5 Best Proxy Services for Ethical Data Collection in 2025

In an increasingly data-driven world, ethical data collection has become a cornerstone of responsible digital practices. Whether you’re a researcher, a business owner, or a developer, gathering data without infringing on privacy, violating regulations, or disrupting systems is essential. This is where proxy services come into play.

Proxies allow you to ethically access and collect data efficiently while preserving anonymity and reducing the risk of overloading target servers

However, not all proxy services are created equal—choosing the right one can make the difference between ethical compliance and potential misuse. In this guide, we’ll explore the best proxy services for ethical data collection. Our focus is on providers that prioritize transparency, ethical practices, security, and compliance with privacy standards.

Here is our list of the best proxy providers for ethical data collection:

1. Oxylabs One of the largest and fastest proxy networks with a strong commitment to ethical data collection practices.
2. Bright Data One of the most well-established names in the proxy industry.
3. Smartproxy Offers a strong balance of performance, ease of use, competitive pricing, and strong commitment to ethical practices.
4. NetNut A great choice for SMBs or startups.
5. IPRoyal A newer entrant that has quickly evolved into a popular, trustworthy proxy service.

The Best Proxy Providers for Ethical Data Collection

1. Oxylabs

Oxylabs is a top-tier proxy service known for its strong commitment to ethical data collection practices, and a vast proxy network that spans over 100M IPs spanning 195 countries. This positions it as one of the world’s largest ethical proxy network. Oxylabs enables businesses to access geo-specific data and gather insights from around the world. It comes with a diverse range of proxy options such as Residential, Datacenter, ISP, and Mobile proxies. Oxylabs supports use cases such as market research, competitive analysis, and web scraping, all while ensuring compliance with legal and ethical standards.

Key Features:

• Extensive Proxy Network: Over 100M IPs, including residential, datacenter, and mobile proxies, ensuring wide geographic coverage and robust data access capabilities.
• Ethical Practices: Transparent and compliant IP sourcing with strict guidelines prohibiting misuse or illegal activities
• OxyCopilot: AI assistant to streamline data collection and handle diverse website structures efficiently.
• Scraper APIs: Pre-built solutions tailored for specific use cases like e-commerce, social media, and SERP scraping.
• High Performance and Scalability: Reliable infrastructure with fast connections and scalable solutions to meet diverse business needs.
• Pre-built Datasets: Unlock web intelligence insights with ready-to-use or custom public web datasets.

What Makes Oxylabs a Valuable Choice for Ethical Data Collection?

What sets Oxylabs apart is its emphasis on responsible data collection. Their proxies are sourced with transparency, and the company maintains a strict no-tolerance policy against unethical activities and unauthorized data scraping. Oxylabs also offers advanced tools like the Proxy Manager, which allows users to efficiently manage their data collection tasks while adhering to best practices.

OxyCopilot leverages Oxylabs’ extensive proxy network to automate complex data-gathering tasks, such as configuring proxies, managing rotations, and avoiding CAPTCHAs or bans while respecting website terms of service. This makes Oxylabs an excellent choice for businesses looking to gather data responsibly and ethically at scale.

How Businesses Can Use Oxylabs for Ethical Data Collection

Businesses can use Oxylabs for ethical data collection across a wide range of industries. For example, in e-commerce, companies can gather real-time product and pricing data. The service also supports AI development by providing large-scale multimodal web data for machine learning. For cybersecurity, Oxylabs enables the anonymous collection of threat intelligence without compromising privacy. Companies in the brand protection space can also use Oxylabs to monitor the web for unauthorized products to ensure their intellectual property is protected.

Oxylabs also excels in SEO monitoring and travel fare aggregation. By tracking SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), businesses can optimize their online presence and enhance their strategy. In the travel and hospitality industry, Oxylabs allows businesses to collect real-time data on flights and hotels to stay competitive. The platform also facilitates market research by enabling the gathering of public data and monitoring ads for verification to ensure they reach the right audience.

Oxylabs showcased its dedication to ethical data collection by co-founding the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative to advance industry best practices. Oxylabs maintains a strict acceptable use policy that prohibits activities that violate laws, breach security, or misuse its services. These include accessing illegal material, introducing malicious programs, causing security breaches, circumventing authentication, among others. Oxylabs requires customers to adhere to relevant terms of service, avoid collecting non-public or sensitive data, and ensure compliance with applicable laws.

Oxylabs advanced tools and premium features may present a learning curve for beginners, and come at a higher cost compared to some competitors. However, its extensive proxy network, advanced tools, and strong commitment to ethical practices make it a worthwhile investment that can deliver exceptional value for your money.

2. Bright Data

Bright Data is widely regarded as one of the most reliable and ethical proxy services for data collection. Its robust infrastructure, extensive IP pool, and strict commitment to compliance make it a top choice for businesses, researchers, and developers aiming to collect data responsibly.

