Introducing VPN & Proxy Detection API: Classify IP Addresses as VPN, proxy, residential proxy, or something else

TL;DR

• WhoisXML API’s VPN & Proxy Detection API is a new real-time API with daily bulk data files that classifies IPv4 addresses as VPN, proxy, residential proxy, Tor, relay, hosting, or CDN traffic. 
• One of the things that sets the API apart is residential-proxy detection that mainstream IP-intelligence databases miss; about 88% of those detections are independently confirmed by a third-party source.
• The API is live now, with pricing starting as low as $1/month. Sign up to get an API key within minutes.

We have released the VPN & Proxy Detection API, a new addition to WhoisXML API’s IP intelligence lineup alongside IP Geolocation API and IP Netblocks API. VPN & Proxy Detection API classifies IPv4 addresses into different categories, allowing you to separate proxied traffic from real users.

Why use VPN & Proxy Detection API

Traffic from a VPN, proxy, or Tor node looks the same as any other connection until you scrutinize it. However, from the business perspective, the average value and threat level of such traffic is very different. Here’s what VPN & Proxy Detection helps you do:

• Fraud: Spot residential-proxy traffic that looks like a real user
• Risk: Weigh a connection’s risk by knowing which network the flagged traffic is coming from.
• KYC: Check whether a signup or transaction is routed through a VPN or proxy, hiding where the connection is really from.
• Licensing compliance / geo-integrity: Prevent location spoofing by detecting VPN and proxy use to better enforce licensing or geo-restrictions.
• Cyber-insurance: Better underwrite risk and detect claims fraud by identifying VPN or proxy connections that may conceal a user’s true location.
• OEMs and resellers: Add VPN and proxy classification to your own data products (for details, talk to sales).

Example Use Case

Fraudulent signups often come from VPNs and residential proxies. Other tools would allow you to block all VPNs (including corporate ones, which you probably shouldn’t be blocking) and allow all residential IPs (including residential proxies). However, with VPN & Proxy Detection API, you can avoid blocking employees on corporate VPNs while still stopping residential-proxy traffic. It would also allow you to see if the fraudulent signups are coming from the same network so that you can block all traffic attributed to this network.

How it works

VPN & Proxy Detection API is now available for sign-up, starting with four self-serve plans — Intro, Starter, Pro, and Scale. You will automatically get an API key so you can start using the tool immediately. Two other plans (Business and Enterprise) are also available when you contact sales. 

Among the standout features of VPN & Proxy Detection API are:

• Confidence scoring: Each classification comes with a confidence score, available from the Pro plan up, so you can weigh how much to trust a result instead of treating every match the same.
• Compatible with your existing tech stack: VPN & Proxy Detection ships as a JSON API for real-time lookups, plus additional format options for daily bulk exports on higher-tier plans (CSV, starting with the Pro plan, and MMDB and Parquet, starting with the Business plan). 
• Residential proxy detection: A residential proxy looks like a normal household to other similar detection tools because it runs through a real home connection someone else is routing traffic on. VPN & Proxy Detection API detects these exits, and names the operating network (for users on the Pro plan and up).
• Independently confirmed accuracy: About 88% of the API’s residential proxy detections are confirmed by an outside source for increased confidence.
• Hourly refresh: Since residential proxy pools rotate fast, we re-check residential-proxy networks every hour to keep up.

Here’s how to get started:

WhoisXML API’s VPN & Proxy Detection is live now and covers IPv4 addresses (IPv6 support is on the roadmap). 

• Sign up now to start using the tool.
• Contact us if you need higher rate limits, more data points, and additional export format options. 
• Read the API documentation for more details about VPN & Proxy Detection API.