If you don’t use WhatsApp, chances are you have heard of it one way or another. The beloved messaging app is popular in many parts of the globe. So famous has it become that it is considered the standard messaging platform in many regions worldwide.
In simple terms, WhatsApp is a free instant messaging application available for both Android and iOS users. One of this platform’s most significant selling points is that it allows users to send messages one on one or through WhatsApp groups. Furthermore, messages get exchanged over the internet, contrasting with regular messages that rely on phone service providers.
The platform has a user base of more than 2 billion subscribers spanning the entire globe. Its benefits and simplicity have enabled it to rise above the competition and become one of the top communication services in the market today.
How about proxies? Why do you need them for WhatsApp? Read on to find out.
Proxies are internet servers designed with the sole purpose of changing your IP address. This is done using a straightforward procedure, as will be outlined below.
Simply put, a proxy comes between your device and the website, app, or service you are trying to access, which in this case is WhatsApp. The tool then reroutes all your internet traffic and sends it on your behalf. This is done using an alternate IP address provided by the proxy server. Therefore, the host server interacts with the proxy, which interacts with your device. So, how exactly does this relate to WhatsApp? Take a read below.
Several factors necessitate proxies for WhatsApp, geo-restriction being the most significant among them. Below are some of the reasons why you might need proxies for WhatsApp.
Various countries have banned the use of WhatsApp among citizens due to multifaceted reasons. For instance, the United Arab Emirates has banned WhatsApp audio and video calls to encourage social media users to utilize local telecommunication services.
In other nations such as China, Iran, North Korea, and Syria, governments have banned WhatsApp since the platform’s end-to-end encryption makes it difficult to monitor social media usage.
The only way to access WhatsApp in such regions is by using proxies. A proxy will change your IP address and offer an alternative one of your choosing. By selecting an address from a region where WhatsApp services are available, you can use the platform as you wish.
For whatever reason, you might have found yourself in a situation where you can’t access and use WhatsApp. Maybe multiple users reported your account, or you have opened multiple accounts, which goes against the Terms of Service.
A proxy server would come in handy since WhatsApp tends to implement IP bans in such situations. The way around is to just get a new IP address.
Scraping data on WhatsApp using an automated tool might get you into trouble and lead to a ban because WhatsApp monitors the number of requests from a single IP address. Send enough of these requests at once, and you’re likely to surpass the average threshold, which is a major red flag.
However, by implementing a rotating proxy server, you can change your IP with each bot request and significantly lower your chances of getting caught and banned.
It’s important to note that these settings are system-wide. In other words, all your apps will use these settings, not just WhatsApp. Here’s how to set up a proxy on Android devices:
Head on to your Android system settings
Tap Network and Internet
Select Mobile Network
Head on to Advanced
Select Access Point Names
Click on Edit and enter your proxy’s IP address and the port number
Finish up by keying in your proxy’s username and password.
For iPhone users, the process is considerably more straightforward compared to Android. Here is how you go about it:
Head over to your iPhone settings
Select the WiFi connection tab
Tap the info button
Select the Configure Proxy option
Enter your proxy’s credentials
By following the outlined procedures, you will have configured a proxy server for WhatsApp on your device.
Your choice of WhatsApp proxy will be influenced by several factors, including the purpose, cost, and efficiency. For instance, users seeking to scrape data off WhatsApp should utilize dedicated datacenter proxies. This is because this process requires speed coupled with anonymity. Luckily, this is exactly what these proxies offer by default – high speed without bandwidth limitations. Furthermore, datacenter proxies are cheaper since they are virtually generated in cloud servers worldwide.
On the other hand, residential proxies come from real devices connected to the internet through genuine internet service providers. In other words, there’s no way to distinguish them from other user-generated traffic. However, they are generally more expensive when compared to their datacenter counterparts.
