Does this effectively render proxies meaningless?

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Newbie4life

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Hey, i just came across the following article:

https://www.heise.de/en/news/O2-wants-to-identify-customers-on-behalf-of-third-parties-10304285.html

This article is about a new service from o2, a mobile phone provider. O2 offers that online retailers, online marketplace operators or social media sites can verify the identity of the person behind the ip address via API. O2 does not share any actual customer data, but gives a value (from 0 to 100) to what extent the user data transmitted by the customer (e.g. Facebook) (name, e-mail address, home address and so on) matches the data stored at o2.

My question now is, will this make proxies worthless in the future if this were to be implemented across the board?
 
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It depends if O2 is adopted across the sites you really need proxies for, then effectiveness would see a drop there but won't really render proxies meaningless. Haven't seen the system at work, but I can immediately identify a glaring flaw with relying on user data which already has a large market. Stolen or purchased user data could pass off as legitimate access through that system (which as far as I can tell doesn’t directly verify the real time connection between the IP and the person submitting data). Who knows, could work out with some polish or some yet to be determined specifics of it but off the top of my head, I can imagine some real particulars that leave a lot to be desired.
 
has anyone encountered a deficiency in proxies yet in any channel e.g social media ?
 
The score thing just adds another hurdle. It means you might need better proxies, maybe residential ones that look more like regular people, to even get a passing score. Or, people will just ditch O2. If everyone starts doing this, it will definitely make using proxies a bit more complicated and less reliable, but the need won't entirely vanish. It's an arms race, right?
 
imccafey said:
It depends if O2 is adopted across the sites you really need proxies for, then effectiveness would see a drop there but won't really render proxies meaningless. Haven't seen the system at work, but I can immediately identify a glaring flaw with relying on user data which already has a large market. Stolen or purchased user data could pass off as legitimate access through that system (which as far as I can tell doesn’t directly verify the real time connection between the IP and the person submitting data). Who knows, could work out with some polish or some yet to be determined specifics of it but off the top of my head, I can imagine some real particulars that leave a lot to be desired.
Click to expand...

as long as what you doing with the proxies are not hardly against the laws, you have no issues with this, dosnt mean proxies are dead in any way
 
Oh man, this is a really interesting link!

It’s worth noting that even the described anonymous screening technology with client compliance scores from 1 to 100 is a significant intrusion into personal data. And in Europe, this is strictly regulated!

I did a bit of searching, and it turns out that any customer can prohibit O2 from checking their SIM under this program. It’s explicitly mentioned here, and there’s even a screenshot of the user interface where you can enable or disable this permission: https://hilfe.o2online.de/mein-o2-o...-match-als-partner-services-in-der-app-635444
Of course, O2 is interested in selling this service to other platforms, so they’ve buried this opt-out setting deep in the interface

However, it’s still unclear whether this initiative will take off and be widely adopted. Some similar things never gain traction or widespread use because they require technical API integration from social networks and other platforms. And those guys aren’t exactly fast :)
Plus, these social networks and platforms would essentially have to send their users’ personal data to mobile operators for verification -- and that’s a huge legal headache.


Overall, I’d say that new obstacles like this will keep appearing, while some older ones will fade away. Technologies are evolving rapidly, but that doesn’t always mean something is completely dead. However, you’re absolutely right -- staying up to date and monitoring industry changes is crucial to adapting in time.
 
Newbie4life said:
Hey, i just came across the following article:

https://www.heise.de/en/news/O2-wants-to-identify-customers-on-behalf-of-third-parties-10304285.html

This article is about a new service from o2, a mobile phone provider. O2 offers that online retailers, online marketplace operators or social media sites can verify the identity of the person behind the ip address via API. O2 does not share any actual customer data, but gives a value (from 0 to 100) to what extent the user data transmitted by the customer (e.g. Facebook) (name, e-mail address, home address and so on) matches the data stored at o2.

My question now is, will this make proxies worthless in the future if this were to be implemented across the board?
Click to expand...
O2 is not present in all countries, for example I don't have it on my country.
Second, if you still buy a proxy that doesn't mean you are kyced, the person/company that bought the sim are kyced.
Third, all best proxy providers habe encription on the data used on their proxy, ISP mobile companies, don't see actually what's going on behind that.

If you're not in a communist country where the laws are very tight, you can buy from all over the world just fine.
 
Proxies will not become worthless. If problems arise, they will always be solved.
 
iproxyonline said:
Oh man, this is a really interesting link!

It’s worth noting that even the described anonymous screening technology with client compliance scores from 1 to 100 is a significant intrusion into personal data. And in Europe, this is strictly regulated!

