Mobile Proxies: Types, Benefits, and How They Work

However, some users, for several reasons, may want to hide their location from these websites, and using a proxy is one of the most effective ways to achieve that. Hiding your location unlocks several benefits, including the ability to bypass location-based restrictions put by some websites. 

Mobile proxies are the most effective at this. 

By using mobile proxy server solutions, users can browse the web anonymously while bypassing any location-based restrictions. If you’re keen to learn more about mobile proxy solutions and how they work, this article is for you.

Key Takeaways

• High anonymity: Mobile proxy solutions will hide your IP, making your traffic more anonymous when using the internet.
• Several types available: You can choose from dedicated, shared, rotating and sticky proxies. 
• Bypass restrictions: Mobile proxies are great for bypassing location-based restrictions put by some websites and internet services
• Best use cases: The ideal use cases for mobile proxy services include social media management, mobile app/game testing, and ad verification. 

ProxyWing benefits: Our proxy services offer 24/7 support, global coverage (over 190 countries on different types of proxies), high speed, clean IPs, easy setup, and flexible/scalable configurations. 

How Do Mobile Proxies Work?

Before discussing how these proxies work, let’s first briefly explain what a proxy is for those that may not know. A proxy is basically a server that sits between your device and the websites you intend to access. When using this tool, your device traffic is routed through a server before being sent to the website or other internet services you intend to access. That means your connection will bear the IP address of this server instead of your device’s. 

With mobile proxy solutions, the server routes your traffic through real mobile devices connected to 3G, 4G, or 5G networks. Your device’s IP address is then replaced with a mobile device IP, making your connection appear as mobile traffic. The IPs of these devices are assigned by carriers, making it extremely hard for websites to block them. 

Providers offering IP address rotation make detection even harder by automatically changing the address of your connection after a set duration. This unlocks several user cases that will be covered later in the article. 

Types of Mobile Proxies

There are four main types of mobile proxies:

Dedicated/Private

With dedicated mobile proxy servers, every individual is assigned IP addresses. These proxies are more reliable and secure since each user has full control of how they use their assigned IP addresses. This gives users peace of mind since they don’t have to worry that someone else may misuse an IP address, potentially leading to IP bans.. 

Shared

These assign more than one user to a single IP address. Shared proxies are usually not as reliable and secure as dedicated ones. Having multiple devices connected to the same IP increases the chances of IP bans if they simultaneously try to access the same website. However, the main benefit of shared proxies is price. They are the cheapest option, making them ideal for users on a budget. 

Rotating

These proxies automatically change the IP address of your connection every after a set duration. The ability to automatically rotate the IP address reduces the risk of IP bans and improves the security of your connection. The rotating IP addressing method is a great option for tasks like data scraping that can be blocked if one IP is used to scrape enormous amounts of data. 

Sticky (session)

Sticky proxies maintain the same IP address for the entire session. That means when you connect to the internet using these proxies, your IP remains the same until you disconnect. Sticky mobile proxies are great for tasks like online shopping where maintaining the same address ensures a consistent experience. 

Benefits of Using Mobile Proxies

• Better success rates: Most websites trust internet traffic from mobile devices, which makes these proxies great for tasks like web data scraping. For even more success rates, you can use rotating mobile proxies to automatically switch between different IPs every after a couple of minutes. 
• Access region-restricted content: Whether you need to watch a TV show restricted to a certain region or view region-specific news, using proxies will make that possible. We support over 10+ countries, so you can select any of these regions to access any region-specific content. 
• High Anonymity: As stated earlier, proxies hide your location, making it almost impossible for websites to track your location. You can further make your connection even more secure and anonymous by utilizing IP pools to automatically switch between different IP addresses. 
• Great for testing mobile apps and websites: If you want to test how your iOS/Android app or website behaves in different regions, using proxies is a great way to simulate local user experience. 
• Ad verification: They make it more seamless to verify how your ads on any platform are displayed to users in various regions. For instance, when running Google ads, their position in search results may vary for different locations. With a proxy, you can easily view your ads performance and make necessary changes to improve it.  
• More Seamless browsing: Mobile traffic is trusted by most websites and platforms, which means less CAPTCHA interruptions. This makes the browsing or data collection experience more seamless and faster, especially when using bots. 

