Glossary

Proxy glossary

Clear, no-jargon definitions of the proxy terms you'll encounter — from residential proxies to ASN targeting and fraud scores.

Proxy types

Datacenter Proxy

A proxy hosted on cloud or server infrastructure rather than an ISP. It is the fastest and cheapest proxy type but the easiest for sites to detect.

HTTP/HTTPS Proxy

A proxy that handles web traffic. HTTPS connections are encrypted end-to-end, while HTTP is unencrypted unless the destination site uses TLS.

ISP Proxy

A static proxy hosted in a data center but registered under a residential ISP, combining datacenter speed with residential trust and a zero fraud score. Also called a static residential proxy.

A proxy that routes traffic through a real 4G or 5G connection on a mobile carrier network, so the exit IP belongs to a phone operator rather than a hosting provider or a home ISP. Also called a 4G, 5G or cellular proxy.

Residential Proxy

A proxy that routes traffic through an IP address assigned by an ISP to a real home device, making requests appear to come from a genuine consumer.

SOCKS5

A flexible proxy protocol that supports any traffic type, including UDP, and is often preferred for performance and security over HTTP proxies.

ASN (Autonomous System Number)

A unique identifier for a network operator on the internet. Targeting by ASN lets you select IPs belonging to a specific ISP or carrier.

Backconnect Proxy

A proxy that connects you to a rotating pool through a single gateway endpoint, so the underlying IP changes automatically without you managing individual proxies.

Geo-Targeting

Selecting proxy IPs from a specific country, state, city or ASN to collect location-accurate data or access region-restricted content.

IP Rotation

The process of automatically switching between different IP addresses to spread requests and reduce the chance of being blocked.

Proxy Pool

The total set of IP addresses a provider can assign. A larger, more diverse pool means lower detection rates and better success at scale.

Proxy Server

An intermediary server that forwards your internet requests to target websites and returns their responses, masking your real IP address and location in the process.

Rotating Proxy

A proxy that assigns a new IP address on every request or at set intervals, distributing traffic across many IPs to avoid rate limits and bans.

Sticky IP

An IP address that remains assigned to your session for its duration, as opposed to rotating on each request.

Sticky Session

A configuration that keeps the same proxy IP for a defined period (up to 72 hours with seamless), used when a task needs a consistent identity such as a login or checkout.

Anti-Detect Browser

Software that creates isolated browser profiles with unique fingerprints, paired with proxies to manage multiple accounts without linking them.

CAPTCHA

A challenge designed to tell humans from bots. Clean residential IPs and good request hygiene reduce how often CAPTCHAs are triggered.

Fraud Score

A risk rating (0–100) that anti-fraud systems assign to an IP. Lower is better; seamless ISP proxies carry a zero fraud score, so they are rarely flagged.

WAF (Web Application Firewall)

A security layer that filters and blocks suspicious web traffic. Residential proxies and realistic request patterns help pass WAF checks.

Bandwidth

The volume of data transferred through a proxy, usually measured in gigabytes. Residential proxies are typically billed by bandwidth.

IP Whitelisting

Authorising specific IP addresses to use a proxy without a username and password, as an alternative to credential-based authentication.

Latency

The time it takes for a request to travel through a proxy to the target and back. Lower latency means faster responses; ISP and datacenter proxies achieve under 50ms.

Sub-User

A separate proxy account with its own credentials and usage limits, created under a main account — useful for teams and agencies.

Uptime

The percentage of time a proxy network is available and operational. seamless guarantees 99.9% uptime across its network.

Multi-Accounting

Operating several accounts on a platform, with each account isolated on its own dedicated IP to prevent linking and bans.

Sneaker Proxy

A residential or ISP proxy used with sneaker bots to place multiple checkout tasks on limited drops without being rate-limited or banned.

Web Scraping

The automated collection of publicly available data from websites, commonly used for price monitoring, SEO, research and AI training datasets.

Read our in-depth proxy guides