I did a bit of searching, and it turns out that any customer can prohibit O2 from checking their SIM under this program. It’s explicitly mentioned here, and there’s even a screenshot of the user interface where you can enable or disable this permission: https://hilfe.o2online.de/mein-o2-o2-online-e-mail-37/sim-swap-kyc-match-als-partner-services-in-der-app-635444
Of course, O2 is interested in selling this service to other platforms, so they’ve buried this opt-out setting deep in the interface

However, it’s still unclear whether this initiative will take off and be widely adopted. Some similar things never gain traction or widespread use because they require technical API integration from social networks and other platforms. And those guys aren’t exactly fast :)
Plus, these social networks and platforms would essentially have to send their users’ personal data to mobile operators for verification -- and that’s a huge legal headache.


Overall, I’d say that new obstacles like this will keep appearing, while some older ones will fade away. Technologies are evolving rapidly, but that doesn’t always mean something is completely dead. However, you’re absolutely right -- staying up to date and monitoring industry changes is crucial to adapting in time.
Click to expand...

Yes, you're right that europe regulates the exchange of data pretty well for the purpose of data protection. I also hope that there will be someone who sues against it. Because I can hardly imagine that this is really compatible with current law. But who knows, when it comes to expanding the surveillance of their citizens, the countries in the EU are at the forefront.

An obvious disadvantage of such a system is, of course, that the API could be misused. If a fraudster registers a website and markets it as a social network or online online shop in order to gain access to the API, he would have a very effective tool to check whether his stolen data is up-to-date or correct. In addition, O2 could see which websites a customer purchases from or registers with, which is also valuable data.

Furthermore, a user who values their privacy and therefore disables this feature in their O2 customer account would probably be effectively disadvantaged when registering social media accounts and shopping online. I cannot imagine that this is legal.

So I am hopeful that this model will face legal hurdles. Let's wait and see :)
 
MR.Spuf said:
O2 is not present in all countries, for example I don't have it on my country.
Second, if you still buy a proxy that doesn't mean you are kyced, the person/company that bought the sim are kyced.
Third, all best proxy providers habe encription on the data used on their proxy, ISP mobile companies, don't see actually what's going on behind that.

If you're not in a communist country where the laws are very tight, you can buy from all over the world just fine.
Click to expand...

In addition to the linked article, I found another article on the subject, which unfortunately is not available in English - which is why I have not linked to it.
But that article mentions that Vodafone and Telefonica now also offer such a service in Germany.

Here is the article (in German):
https://www.golem.de/news/kampf-gegen-online-betrug-telefonica-prueft-identitaet-von-o2-kunden-fuer-dritte-2503-193964.html

The problem I see with this is that this is a service that could go global and at some point in the future you effectively won't be able to create social media accounts without the identity behind the IP matching your details. So no social media account without KYC, which is basically what this is. That's the concern I have.

Now that i think of it...internationally this may be less of a problem, since there are many countries where prepaid SIM cards can be purchased and used without proof of identity. But in many European countries, it could perhaps become one.
 
Newbie4life said:
In addition to the linked article, I found another article on the subject, which unfortunately is not available in English - which is why I have not linked to it.
But that article mentions that Vodafone and Telefonica now also offer such a service in Germany.

Here is the article (in German):
https://www.golem.de/news/kampf-geg...et-von-o2-kunden-fuer-dritte-2503-193964.html

The problem I see with this is that this is a service that could go global and at some point in the future you effectively won't be able to create social media accounts without the identity behind the IP matching your details. So no social media account without KYC, which is basically what this is. That's the concern I have.

Now that i think of it...internationally this may be less of a problem, since there are many countries where prepaid SIM cards can be purchased and used without proof of identity. But in many European countries, it could perhaps become one.
Click to expand...
Let's not do coulda' shoulda' woulda' since ir's a dangerous self stopping game. Until further notice business as usually. Always there are opportunities presented so I wouldn't rely too much on the negative aspects or future negative aspects
 
MR.Spuf said:
Let's not do coulda' shoulda' woulda' since ir's a dangerous self stopping game. Until further notice business as usually. Always there are opportunities presented so I wouldn't rely too much on the negative aspects or future negative aspects
Click to expand...
You're probably right... sometimes i focus too much on possible scenarios and try to plan ahead and go through different solutions that could work, but as you correctly say: "dangerous self stopping game". Thanks for the replies
 
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Not necessarily, but it could make anonymity harder. Proxies hide IPs, but if platforms adopt this O2-like verification, they'd check identity details beyond just IP. This means:


✔ Proxies alone won’t be enough – Matching name, email, and address will matter more.
✔ Anti-detect setups become crucial – Browser fingerprints & aged accounts will gain importance.
✔ Telco-based verification may not be universal – Other ISPs might not adopt it.
✔ Bypass methods may emerge – Identity spoofing techniques or alternative verifications.
 
If any problem arises in the future, the programmers who designed the proxy will solve it. I still believe in proxies.
 
O2’s new service could make proxies less effective for bypassing identity verification, especially if widely adopted. However, proxies will still have value for anonymity, geo-spoofing, and other use cases. The key will be adapting to new methods of masking or mimicking legitimate user behavior. Proxies aren’t “worthless,” but their role may evolve.
 
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