Key Features:

• Extensive Proxy Network: Access over 72 million IPs across Residential, Mobile, Datacenter, and ISP proxies, with global coverage for geo-specific and location-based data collection.
• Ethical IP Sourcing: Bright Data uses a consent-based model to ethically obtain residential IPs and enforces strict policies against misuse. This ensures compliance with data privacy laws and ethical use.
• Advanced Tools for Data Collection: Includes the Proxy Manager for proxy rotation and configuration, the Data Unblocker for bypassing CAPTCHAs and IP bans ethically, and compliance tools to meet GDPR and CCPA standards.
• High Performance and Scalability: Delivers high-speed connections with 99.99% uptime to maintain uninterrupted access for projects of all sizes.
• Educational and Support Resources: Provides webinars, white papers, and guides to promote ethical practices, along with 24/7 customer support for troubleshooting and assistance.

What Makes Bright Data a Valuable Choice for Ethical Data Collection?

Bright Data is a great choice for ethical data collection because of its extensive proxy infrastructure, ethical practices, and advanced tools. With over 72M IPs spanning residential, mobile, datacenter, and ISP proxies, Bright Data offers a robust proxy network that empowers users to access geo-specific content and gather accurate location-based data. Its commitment to ethical IP sourcing sets it apart—IPs are obtained with explicit consent from participants, and the company enforces strict policies to prevent misuse.

Bright Data also provides powerful features tailored for responsible data collection, such as its Proxy Manager for request control, a Web Unlocker for bypassing challenges while respecting website rules, and compliance tools to ensure lawful practices. Coupled with high-speed proxies, 99.99% uptime, and scalability to meet any project size, Bright Data delivers exceptional reliability.

How Businesses Can Use Bright Data for Ethical Data Collection

Bright Data’s Acceptable Use Policy supports legitimate activities like website testing, price comparison, travel data aggregation, brand protection, and business intelligence, which contribute positively to market dynamics and consumer welfare. Bright Data maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy for unauthorized data collection.

Businesses can use Bright Data’s extensive proxy network to collect ethical, real-time, and geo-specific data to drive informed decision-making. It supports eCommerce and retail by tracking competitors’ products and pricing, aids in SEO and SERP analysis, and provides reliable data for AI training and market research. Real estate professionals can predict trends, while AdTech companies enhance their campaigns with real-time ad intelligence. Healthcare, insurance, and finance sectors benefit from price comparisons, fraud prevention, and investment analysis, respectively.

Bright Data offers a range of top-tier datasets for various industries. These include Social Media and LinkedIn datasets for valuable insights into consumer trends and sentiment, professional networks and job market trends, and eCommerce datasets that help track products, pricing, and competitor strategies in real-time. Bright Data also offers a pro-bono program that provides free datasets for journalists for impactful reporting.

Bright Data’s extensive capabilities may be excessive for small-scale projects with minimal data collection needs. Its advanced tools, while powerful, can present a learning curve for beginners. Bright Data also comes at a higher cost compared to competitors. This sometimes makes it less budget-friendly for some users..

However, while its premium pricing may not suit all budgets, the value it provides—especially for large-scale, compliant projects—justifies the investment.

3. Smartproxy 

Smartproxy has established itself as a key proxy service provider for businesses engaged in ethical data collection. Known for its user-friendly platform, competitive pricing, and robust proxy options, Smartproxy is a practical choice for businesses of all sizes. Its services enable users to collect publicly available data responsibly while complying with legal and ethical standards.

Key Features:

• Ease of Use: Beginner-friendly setup and tools like a Proxy Address Generator and intuitive dashboard.
• Affordable Pricing: Competitive and flexible pricing plans that cater to businesses of all sizes.
• Advanced Features: Rotating proxies and sticky sessions for efficient and uninterrupted data collection, and API support for integration with custom tools and automation scripts
• Ethical and Responsible Practices: Strict usage policies to prevent illegal or unethical activities like spamming or hacking.
• Reliable Performance: High success rates and minimal downtime for smooth data collection processes.

Smartproxy provides a wide variety of proxy types, including Residential, Datacenter, and Mobile proxies for diverse use cases such as web scraping, SEO monitoring, market research, and ad verification.

What Makes Smartproxy a Valuable Choice for Ethical Data Collection?

Smartproxy is a valuable choice for ethical data collection because it combines affordability, reliability, and a strong emphasis on responsible usage. Its proxy pool, which includes over 40M residential IPs, offers users the ability to access geo-specific and public data without breaching privacy or legal boundaries.

What sets Smartproxy apart is its user-centric approach. The platform is designed to be beginner-friendly with tools like the Proxy Address Generator and intuitive dashboards that simplify setup and management. At the same time, it enforces clear usage policies to prevent misuse. This combination of accessibility, ethical practices, and reliable performance makes Smartproxy an excellent choice for businesses seeking a trustworthy proxy provider.

How Businesses Can Use Smartproxy for Ethical Data Collection

Businesses can use Smartproxy for ethical data collection across various industries and use cases. Companies can use Smartproxy for web scraping to gather valuable insights from public web data while adhering to privacy regulations and avoiding sensitive or restricted information. For price aggregation, businesses can track and monitor competitive pricing trends in dynamic markets to make data-driven decisions.

