Ethical Proxies - Oxymoron or Future Standard?

Astro_1 · May 14, 2025

Let's cut the BS - every "ethical proxy" provider claims to respect robots.txt while selling IPs that clearly violate ToS. But recently I noticed something interesting:

A certain proxy service (won't name names, but rhymes with "Pastro") is trying something new:

1. Whitelisted residential IPs with verified owners

2. KYC requirements for large-scale users

3. Public transparency reports

On paper, this looks like corporate virtue signaling. But here's what makes me pause:

- Would you actually use a proxy that limits your scraping capabilities for "ethics"?

- Does adding friction (KYC/AML) make proxies more sustainable long-term?

- Or is this just marketing fluff that'll get ignored like every other "ethical" claim?

Personally, I think the market will decide - if these restricted proxies can still bypass Cloudflare at scale, maybe there's something here. If not, we'll all keep using the usual black/gray options.

What's your take? Is this the start of a real shift, or just another compliance checkbox?

(Disclaimer: Not affiliated with any providers, just observing industry trends. Discuss freely but keep it constructive.)

Bers666 · May 14, 2025

I have no idea what they mean by 'ethics' (can you explain?) but how it's ever possible to honor robots.txt for a proxy server? It means it has to mitm the https connection and put it on pause and fetch robots.txt and analyze it in the background? Sounds crazy.

Another topic. Many residential and mobile proxies providers (who sell in 10k of proxies) claim that their Ip's are 'ethically sourced'. Like, there's a program that everybody can sign up for and provide them with its IP and even earn some money.

Now, where's the program? I couldn't find one on their website! So I have to assume the 'providers' are sourced this way, by installing some mobile or desktop apps, clicking Agree on a multi page TOS, not reading it . Is it legal? Maybe. Is it ethical? No.

Another method is embedding a backdoor in a SDK, popular apps are built of.

So, where's the border between ethical proxy provider and .. a botnet?

Proxy Cake · May 15, 2025

Astro_1 said:
Let's cut the BS - every "ethical proxy" provider claims to respect robots.txt while selling IPs that clearly violate ToS. But recently I noticed something interesting:

A certain proxy service (won't name names, but rhymes with "Pastro") is trying something new:

1. Whitelisted residential IPs with verified owners

2. KYC requirements for large-scale users

3. Public transparency reports

On paper, this looks like corporate virtue signaling. But here's what makes me pause:

- Would you actually use a proxy that limits your scraping capabilities for "ethics"?

- Does adding friction (KYC/AML) make proxies more sustainable long-term?

- Or is this just marketing fluff that'll get ignored like every other "ethical" claim?

Personally, I think the market will decide - if these restricted proxies can still bypass Cloudflare at scale, maybe there's something here. If not, we'll all keep using the usual black/gray options.

What's your take? Is this the start of a real shift, or just another compliance checkbox?

(Disclaimer: Not affiliated with any providers, just observing industry trends. Discuss freely but keep it constructive.)View attachment 444215

Not affiliated with the company you mentioned but your username is the name of the company? Sure buddy..

iproxyonline · May 15, 2025

Bers666 said:
Another topic. Many residential and mobile proxies providers (who sell in 10k of proxies) claim that their Ip's are 'ethically sourced'. Like, there's a program that everybody can sign up for and provide them with its IP and even earn some money.
Now, where's the program? I couldn't find one on their website!

By the way, a lot of these guys run different brands. Under one brand they push apps that let you earn residential proxies in exchange for cash, and under a totally separate brand they sell proxies and datasets. On their sites you won’t see any overlap, even though it’s not exactly a SECRET - it’s just more effective to market both products without confusing users.

And, for example, services where you can “earn money by selling your extra traffic” usually avoid the word “proxy” altogether

so they don’t scare people off.

GlobalProxy4g · Jun 18, 2025

Astro_1 said:
Let's cut the BS - every "ethical proxy" provider claims to respect robots.txt while selling IPs that clearly violate ToS. But recently I noticed something interesting:

A certain proxy service (won't name names, but rhymes with "Pastro") is trying something new:

1. Whitelisted residential IPs with verified owners

2. KYC requirements for large-scale users

3. Public transparency reports

On paper, this looks like corporate virtue signaling. But here's what makes me pause:

- Would you actually use a proxy that limits your scraping capabilities for "ethics"?

- Does adding friction (KYC/AML) make proxies more sustainable long-term?

- Or is this just marketing fluff that'll get ignored like every other "ethical" claim?

Personally, I think the market will decide - if these restricted proxies can still bypass Cloudflare at scale, maybe there's something here. If not, we'll all keep using the usual black/gray options.

What's your take? Is this the start of a real shift, or just another compliance checkbox?

(Disclaimer: Not affiliated with any providers, just observing industry trends. Discuss freely but keep it constructive.)View attachment 444215

Solid topic. These so-called “ethical proxies” with whitelisted residential IPs, KYC layers, and public reports might appeal to corporates and agencies worried about compliance. But from a growth hacking perspective, adding friction like KYC slows down scale, kills flexibility, and makes the proxies unusable for things like scraping, mass automation, or fast testing. Unless they can reliably bypass filters like Cloudflare or fingerprint detection, they’ll struggle to replace clean mobile proxies, which remain the gold standard for clean scaling under the radar.

mikeGrowth · Jun 18, 2025

Ethical proxies, while promising transparency and compliance, raise questions about practicality. Requiring KYC and limiting scraping may ensure sustainability, but could also hinder functionality. It’s unclear whether these measures offer real value or are just marketing tactics. Users must weigh ethics against performance when considering such proxy services.

proxygo · Jun 18, 2025

Proxy Cake said:
Not affiliated with the company you mentioned but your username is the name of the company? Sure buddy..

lets all pretend we are slightly dumb .

Ethical Proxies - Oxymoron or Future Standard?

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