IP whitelisting
IP whitelisting authenticates you by where you connect from instead of a password. 24 of the 42 providers Proxy Compare tracks document it and 30 document username and password, read 5 Oct 2026. It leaks no credentials, and stops working the moment your own address changes.
Why it costs you money
It decides whether the service works from where you actually run. Whitelisting breaks on a home address that changes, and on most serverless platforms, where the outbound address moves without warning, so a plan that authenticates only this way can be unusable for a setup that would otherwise be a good fit.
See it in the data
Related terms
- Sub-userA separate set of credentials under one account, so you can split traffic by project, client or machine.
- Ports vs IPsA numbered endpoint you connect to. On some providers a port is the billing unit, and it is not the same as an address.
- BackconnectOne gateway address that fans out to the whole pool behind it, so your code never handles an address list.
- KYCThe identity checks a provider runs before selling to you. Ranges from an email address to a company registration.
- Every term we define
Questions
Which providers here document it?
24 of the 42 providers document IP whitelisting and 30 document username and password, read 5 Oct 2026. Most support both and publish neither clearly enough to compare before buying.
Why use it instead of a password?
There is no credential to leak. Nothing sits in your code or your traffic, which counts for more when the job runs on shared or short-lived infrastructure.
What breaks a whitelist?
Your own address changing. On a home connection, or a cloud host that reassigns addresses, the allowance stops matching and every request fails at once rather than degrading.