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Ethical sourcing & usage
Ethical Residential Proxy Sourcing and Usage
Smartproxy is dedicated to delivering value while upholding the principles of fairness, transparency, and industry best practices. We aim to cultivate a trust-based and sustainable industry where end-user awareness, consent, and equitable reward are the standard. Learn about our residential proxies’ procurement processes and policies.
Recognized by:
How do we acquire proxies?
As a member of EWDCI, we ensure sourcing our residential proxies in an ethical and sustainable way. We firmly believe in transparency, respecting user privacy, and promoting a fair ecosystem. We’ve implemented a set of ethical practices that guide our choice of providers and ensure the responsible acquisition of residential IP addresses.
Providers
To ensure the integrity of our residential IP addresses, we partner with reputable providers who engage in thorough verification processes to ensure that users willingly participate in their networks and have a genuine understanding of the data collection involved. By collaborating with such providers, we make sure that IP addresses come from legitimate sources.
Moreover, we enable users to earn money by participating in a peer-to-peer network, where they share the internet connection. Users receive earnings based on the amount of data traffic they contribute to the network, calculated in GBs. This approach fosters a collaborative community while allowing users to monetize their internet resources.
E.g., our partners allow people to choose the conditions under which their IP addresses could be used.
Consent
We prioritize user consent as the foundation of our ethical approach and obtain explicit consent from users before allowing them to share their internet traffic. Our partners must provide clear information to peers about the use of their IP addresses. This allows peers to make an informed choice about whether to continue being a part of a residential proxy pool.
E.g., our peers have full control over whether they want to participate in data sharing.
Data protection
To safeguard the owners of residential IP addresses, we employ robust security measures, including data encryption, secure storage, and regular audits of their systems. These measures ensure that only essential data for our residential pool functionality is provided to us.
E.g., as an IP address doesn’t reveal personal information, Smartproxy's customers can’t establish a link between an IP address and an individual user.
Laws and regulations
Lastly, compliance with applicable laws and regulations is paramount in our ethical sourcing efforts. We stay up to date with evolving legal requirements related to data protection, privacy, and user consent. Our practices are designed to align with these regulations and ensure that we meet our ethical principles.
E.g., We’re committed to ethical practices and compliance with the GDPR, CCPA, and other current legislations.
Acquisition process
How do we onboard users?
To prevent fraud, our customers undergo an automatic internal check during registration. If no suspicious activity is detected, they proceed through the KYC (Know Your Customer) process. Subsequently, an automated anti-fraud third-party tool provides us information about the nature of customers’ activities. Once approved, customers can make purchases for the company’s services.
In case of suspicious activity being detected, customers are required to undergo an ID verification process, which are then reviewed by a third-party ID verification tool. This part of the processensures that customers’ use cases align with Smartproxy’s policies. If approved, customers can proceed with their purchase; if the submitted information raises doubts about the authenticity and legitimacy of their intentions, customers will receive an email explaining why they can't access the company’s services.
During the process of purchase, we use a payment processor as an intermediary between the bank and the merchant. The processor securely communicates card information between the customer’s bank and our bank, ensuring a safe payment process for customers.
Onboarding process
How do we monitor users?
As the License Agreement states, our proxies are intended for research, personal and commercial use, and only for lawful and legitimate purposes. We restrict access to the majority of targets of the following use cases:
Banking & other financial activities
Government sites
Entertainment & streaming
Apple & Google stores
Ticketing
Gaming
Mailing
Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative (EWDCI) Certified
Smartproxy proudly serves as a co-founder of the EWDCI and an accredited holder of the EWDCI Certified designation. The EWDCI is an international consortium led by industry experts in web data collection, dedicated to strengthening public trust, promoting ethical guidelines, and helping businesses make informed data aggregation choices. We stand by core principles, focusing on legality, ethics, ecosystem engagement, and social responsibility.