Databay · Engineering & Research
Proxy Guides, Tutorials & Web Scraping Tips
Expert guides on rotating proxies, web scraping techniques, and proxy best practices for developers and data teams.
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Featured · Research
Best Free Proxy List in 2026: We Tested 2,911 Proxies
We tested 2,911 proxies from the free lists of 7 providers. Databay ranked first: 63.9% alive vs 36.7% next best, and most lists were 80–98% dead. The field, probed three times each from a frozen snapshot: ProxyScrape, FloppyData...
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24 entriesResidential Proxy IP Reputation 2026: 1,000 IPs, 25 ASNs
We sampled 1,000 residential IPs from 25 of the world's largest residential ASNs through Databay's network and ran each through six free reputation sources plus a...
Headless Browser Detection: 28 Signals, 9 Libraries Tested
We ran nine browser automation approaches through CreepJS and recorded what the detector actually saw. Playwright-stealth 1.0.6 holds Headless at 100% and raises...
TLS Fingerprinting: Why Your Proxy Isn't Enough
The proxy doesn't choose your TLS fingerprint. The HTTP client does. We captured JA3 and JA4 hashes through Databay's residential, mobile, and datacenter gateways in Germany...
Are Free Proxies Safe? What to Know Before Using One
A plain-spoken safety audit of free proxy lists: what can go wrong, what actually does, and how to use free proxies without handing over credentials or browsing history to...
Free Proxy List Methodology: How We Verify Every Entry
A transparent walkthrough of the verification pipeline behind Databay's free proxy list, where the proxies come from, how we probe them, what each column actually measures, and...
How to Use a Free Proxy: cURL, Python, Node.js & Browsers
Copy-pasteable proxy configuration for the seven most common tools, cURL, Python requests and aiohttp, Node.js fetch and axios, Scrapy, Playwright, Puppeteer, and browser...
Proxy Anonymity Levels: Elite vs Anonymous vs Transparent
A technical breakdown of the three proxy anonymity tiers, the HTTP headers that distinguish them, and how to verify where any given proxy actually sits.
Case Study: 120 Instagram Accounts on Mobile Proxies
A Berlin-based social media agency migrated from residential to mobile proxies to manage 120 Instagram accounts, cutting monthly account losses from 8 per month to under 1 per...
Best Mobile Proxies for Instagram in 2026: Complete Guide
Mobile proxies are the best proxy type for Instagram in 2026 because they route through genuine 5G/4G mobile network IPs that Instagram cannot block without also blocking...
Are Proxies Legal? A Compliance Guide for Businesses
Are proxies legal? This compliance guide covers proxy legality by jurisdiction, key court rulings, permitted use cases, and best practices for businesses.
How to Scrape Amazon Product Data Without Getting Blocked
Learn how to scrape Amazon proxies effectively. Covers detection evasion, proxy selection, request patterns, and scaling strategies for product data.
Residential Proxies for Social Media Management at Scale
Learn how to use residential proxies for social media management at scale. Platform-specific strategies, account warming, IP assignment, and risk avoidance guide.
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