What is a Residential Proxy and How to Use It? Definition and Guide 2025
Access to residential proxies powers Ad fraud protection, accurate geo-targeting, advanced web anonymity, and high success rates in web data extraction. That’s why most businesses opt for them despite their premium pricing.
Residential proxies cost more because they allow users access to more than one ISP-issued residential IP. So, even when a user switches between IPs, websites hardly tell there is a proxy in play. How? Stick around to find out how.
We’ll also explore how to use residential proxies to refine your business’ workflows.
What is a Residential Proxy
A residential proxy is a type of server configured to use ISP-issued residential IPs to navigate the web on your behalf.
When you access the internet through a local ISP (Internet Service Provider), the ISP allocates your device an IP. The ISP may be a mobile service provider, fixed wireless ISP, or fiber-optic ISP. Regardless, the IP assigned to your device is governed by local policies and regulations.
The local policies and regulations define what content you can access through the issued IP. However, you don’t get a clear list of the content you can or can’t access.
You’ll only realize that your device’s IP is blocked from accessing a specific website while browsing. This is where a residential proxy comes in!
A residential proxy hosts a pool of IPs like the one assigned to your device. But, the IPs are from different regions, meaning you can switch IPs to bypass local policies and regulations.
When connected to a residential proxy, you surf the web like you do through your device. Most websites you access through the proxy believe it is a local accessing the internet. They can’t detect the proxy because its IP meets local regulatory requirements.
How to Use a Residential Proxy
As highlighted, residential proxies facilitate Ad fraud protection, geo-targeting, anonymity, and web scraping better than other proxy types. If you are to use a residential proxy, this is where you start — the purpose.
Why do you need a residential proxy? Each purpose or use case has its own requirements. For instance, web scraping requires rotating IPs while Ad fraud protection needs a consistent IP.
There are more residential proxy use cases other than the highlighted ones. Nonetheless, if you don’t clarify the purpose, you risk overpaying for unnecessary features, facing usage issues, or unintentionally violating ethical or legal guidelines.
After specifying a purpose and understanding the requirements, do the following:
1. Go with a trusted residential proxy provider
Considering the increasing demand for residential proxies, it is becoming more challenging to find reliable providers. However, there are those that have been put to the test by numerous users.
So, go through proxy review platforms to see what various residential proxy users have to say. Aim for a provider that fits your needs, with a good reputation, clear policies, and the geographic IPs as per your purpose.
A dependable and reliable provider is transparent. They disclose how they source their IPs and the performance of their proxies. Avoid free proxies or overly cheap providers. Most of them are usually unreliable, at times malicious. Some may even log your data and sell it.
2. Create an account to access proxies
Once you find a residential proxy provider that suits your purpose, register an account. The registration process varies from one provider to the other.
Creating an account gives you a full view of the available residential IPs. Choose an IP that matches your regional requirements. A mismatch may lead to an IP block.
While choosing an IP, note that there are static and rotating residential proxies. This also impacts how effective your select proxy would satisfy your objective.
After selecting an IP address, you’d be required to pay to have exclusive access. The IP comes with proxy login details, protocol details, and other details required to start using the proxy.
3. Configure your device to route traffic through a proxy
To use the purchased proxy, you must adjust your device’s network settings to reflect the proxy IP, authentication, and protocol details. Reference the proxy provider’s proxy setup guides to set up your device correctly.
Some proxy providers may require you to install their custom application to start using their proxies. At times, you may be required to download and install certain browser extensions. Follow the provider’s instructions to avoid IP or DNS leaks.
IP or DNS leaks can lead to proxy usage detection, potentially leading to an IP ban. This is a loss to you and the provider. You’ll need to buy a new IP and the provider can’t reuse the IP, especially when it is officially blacklisted by certain websites.
4. Manage and track usage
To have access to ISP-assigned IPs, providers usually lease the IPs from local ISPs or get into agreement with individual device owners. This makes residential proxies costly.
Keep an eye on bandwidth usage and proxy performance. Let your provider know in case there’s a sudden spike in bandwidth usage or persistent buffering, delays, or laggy browsing.
If you use residential proxies through automated scripts, protect your authentication details. In case they fall in unauthorized hands, the malicious actor may gain access to your proxies.
Once a website blocks your requests despite having the correct IP in place, change IPs promptly. Don’t keep retrying. This lowers the chances of the IP being blacklisted.
Watch for persistent errors or blocks despite changing IPs. If this happens, try checking for proxy software updates. If there are none, reach out to the proxy provider for help.
5. Adhere to ethical guidelines while using the proxy
Violating the proxy provider’s policies may come with a warning or permanent account ban. Read the terms of service of the provider from time to time to avoid this.
Besides the provider’s policies, respect website policies even though the residential proxy anonymizes your activities.
Taking part in malicious activities over a residential proxy is illegal and most proxy providers have the obligation to disclose your identity in such a scenario.
If you use a proxy to scrape web data, extract the data you are allowed to access only. Respect data privacy rules and avoid fraud when using any data you access through a proxy.
Always consult a proxy usage compliance expert or lawyer if you are unsure of anything. This is crucial, especially if you are in a country with strict proxy usage rules or regulations.
Wrapping up!
And, there you have it! A straightforward guide on the correct way to use a residential proxy.
Hopefully, you now understand why businesses opt for residential proxies despite their price tag. While using them to optimize business processes, always adhere to the ethical usage guidelines to avoid legal issues.