Use Cases for Mobile Proxies

• Price and market research: Businesses can use them to research prices of competitor’s goods on mobile-first platforms. You can also capture the position of different products in search results on these platforms. 
• Bypassing mobile-only restrictions: There are some promotions and website features that are only accessible to mobile device users in a given region. By using a mobile proxy, you can access and take advantage of these offers without necessarily using a mobile device. 
• Mobile app testing: The best way to test the performance of your mobile app in various regions is through using proxies. Mobile proxies allow you to view and use the app just like the users in the region you choose. 
• Social Media Management: Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok are designed to be mobile first. Using a mobile proxy makes it possible to get a mobile experience on any device if that is something you would like to do. Proxies also allow you to view content and trending topics in different regions, which can help shape your content strategy. 
• Mobile games testing: Developers of mobile-first games can use mobile proxy solutions to simulate the experiences of their games in various regions. They can even simulate multi-player situations by connecting through different mobile IPs to mimic real users playing from different locations at the same time.

What to Know Before Using Mobile Proxies

For a great experience, here a few things that you must consider before using mobile proxies: 

• Speed: Since they run on mobile networks (3G, 4G, or 5G), speed may not be as high as you would get on other types like datacenter proxies. If you need the fastest speeds possible, you may be better off using datacenter proxies
• Price: The costs of deploying and managing mobile proxies is a higher than other types. This makes their prices a higher, making them less ideal for some use cases that do not take full advantage of their unique benefits. 
• Shared vs Dedicated Mobile Proxies: Shared mobile proxies are cheaper, but they may not be as private or reliable as dedicated ones. Take time to weigh your options before choosing which type to use. 
• Ethical Usage: Use proxies only for tasks that do not violate the rules of your country. You must also follow our terms and conditions for mobile IP proxy usage to avoid having your access revoked. 
• Proxy location: We offer over 10 locations, so make sure to choose one that helps you achieve your target. 

How to Set Up a Mobile Proxy: Quick Guide

Follow this three steps process to get started using our mobile proxy solutions:

• Step 1: Get Proxy Details: After making your proxy purchase, you will be provided with details, including IP address(es), port, and login credentials (if you need this option)
• Step 2: Add Settings to your device: If you are using an iPhone, go to Settings>Wifi>Tap on your preferred connected network>Scroll down and tap on Configure Proxy>Manual. You should now see the option where you can add the IP address and the port. If you enable authentication, you will be required to provide the login credentials from the first step. 
• Step 3: Save Test: After inputting all the details, you can now save and test your connection. You can even confirm your new IP address using tools like https://proxywing.com/ip-check

Please note that the setup process on other platforms follows almost the same procedure. If you face any challenges setting up the proxy on your device, you can always reach out to our support team, which is available 24/7 to get help.

Why ProxyWing is the Best Mobile Proxy Provider for You

• Extensive global coverage: We give you access to over 20 million IP addresses in more than 10 countries.
• High speed and reliability: We have mobile proxies with up to 100Mbps bandwidth, which is ideal for tasks like data scraping. Our proxies also offer 99.9% uptime, so you are guaranteed a connection with almost no interruptions. 
• Clean IPs: We offer our users millions of clean IPs to use, which helps minimize the chances of having your connection blocked. This is crucial especially for users doing sensitive tasks that do not need interruption. 
• Reliable Customer: Our support teams are available to help you with any proxy issues at all times via live chat, tickets, and Discord. You can also use our other support resources like FAQs and blogs to find solutions to some of the common problems previous users faced. 
• Scalable Solutions: Our mobile proxies can be used at any scale. Whether it is a business doing data scraping or an individual seeking to stream Netflix shows restricted to certain regions, we have a reliable solution available.
• User Friendly Dashboard: Our website interface is easy to navigate, making it seamless to choose the appropriate proxy type you need. The setup process, like we covered earlier, is straightforward with just three simple steps to get started. 

Mobile Proxy IPs vs. Other Proxy IPs

Feature	Mobile	Residential	Datacenter
IP Sources	Real mobile devices connected to 4G LTE 4G 5G mobile carriers networks	Home devices with carrier issued residential IPs	Proxy servers hosted in datacenters
Speed	Fast enough	Fast enough	Fastest option
Cost	High	Middle	Low
Detection risk	Very low	Low	High
IP rotation	Dynamic	Dynamic/Static	Static

Final Thoughts

Mobile proxies are an excellent option for users who need maximum anonymity and minimal risk of connection blocks. As discussed in this article, mobile proxies offer several benefits that make them a great choice for use cases like mobile app testing, social media management, and bypassing mobile-only restrictions.

For the best experience, we recommend assessing your intended tasks and then deciding if mobile proxies are the best choice. You must also choose between using rotating or static IPs, depending on the level of anonymity you require and your budget. For most tasks, static addresses should be good enough, but for some, using rotating IPs may be the most logical choice.