Proxies

The quality of the proxy on which an account runs is likely amongst the few most important existential variables within the formula. Proxies act as a gateway between you and the internet. They mask your true IP address from the algorithm and maintain your anonymity. It’s a very similar concept as a VPN except without the added benefit of encrypting your traffic. I won’t go too in-depth explaining the intricacies of proxy functionality so if this is a completely foreign concept to you, please do a bit of Google research.

The reason we use proxies when automating accounts on Instagram is to ensure the algorithm views each account as being operated by a separate entity. If you are simultaneously running 30 different accounts on a singular IP address, that raises suspicion. The level of surveillance increases. If one account then fumbles and does something to confirm said suspicion, the 29 other accounts associated with that IP address receive the same level of scrutiny, even if they hadn’t done anything out of place. That IP address is now forever remembered as dubious and any accounts affiliated with it, whether in the past or in the future, will be watched far more closely, rendering automation practices more difficult.

Bad proxies will absolutely destroy whatever operation you run. That is why most automation experts frown heavily upon the use of datacenter proxy servers. They’re super cheap and are practically always used for doing something super shady. You may get lucky and get some that hadn’t ever been utilised for executing sketchy tasks but the chances of that, statistically speaking, are quite low. The hierarchy in terms of quality roughly goes like this:

1. 4G IP

2. Residential IPs

3. Datacenter IPs

If you have the budget, always go for the 4G IP. It becomes far more difficult for the algo to detect and outright ban you when your IP is being shared by potentially thousands of other “normal” users in the vicinity. That’s what makes them powerful cloaks while also increasing an account’s trust score for using a mobile-based network like the majority of “normal” IG users do.

If purchasing your mobile proxies from the GreyHatMarketing Shop, they will be 4G proxies as I exclusively only deal with mobile IPs. I do not ever bother using other types of proxies as it has too great of a likelihood of destroying my accounts.

Now, the recommended limits on proxies tend to vary quite drastically depending on who you ask but I personally never exceed more than three accounts on a singular proxy at any given time. Having run countless tests, 3 concurrently running accounts is the upper echelon of what is considered safe and effective. Beyond that limit, you’re taking on a greater degree of risk of having all of your accounts banned and tarnishing that particular IP address for the foreseeable future.

When purchasing mobile proxies, it is also important to note their User Base to IP pool ratio. Given that I’m currently a co-owner of a farm in Romania, all of my proxies are exclusively RO-based and located within the Bucharest region. The default ISP for 4G proxies purchased from the Grey Hat Marketing shop is Vodafone for the exact aforementioned reason of it having a massive presence within this particular region.

Let’s do a quick breakdown of the math. There are roughly 1.8 million people residing in Bucharest. The city has a total known IP pool of roughly 58,000 across its cellular towers. 1.8 million / 58,000 = 31. That is roughly the number of users located on a singular Bucharest-based IP at any given moment. These “normal” users are how we mask our operations. It’s what separates 4g mobile proxies from the data center or residential ones: the degree to which IPs are being shared. Instagram is obviously not going to flag and ban every single user associated with that IP address as that’d be the equivalent of bombing a village to kill a singular criminal.

But if you’re simultaneously running 15 accounts on this singular IP address, your operation amounts to almost 50% of that proxy’s ENTIRE user base. That will certainly get picked up by Instagram no matter how randomized your behavioral and existential variables may be. That is why 3 accounts is the limit for any proxies purchased from the GHM Shop. I do this to ensure my proxies can continue being sold and used for my own operations for the foreseeable future without the pool getting clogged up with flagged IP addresses.

If purchasing proxies elsewhere, I only suggest that you do some preliminary research to get a sense of what their IP pool/user base is. A small IP pool ratio will greatly impact your operations and often not for the better.

This is arguably one of, if not the most important variables when it comes to affecting your accounts’ trust scores so definitely do not cheap out when it comes to your IPs. The costs of account replacements and time loss will be far greater in the long-term.