Identifying Proxy Networks that Protect Consumer Privacy

[timlhill]

Starting on May 6, 2022, SAS 360 Match gives you a way to identify and target users who use proxy networks to protect their privacy. Examples of these services are Apple Private Relay, Google One VPN, and Google Fi VPN.

The dataset that SAS 360 Match uses for data lookup based on IP address will include a new value to identify a proxy network that protects consumer privacy and new values to describe the provider of the proxy network. The GEO_PROXY_TYPE tag will include a new value of consumer-privacy for these networks.

Updates to the GEO_PROXY_DESCRIPTION tag will be rolled out in phases:

• google for Google One VPN and Google Fi VPN will be available beginning in May 2022.
• apple for Apple iCloud Private Relay will be available beginning in July 2022. Until then, IP addresses from Apple iCloud Private Relay are tagged as GEO_PROXY_TYPE=hosting and GEO_PROXY_DESCRIPTION=private-relay.

Contact SAS Technical Support if you have questions.

[mightydron]

I wish you shared a bit more details on how it works. I face daily situations, when I need to figure out when someone uses VPN or not.

[Radagask]

It’s cool that they’re adding tags to identify when someone is using services like Google One VPN or Apple Private Relay. This could really help if you’re trying to figure out if users are on a privacy-focused network. Personally, I’ve found that using a fast proxy is a great way to balance speed and privacy. It might be something to consider if you're dealing with similar situations.