential proxies.

• Social media management

Social media is an important tool in web marketing that shouldn’t be ignored. But how can businesses keep up with the stiff competition? Well, with residential proxies, they can create multiple social media accounts by leveraging the constant changes in IP address, and manage them seamlessly.

• Accessing sneaker sites

Have you ever wondered why popular sneaker sites are closely monitored? Well, this is to prevent identity, design, and logo theft. You may, however, need to visit these sites for a genuine reason – probably to buy a pair of sneakers. If you’re blocked from the site, a residential proxy could help. Your IP address is masked, giving you unlimited access to the site.

Benefits of Using a Residential Proxy

Residential proxies are a haven for those who wish to remain anonymous while surfing the web or accessing websites and applications that have been blocked by governments, or job marketplaces. Beyond this, residential proxies have several benefits.

Below, we’ll be exploring five benefits of residential proxies from bypassing blocked pages to privacy and anonymity, and prevention of malware.

• Enhanced Privacy and Anonymity

Using a residential proxy allows you to browse the internet freely without any ads popping up on your screen. Even if an ad shows up, the proxy can verify it, ensuring it isn’t from a malicious source. Because your IP address is changed, companies wouldn’t be able to take advantage of your activities online.

Additionally, you enjoy optimal security while using the internet because malicious actors won’t be able to track you, your device, and your location. A residential proxy prevents the bandwagon of cybercriminals lurking on the internet from accessing your data.

• Protection from Malware

Residential proxies come with extra layers of protection. One such protection layer is the malware scanner. When you surf the internet and the proxy finds the site to contain viruses and other malware, it simply prevents you from accessing it. This keeps you and your data safe. 

Some proxies, on the other hand, can scan the files and documents you download from a website even before they get to your computer or mobile phone.

• Access to Content and Apps Restricted by Governments

With residential proxies, you can access content and applications that governments or locations have restricted. Proxy service providers, however, can change your IP address to fit those of different countries around the world, giving you access to geo-restricted content and apps.

• Bypassing Blocked IP Issues

If you have been blocked from accessing any online platforms, apps, and gaming platforms, you can still go to such platforms if you have a residential proxy on your device. You can still use the same device with the blocked IP address to visit such sites.

Let’s continue to see what choosing the best residential proxy server entails.

Choosing a Residential Proxy Server- What Does it Take?

When you decide to invest in a residential proxy, you don’t order one. Several factors exist that you must consider. 

Below, we’ll be looking at factors you must consider when choosing to buy a residential proxy.

• The IP Pool and Network Size of the Provider

Getting the best out of residential proxies largely depends on the provider’s IP pool and network size. These factors give insight into the number of IP addresses and the countries you can reach with them. While some service providers may have just 10,000 IP addresses in their pool, others have as many as 52+ million, covering several geographical locations.

To get this information and more, you’ll need to visit the websites of these providers or even check out customer reviews. Ensure they have a track record of reputation and are not just out for your money.

• Pricing

Your budget is a critical factor that determines the kind of residential proxy you can buy. Some proxies are less expensive than others. Earlier, we saw that shared residential proxies are fairly cheaper compared to dedicated proxies.

It’s also essential to understand that prices could be based on data usage (measured in gigabytes), per proxy (where you buy the proxy software before installing, setting up, and configuring it), or per use case (if you choose to use it to access sneaker sites or manage social media accounts).

Generally, getting the best deal is a lot of work as you’ll have to visit several proxy sites, compare the prices, and make a decision.

• Features and Needs

Residential proxies have several use cases – from SEO and SERP monitoring to social media monitoring, ads verification, and accessing sneaker sites. The use cases are vast. Depending on what you intend to use the proxy for, it’s necessary to check that it has those features. For instance, if you need a proxy to track global product pricing and the proxy doesn’t have that feature, you should select another.

• Customer Support

Before purchasing that residential proxy, check to ensure the provider has good customer support and you can conveniently contact them at any time of the day. This is useful especially if you aren’t very tech-savvy. Some companies may offer 8-hour customer support service, while others offer 24 hours. 

So choose the proxy that meets all your needs plus customer support.

• Privacy and Security

While residential proxies are necessary to improve your privacy and security when online, some are enhanced to be more private and secure. For instance, the network architecture in rotational residential proxies allows it to keep changing a client’s IP address, making it more private and secure.

While cost may be a major factor when considering enhanced privacy and security, you can always compare the prices of several providers.

Limitations of Residential Proxies

Residential proxies have several benefits, with the main aim of enhancing privacy and anonymity. However, there seems to be some form of limitation when compared to other proxy types. These limitations include speed and less number of IP addresses.

Because residential proxies use real IP addresses, they tend to be slow in their operations. Requests will have to be routed through several IP addresses. This makes them slower than other proxies. 

Additionally, residential proxies consist of real IP addresses which are limited in number compared to other proxy types that randomly generate these addresses.

Bottom Line

Several proxies exist in the market. One such proxy is residential. Above, we explored the concept of residential proxies, their benefits, and use cases.

We went on to see how they work and route IP addresses by acting as intermediaries that relay messages between a device and the internet. We concluded by exploring the factors you should look out for when choosing a residential proxy.

Frequently Asked Questions and Answers

Are residential proxies legal?

Because the internet is a free platform that can be accessed by anyone, it follows that residential proxies are legal. They enhance the security and privacy of users when they visit the internet. However, proxies can be exploited by hackers to access sensitive government-based documents that are restricted to the public. As such, the issuance and use of residential proxies should follow best practices.

What are ISP proxies?

Also referred to as static proxies, they are usually purchased from internet service providers (ISPs). The IP addresses in these proxies are hosted by servers in Data Centers. Compared to residential proxies, there are fewer hops in the request process and this makes communication between clients and the internet faster.

Usually, rotational residential proxies randomly change the IP addresses of a client while ISP proxies do not. As such, the latter only handles a few requests at a time.

How can you tell if a residential proxy is good for your business?

A residential proxy is good if it suits your business needs. It should be compatible with tools that track growth and marketing efforts, competitor analysis, analyze global product product pricing, and enhance privacy and security.