¶ VPN & Residential Proxy Detection
VPN proxy detection is critical for maintaining data integrity and preventing affiliate fraud. Fraudulent traffic from proxies, VPNs, and spoofed IPs distorts analytics, skews attribution, and costs real money. Our detection system blocks these threats in real time, ensuring your data remains clean and actionable.
¶ How the filter works
Users using a Proxy / VPN connection want to hide their true location/identity. Although there can be legitimate use cases to use a Proxy / VPN connection (e.g. hide their identity for freedom of speech etc., in some countries), this does not apply to Western countries and non-sensitive Apps like Games.
Proxies / VPNs are often used for fraud:
- Pretending to be a valid user in the U.S, whereas the actual install happens in another country
- Used by Bots / Emulators to generate fake Installs through Bot Farms
- Used by Rewarded Users to install the same App multiple times to get more rewards
A small percentage (below 2%) of Proxies can be tolerated.
Argument:
Proxies and VPN connections obscure the true identity of users. Proxies and VPN users are related to bot / fake installs or are out-of-GEO users.
When enabled, our filter automatically blocks:
- Clicks, impressions, and conversions from known proxy or VPN sources
- Bot-driven traffic
- Geo-spoofed IPs
- Fake signups
For higher accuracy, enable Residential Proxy Detection. This advanced layer flags traffic from residential VPNs and standard telecom IPs, often used to bypass standard proxy detection.
Residential proxy screening is separate from standard proxy checks. It activates only after a traffic threshold is met for the same Offer + Publisher combination. This minimizes false positives while still catching fraud patterns linked to residential IP abuse.
Use this setting to target advanced fraud scenarios without compromising traffic quality or legitimate users.
¶ Core Detection Techniques
- IP Reputation Scoring: Real-time checks against global proxy, VPN, and hosting provider databases
- Behavioral Patterns: Detection through honeypots, abnormal session behavior, or rapid IP switching
- Geo-Validation: Flags IP mismatches against declared user locations