Features and benefits of using rotating proxies regularly, be it for individual or business purposes, come with many opportunities. Some of the most prominent ones include online anonymity, security, as well as the ability to scour multiple websites regularly without having to run into the issue of slowed sites or even blocks.
However, there are other gains you can have from joining in on this practice. Given the high rise of usage of rotating proxies for private or business purposes, the offers vary – whether you are interested in free proxy services or those that come with a price tag.
Depending on your needs, preferences, and budget, making the right pick is what brings in the user value, which is why we strongly recommend you take the time to thoroughly investigate and weigh in the selection. As it is online, foolproof reviews can be tricky to track down, which is why sites like Truely come in with widely trusted insights.
Understanding Rotating Proxies
An astounding number of users have already discovered, understood, and implemented the use of this method regularly. Nonetheless, with conversations on data security, internet safety, and the development of goods and services offered online gaining more traction by the day, rotating proxies are becoming somewhat of an essential component.
To understand all of their features and benefits we need to go over the basics, or what a proxy is. To put it simply a proxy is a server operating between you and the content you are browsing, a sort of intermediary. This server allows you to browse the web under a different IP (Internet Protocol) address, increasing safety and allowing you to access content not usually available in your region.
A rotating proxy builds upon this by assigning you a new address each time you make a request. This makes it seem as though a different person is browsing the content which aside from simple privacy has a few additional benefits that are useful for researchers. The main draw of a changing IP however is the fact that it makes it harder for people to track your actual IP, massively increasing your online safety.
Features of Rotating Proxies
As we have already covered, features come in various forms of utility. However, the following are the most common causes for their increased use.
- Security: There is no denying that using a rotating proxy will substantially add to your internet safety. How this functions and why it comes to be is the fact that you have a layer of security through using several random IP addresses from the large proxy pool. In turn, what this does is it makes it difficult for someone to track down your actual IP address, as you are browsing with a different one.
- Access: It is not uncommon for large businesses to impose rate limiting. This practice can be bypassed with these proxies as you are coming in with different IP addresses from different locations. Rate limiting has its vulnerabilities and can be overcome, especially if your job requires you to regularly access some websites for research.
- Data: Depending on whether we are talking about your data or the one you want to collect, these proxies come in as a viable tool. You are protected from invasive data collection through your new identities and can access the sites you need. The web crawling, scraping and research has thus never been easier.
- Geoblocking: The practice of preventing users based on their geographic location from accessing goods, services and content is still very present today. With having a rotating proxy, you can avoid this feature because of the rotating proxy that provides you with a different IP location than your own.
Static or rotating proxies?
While rotating proxies are superior to static proxies, do you need their added benefits? Depending on what you do online the answer may vary wildly. While some people just want to watch region-locked netflix shows, others may be scraping websites for info and data. Not all use cases require the same tools and it’s the same with proxies.
Consider a rotating proxy if:
- You scrape websites for data, you’ll need a changing IP to avoid getting flagged as suspicious or even getting an IP ban, preventing access to the site from your IP;
- You want the best safety proxies can offer, a different IP is great but a changing IP is the peak security you can get in terms of what proxies offer;
- You often compare prices online. Since prices vary from region to region a changing IP from seemingly different places can let you compare prices and get the best deal.
Consider a static proxy if:
- You simply want access to region-locked content such as Netflix shows, games banned in your country, or certain sites you usually cannot access with your regular IP
- You want additional security online but don’t necessarily need the most proxies can offer. If you just want a little increased security then a static proxy is usually enough;
- A single IP is enough for you. At the end of the day, that’s the main difference between them and if one IP is enough then you can get by with just a static proxy.
Note: Also keep in mind the downside that both rotating and static proxies share – internet speed reduction. Whenever you use a proxy you may notice a dip in your internet speed while browsing, this is because there is an additional server the packets must go to which will of course slow things down.
While this may not cause too many issues if you browse content that doesn’t require a lot of bandwidth it still is important to remember and to turn your proxy off if it is unnecessary at that moment so you can get access to the full potential your ISP offers instead of needlessly slowing it down when a proxy isn’t needed at that time.
We wish you the best of luck in your internet browsing and hope that the knowledge of how rotating proxies work will help keep you safe online.