---
title: "What is Residential proxy?"
url: "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/residential-proxy.md"
canonical_url: "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/residential-proxy"
last_updated: "2026-10-18"
type: "conceptual"
summary: "A residential proxy routes traffic through an address that an ordinary home internet customer holds, so the traffic looks like a normal household."
related: ["https://lookvalid.com/glossary/datacenter-ip.md", "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/vpn.md", "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/asn.md", "https://lookvalid.com/glossary/tor-exit-node.md", "https://lookvalid.com/products/ip.md"]
---

# What is Residential proxy?

A residential proxy routes traffic through an address that an ordinary home internet customer holds, so the traffic looks like a normal household.

Proxy sellers rent these addresses to people who need to appear local or to avoid blocks, including scrapers and fraudsters. Because the address really belongs to a home provider, an ASN or hosting check does not catch it.

Detection depends on behavior and on commercial lists of known proxy addresses. Open data covers this poorly, so expect gaps.

## Related

- [What is Datacenter IP?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/datacenter-ip.md)
- [What is VPN (Virtual Private Network)?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/vpn.md)
- [What is ASN (Autonomous System Number)?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/asn.md)
- [What is Tor exit node?](https://lookvalid.com/glossary/tor-exit-node.md)
- [IP Intelligence API](https://lookvalid.com/products/ip.md)