KYC
KYC is the identity check a provider applies before selling to you. Proxy Compare records a policy for all 42 providers it tracks, read 5 Oct 2026: 16 take an email alone, 3 ask for documents, 2 state no check, and 21 publish nothing clear enough to record.
Why it costs you money
It decides whether you can buy at all, and it cuts both ways. A buyer without a registered company needs a provider that takes an email address; a buyer treating an unverified network as a risk signal wants the opposite. Both are legitimate, and the requirement is rarely on the pricing page.
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.
- IP whitelistingAuthenticating by registering your own server's address with the provider, instead of sending a username and password.
- Every term we define
Questions
Which providers here sell to an email address alone?
16 of the 42 providers Proxy Compare tracks, read 5 Oct 2026. 3 ask for identity documents, 2 state that no check applies, and 21 publish nothing clear enough to record. The unclear group is the largest, which is itself the finding.
Does a customer check mean the provider is more trustworthy?
It means the provider can identify who is buying. It says nothing about where the addresses came from, which is a separate question and the one the sourcing pages answer. A network can check you thoroughly and still not say whose home connection you are renting.
Can I be asked for documents after I have paid?
Yes. A provider in the unclear group may ask at checkout, on first support contact, or when a payment is disputed. Where a provider states its policy in text we record it; where it does not, we record the silence rather than assuming the answer.