A private proxy acts as an intermediary between a client and the internet. Applying a private proxy means that one client is exclusively using the dedicated IP address at a given time. When a private proxy is in use, requests run through the proxy server (which masks the client’s original IP address) first, and only then connects to the internet resources to fulfill client’s requests.
Whenever you connect to the internet, your IP address allows other websites to track your browsing activity, regardless of its nature. The only way to stay anonymous is knowing how to hide IP address, and this is where private proxies come in handy.
When it comes to proxies, there are a few different types of proxies one can look into:
- Residential proxies
- Datacenter proxies
- Shared proxies
- Private proxies
Also, exclusivity is something that defines their quality and, usually, the price. That’s why most proxy providers offer shared, semi-dedicated and private proxies.
Shared proxies can have their own benefits but usually buying private proxies is the way to go as the former can experience significant slowdowns, reduced privacy and increased chances of blocked IPs. Today, we’re taking a closer look at private ones.
What is a private proxy?
A private proxy, also known as dedicated proxy, refers to a proxy type that is used only by one user at a given time. It’s not shared with anyone else, so you have full control over how and when this proxy is used.
A private proxy carries an exclusive IP address allocated to one single user. Since the IP address belongs to one person only, there’s no need to be cautious about other proxy users performing activities that might lead to the IP blocking by specific websites, thus preventing you from accessing the same websites. Owning a proxy privately gives an increased level of privacy and control over your proxy, but it also comes with higher prices compared to shared and public proxies.
Private proxies for personal and business needs
Private proxies provide you with the highest level of anonymity, and that’s why they are used not only for personal but also for business purposes. While personal use cases usually involve anonymity and you can setup your Chrome browser to use a proxy which will route all traffic via a specific endpoint, business uses are more sophisticated.
For example, ad verification companies use private proxies to check advertisers’ landing pages anonymously. Or, let’s take travel fare aggregators whose businesses almost entirely depend on private proxies. For travel fare aggregators proxies enable automated data collection of flight company websites, online travel agencies, and other sources without IP blocks or bans.
Private proxies are also used to get pricing data (e.g. for MAP monitoring), buy limited edition products, create and manage social media accounts, and for many other reasons. Of course, to perform these tasks with the use of proxies requires users to understand the differences between residential and datacenter proxies. Residential private proxies are better when imitating an average internet user is important while datacenter proxies are better when high internet connection speeds are required.
Private residential and datacenter proxies
Proxies differ not only by their usage but also by their point of origin. Two common points of origin are residential and datacenter proxies. Both of these types can also be shared or private proxies.
Residential proxies are servers that are created by Internet Service Providers. These proxies are hosted on real, physical machines and they provide a dedicated IP. Additionally, these private IPs are the best choice for ad verification, pricing intelligence data gathering and many other internet activities where maintaining the identity of a regular consumer is critical.
Datacenter proxies, on the other hand, are created by hosting virtual machines on powerful servers. One server can host large amounts of proxies without compromising connection speeds. These private IPs are perfect when traffic-intensive activities (such as email protection or market research) are being performed.
Dedicated IPs from datacenter proxies do have a drawback – they all come from the same subnet. Destination servers can see that a large amount of similar dedicated IPs are using their services which might trigger anti-bot detection algorithms.
Understanding the differences between datacenter and residential proxies is incredibly important whenever a decision to buy a private proxy is being made. We have outlined these differences in greater detail in our blog post where we compare datacenter and residential proxies in general.
The advantages of using a private proxy
Private & secure
- The main benefit of private proxies is that, well, they are, in fact, private. If you buy these proxies, no one else will have access to them.
- By using private proxies you’ll face little to no risk of having your personal information compromised which gives you a higher level of security.
- Private proxies will always show up as a different IP address than your usual one. Residential private proxies will provide an additional layer of privacy as it will seem as if a regular internet user is browsing the Internet.
Multiple locations
- Usually, private proxy providers offer IP addresses from various locations. This enables you to access content that may otherwise be unavailable in your location. For example, use a Germany proxy to access content in Germany, or Brazil proxy, to browse the web as if you were in Brazil.
- This can come in handy for multiple occasions. For instance, if your target website uses geo-blocks or if you want to get localized SERP data.
Extremely fast
- Private proxies won’t negatively affect your browsing speed. They are assigned to one user, so there’s a little chance of the bandwidth overload.
- Private proxies are also more reliable than shared ones and, in most cases, have unlimited bandwidth.
- If a datacenter private IP proxy is chosen, the internet speeds will be extremely high as servers generally have an enviable internet connection plan.
Wrapping up
The main downside is that private proxies are usually more expensive. However, they come with many benefits. If you’re interested, we suggest you read our dedicated IP vs shared IP article to understand the main differences between shared and private proxy types.
Using private proxies proved to be the most reliable option for many of our clients. If you want to find out how proxies can boost your business, discover other useful tools for data acquisition, decide what to choose according to your business needs: proxies or a scraping API, we have many great blog posts available!
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