The use of proxy IPs is becoming increasingly common, from web scraping and account logins to social media marketing and cross-border e-commerce. However, many people who purchase proxies don’t understand one crucial point— what type of IP is being used ?
Is it a residential IP address? Or a server IP address? Is it easily blocked? Is it a recycled IP address that someone else has used? All these questions ultimately point to one core skill: Do you know how to perform residential IP address detection?
In practical use, learning to detect IPs, determine IP types , and understand the purity and quality of IPs has become a fundamental skill for those working on account and data-related tasks.
This article will teach you, in a practical way, how to use a complete proxy testing process to determine whether the proxy you purchased is a genuine residential IP address , and step by step check whether it is clean and stable. The operation is simple and easy to use.
What are the key differences between residential IP addresses and data center IP addresses? How do you determine which is better?
Many people are confused about the real difference between residential IPs and data center IPs, assuming that an IP address with a location in mainland China or Hong Kong is a residential IP. In fact, this is only “what it looks like,” and you can’t determine the type of IP just by its location.
The biggest difference between residential IPs and server IPs is that their “identity information” on the network is completely different, and this information can be accurately identified by the platform’s risk control system.
| Comparison items | Residential IP | Data center IP |
| source | Home broadband operators (China Telecom/China Mobile/China Unicom) | IDC data centers and cloud service providers |
| ASN type | ISP / Residential | Hosting / Datacenter |
| Performance behavior | Like a real person visiting | More like a script/program request |
| Risk control tolerance | High, difficult to identify | Low, easy to block |
| IP quality | More dispersed, higher purity | Easy to have consecutive numbers, poor purity |
In short: residential IP addresses look like users, while data center IP addresses look more like programs.
To determine whether an IP address belongs to a residential address or a data center address, you need to look at these key pieces of information:
- ASN (Autonomous System Number) : Check which network operator the IP belongs to.
- IP label : Is it Residential/ISP, or Hosting/Cloud?
- Organization name (Org) : Is it China Telecom or a certain cloud service?
- Reverse DNS/PTR Records : Whether to display data center address characteristics
This information can be found on some free IP detection websites, such as ipinfo.io.
Open the website and log in, then enter the IP address to perform the test, as shown in the example below:
- IP type marked as Residential / ISP : This is likely a residential IP address.
- Displaying Hosting, Cloud, and VPS: These are basically data center IPs.
Special note: Some proxies can fake their geographic location, but they cannot fake their ASN and type tags in the long run . This is the key to determining the authenticity of an IP address.
Here is a real-world testing case:
- IP: 45.153.129.73
- Place of origin: Hong Kong
- IP lookup websites show that ASN belongs to Cloudie Limited.
- Type tag: Hosting
On the surface, it appears to be located in Hong Kong and seems to be doing well, but based on online information, it is actually a colocation server IP address , not a residential IP address.
Therefore, you can’t just look at the city or country. The most important thing when testing an IP is to look at its “identity” information at the network layer.
While proxy IP prices vary widely, the true determinant of effectiveness lies in the IP type and purity.
Therefore, whether you’re building accounts, web scraping, doing marketing, or simply want stable access to certain services, the ability to detect IPs and distinguish between residential and data center IPs is crucial to avoiding pitfalls.
In real-world business scenarios, many people are gradually shifting to using proxy services that are authentically sourced, geographically dispersed, and of a clean type. kookeey offers static and dynamic residential proxies from local broadband operators, which more closely resemble real users in terms of ASN and IP type identification and actual access performance, making them more suitable for long-term, stable use.
IP Proxies Covering All Around the World
Premium IP Provider. High speed private proxies. Unlock your business potential with top-quality IPs at the best price.
Start Free Trial ➔This article comes from online submissions and does not represent the analysis of kookeey. If you have any questions, please contact us
