The world of smartphones constantly grows, and mobile proxy servers are becoming more popular. While the first cell phone was invented in 1973, these phones only started becoming popular in the late 90s and early 2000s. However, the first “smartphone” was invented in 1992 and became available for sale by 1994.
This development in smartphone technology sparked the mobile era. Since then, wireless networks have rapidly improved to 3G and 4G networks. Learn how to use these proxies in the changing landscape of mobile usage.
What are Mobile Proxies?
Mobile proxies are third-party servers that redirect requests to an online website. The proxy runs the traffic through its server to prevent your IP address from being visible to the website. This keeps your network secure and stabilized and offers many other benefits.
Differences between Mobile and Other Proxies
What sets cell phone servers apart from datacenter and residential ones is that they use the cellular network’s infrastructure. That’s to say, the server uses mobile IPs that cellular carriers supply.
You can consider it the residential proxy of the mobile word. By using mobile IPs, it also identifies you as a smartphone user. This identification is helpful for a variety of reasons.
Types of Mobile Proxies
There are several types of mobile proxies. Below, we explore the most common ones you’ll find:
- Rotating: A rotating proxy rotates its IP address from a pool of mobile IPs. It assigns a new IP address for each new connection, making detecting or blocking your IP very hard.
- Dedicated: This proxy offers a dedicated IP address, which means only you use it. It’s generally also a static address, which means the IP doesn’t change. It’s ideal if you need a stable connection that doesn’t change and is more secure.
- 3G: While these proxies aren’t the latest ones on the market, they still have some uses. You use 3G proxies to route traffic through 3G cellular connections. They have a lower bandwidth and connection speed than other proxy options but are ideal for simple tasks like web scraping.
- 4G: These proxy servers are currently the most common mobile type because most users have access to 4G cellular networks. Their connection speed is significantly faster than that of 3G networks. It’s ideal for ad verification, cybersecurity, and automation.
- 5G: While 5G is the latest technology in the smartphone world, it’s still not available everywhere. As such, its usage hasn’t yet become mainstream. The possibilities with 5G proxies are immense, thanks to the reduced latency and fast connection speeds. It’s ideal for streaming activities or load-heavy tasks.
How 5G Influences Mobile Proxies
In 2021, there were about 7.1 smartphone users worldwide, with the forecast of this figure rising to 7.26 billion by 2025. As such, it’s no surprise that the cellular world is rapidly developing. The latest development is the introduction of 5G cellular networks.
Mobile proxies always aim to enhance your network by reducing latency or improving security. Users get new and improved proxy servers by pairing the faster connection speeds of 5G with mobile proxies.
It allows you to use online streaming sites without buffering and is the perfect tool for the gaming community. It can also handle concurrent web scraping operations or activities with heavy traffic loads.
Benefits of Mobile Proxies
Mobile proxies have various benefits. These benefits are available with all mobile proxies, but some types will perform specific tasks better.
Web Scraping
The first benefit is that proxy servers are the ideal companions to web scrapers. Though it’s more common with desktop proxies like residential and datacenter services, you can also use it on your smartphone. It’s perfect to collect research about smartphone users or target it to a specific group.
Ad Management
Efficiently manage your ads from your smartphone using mobile proxy servers. Ad fraud drains your marketing campaign, providing fake leads or siphoning funds with no results to show for it. However, these proxies will make you look like a regular user. This way, you can check the placement and interaction of your ads without notifying possible scammers.
Social Media Accounts
Many people manage their social media from their smartphones. Using a mobile server lets you change your phone’s IP, which means you can manage multiple social media accounts from one device. This ability is ideal if your business has various accounts or you post, share, interact, and like posts between your various accounts.
A/B Testing
Users can assign unique IP addresses to each ad campaign using different mobile IPs. This feature helps when performing A/B tests, as you can set the IPs to specific locations. By completing the A/B testing, you can accurately determine the best marketing strategies for your various markets. It also saves you travel costs.
Geo-Location Optimization
We touched on this above, but geo-optimization becomes incredibly easy with proxies. It’s ideal for marketing campaigns and website or App Store optimization. By setting your mobile’s IP to a specific location, you can see what users in that market will see. This capability allows you to change your website or app listing to be more intuitive for users in the area.
Keeping Up with the Technology Trends
As technology continued to develop, new software and technology became available. One of the emerging technologies was the use of mobile proxies. A mobile proxy will always enhance your online experience.
It offers an improved online experience when paired with the changing landscape as 5G networks become globally available. It makes more of the world available at your fingertips. It also simplifies cross-border tasks without having to travel to the location.
Matthew is a seasoned researcher and writer with over five years of experience creating engaging SEO content. He is passionate about exploring new ideas and sharing his knowledge through writing. Matthew has a keen eye for detail and takes pride in producing content that is not only informative but also visually appealing. He constantly expands his skill set and stays up-to-date with the latest SEO trends to ensure that his content always performs well in search rankings. Matthew can be found reading, surfing, or experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen when he’s not writing.