Proxy market forecast 2026: How regulation (GDPR, CCPA) is reshaping the landscape

Source: Dev.to

Introduction

The demand for data‑driven decisions is exploding, and the proxy market is growing at double‑digit rates. Brands, security teams, and researchers rely on large pools of residential and mobile IPs to see the real web. At the same time, high‑profile breaches and enforcement actions are forcing companies to rethink how they use proxies and GDPR together, moving away from shady IP sources toward transparent, compliant, truly ethical proxies.

By 2026, the tension between growth and regulation will decide who survives in the proxy industry. Buyers are already looking for KYC‑GDPR‑compliant proxies and ISO 27001‑certified providers before they purchase residential and mobile proxies at scale. Recent forecasts project the global proxy‑server‑service market to grow from USD 2.51 billion in 2024 to over USD 5 billion by 2033.

The proxy‑server‑service market is expected to more than double between 2024 and 2033, even as GDPR/CCPA enforcement tightens around how those IPs can be used.

From Raw IPs to Regulated Assets: Proxies and GDPR/CCPA Basics

Under GDPR and CCPA, IP addresses, cookies, and device fingerprints are treated as personal data rather than harmless technical metadata. For proxy vendors and their customers, proxies and data‑protection rules are now inseparable: every request routed through a proxy—log retention, profiling, geo‑targeting—must be designed with privacy regulations in mind.

CCPA adds a US layer: California users can see what was collected about them, request deletion, and opt‑out of “selling” their data, including information gathered via proxy‑based tracking and scraping. Providers must:

• Distinguish California traffic.
• Honour data‑subject rights.
• Prove who is behind each stream of requests—hence the rise of KYC‑GDPR‑compliant proxies for sensitive use cases.

What Has Changed for Proxy Providers After GDPR/CCPA

• Logs and IP addresses are no longer “purely technical”; they are personal data that must be minimised and protected.
• Transparent Terms of Service and a detailed Privacy Policy are mandatory, not optional extras.
• Data‑subject access and deletion requests can now include information obtained via proxies.
• Vendor contracts and sub‑processors must explicitly cover proxies, GDPR obligations, and incident handling.

Ignoring proxies and GDPR/CCPA in 2026 means accepting higher chances of fines, lost partnerships, and reputational damage. The market is therefore shifting toward providers that can prove ethical sourcing of IPs, enforceable KYC processes, and audited security controls like ISO 27001, turning proxies from raw infrastructure into fully regulated assets.

KYC Proxy Provider and Ethical Proxies

Today, the core question for any serious buyer is what is KYC for proxy providers in practice? It means treating every new client like a regulated partner:

1. Verify company details.
2. Check identification documents.
3. Validate payment methods.
4. Screen intended use cases.

Instead of letting anyone spin up traffic for any purpose, every serious KYC proxy provider builds policies to filter out fraud, credential stuffing, and carding.

KYC‑GDPR‑compliant proxies become the new baseline. Logs are collected and stored according to GDPR principles: minimisation, limited retention, and strict access control. In practice, they let both the client and the provider demonstrate who is behind the traffic, why it is being sent, and how related data will be handled throughout its lifecycle.

Ethical Proxies: Meaning in 2026

• Residential and mobile IPs are sourced with explicit opt‑in and fair compensation, not bundled from shady apps or malware.
• The provider enforces a list of forbidden scenarios, actively monitors traffic patterns, and is transparent about partners across the whole supply chain.

In other words, ethical proxies combine KYC, consented IP sourcing, and continuous monitoring.

How to Spot an Ethical ISO 27001 Proxy Provider

• The website openly states that the company is an ISO 27001 proxy provider, with a certificate number or a link to an audit summary you can verify.
• A detailed description of the KYC flow is available: what data is collected, how it is stored, retention periods, and deletion conditions.
• Privacy and security sections explicitly cover proxies and GDPR: who is the data controller, how logs are handled, and how data‑subject requests are processed.
• The provider mentions regular external audits, penetration tests, or bug‑bounty programmes, reinforcing the picture of an actively maintained ISMS.
• Support can explain how KYC checks are applied in practice; vagueness about red flags or escalation paths is a warning sign.

Taken together, these elements show how the market is evolving toward transparent, compliant, and ethically sourced proxy services that can survive the regulatory pressures of 2026 and beyond.

Shifting Away from Cheap, Opaque IP Pools

Towards KYC‑GDPR‑compliant proxies operated by verifiable, ISO 27001‑level providers.

How to Buy Residential and Mobile Proxies in 2026 without Breaking GDPR?

In 2026 it’s no longer enough to simply purchase the cheapest residential or mobile proxies and hope for the best. Every buying decision must now consider:

• the provider’s jurisdiction,
• its logging and retention policy,
• the presence of KYC checks, and
• whether it operates as an ISO 27001‑certified player.

When compliance is on the line, due diligence matters just as much as IP‑pool size or price.

Quick Checklist Before You Commit

1. ISO 27001 certification – Verify the provider’s certificate number or a public reference to an accredited audit.
2. Privacy Policy & DPA – Review the sections that cover proxies (and, ideally, CCPA) to see how they treat IPs, logs, and data‑subject rights.
3. Acceptable‑Use Policy (AUP) – Ensure your intended use case is allowed and that the provider explicitly supports ethical proxy usage.
4. KYC data handling – Check whether collected data is minimised, encrypted, time‑bound, or retained indefinitely.
5. IP sourcing – Confirm that residential and mobile IPs are obtained via opt‑in, compensation, or clear consent flows before scaling purchases.

Citations

1. “Proxy infrastructure transparency checklist”, Astro (2025)
2. “GDPR data subject rights: An in‑depth guide with examples”, Celestine Bahr, Usercentrics (2025)
3. “What Is the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)?”, Palo Alto Networks (n.d.)
4. “Data protection explained”, European Commission (n.d.)
5. “Data protection and privacy laws now in effect in 144 countries”, Aly Apacible‑Bernardo & Kayla Bushey, IAPP (2025)
6. “Data protection in development: Where are we headed?”, Nay Constantine, World Bank (2025)
7. “Countries with Data Privacy Laws – By Year 1973–2016 (Tables)”, Graham Greenleaf, Macquarie University / Privacy Laws & Business International Report (2017)
8. “Proxy Server Service Market Size & Forecast [2033]”, Market Growth Reports (2025)