Smartproxy also supports SEO strategies by collecting SERP data to improve online visibility and boost brand awareness. In AdTech, businesses can test ads, verify links, and optimize campaigns for better results. Smartproxy’s tools also assist with AI by automating ethical data collection for machine learning models. Through these use cases, Smartproxy provides the means to leverage data responsibly and effectively.

Smartproxy also co-founded the Ethical Web Data Collection Initiative to demonstrate its commitment to ethical data collection practices. Smartproxy’s terms of service allow its services only for legal uses like research, personal, or commercial purposes. It prohibits accessing restricted sites (banks, government) or causing disruptive traffic. Violators may face access suspension

Although Smartproxy’s network may be smaller than some competitors, it distinguishes itself with a strong commitment to ethical practices and remains an affordable choice for small and mid-sized businesses and startups.

4. NetNut

NetNut is a proxy provider with a suite of proxy solutions and data extraction tools designed to empower businesses with seamless access to public web data. Whether you need Rotating Residential, Static Residential, Datacenter, or Mobile proxies, NetNut delivers high-performance, reliable services that cater to diverse business needs.

Key Features:

• Extensive Proxy Network: Offers over 85 million rotating residential IPs, 1 million static residential IPs, 150,000 datacenter IPs, and 5 million mobile IPs in 195 countries.
• Advanced Targeting Options: Provides city, state, and country-level targeting for precise access.
• Website Unblocker: Built-in tools to bypass CAPTCHAs, dynamic fingerprinting, and IP blocks with 100% success rates.
• Data Extraction Tools: APIs like SERP Scraper and LinkedIn Scraper for real-time structured data and insights.

What Makes NetNut a Valuable Choice for Ethical Data Collection?

NetNut features over 5M Mobile IPs, and 85M Residential IPs across 195 countries, and a powerful rotating proxy service that bypasses CAPTCHAs, reCAPTCHAs, and anti-bot activities. You can utilize NetNut robust proxy solutions and advanced public web data extraction tools to gain market insights and drive business growth.

With its extensive proxy network—including Rotating and Static Residential proxies, Mobile proxies, and Datacenter proxies—businesses can gather insights for market research, ad verification, e-commerce monitoring, SEO analysis, and more with 99.9% success rates without worrying about geo-restrictions.

How Businesses Can Use NetNut for Ethical Data Collection

NetNut enables businesses to ethically collect public web data for various purposes. It provides tools for businesses to ethically collect public web data while adhering to legal and ethical standards. With its Website Unblocker, companies can bypass advanced anti-bot systems to access critical information from websites for market research without violating their terms of use.

NetNut’s SERP Scraper API enables businesses to efficiently retrieve search engine results data for SEO optimization and ad placement strategies. For professionals and enterprises focusing on talent acquisition or networking, the LinkedIn Scraper API allows the ethical collection of data from LinkedIn at scale. NetNut’s datasets include access to over 250 million professional profiles and 50M company profiles. This provides valuable insights into industries and markets. By leveraging these tools, businesses can gather data responsibly, while driving innovation and growth.

NetNut’s Terms of Service emphasizes compliance with laws, regulations, and third-party rights. Users are prohibited from using the system for malicious activities, such as distributing malware, conducting DoS or DDoS attacks, or engaging in unlawful content distribution. Users are solely responsible for any third-party content accessed through NetNut’s services and must avoid violating any applicable restrictions, including those related to privacy and intellectual property rights. Failure to adhere to these guidelines can result in legal, administrative, or monetary penalties.

NetNut is primarily designed for SMBs and mid-to-large-scale businesses. Its advanced scraping tools may require a certain level of technical expertise to utilize fully. While its network size may not rival some competitors, it remains an excellent option for SMBs and startups.

5. IPRoyal 

IPRoyal is a trusted proxy service provider that enables businesses to collect data ethically and efficiently. Its proxy offerings include Rotating Residential, ISP, Datacenter, and Mobile proxies. Known for its focus on transparency and user-centric solutions, IPRoyal offers a range of proxy options tailored to meet diverse needs.

Key Features:

• Ethical Sourcing: Focuses on ethically-sourced residential proxies to ensure compliance and transparency.
• No Expiration Traffic: With no monthly minimums, unused traffic carries over, providing flexibility for businesses with fluctuating proxy requirements.
• Advanced Scraping Tools: IPRoyal supports advanced tools like SEO and SERP scraping, price monitoring, stock market data collection, and more for competitive intelligence, and market analysis.
• Reliable Customer Support: IPRoyal offers 24/7 customer support to assist businesses with troubleshooting, setup, and ongoing support.

By providing access to residential, datacenter, and mobile proxies, IPRoyal allows users to collect publicly available data from the web without breaching privacy or legal boundaries. Read our comprehensive IPRoyal review for more detailed analysis.

What Makes IPRoyal a Valuable Choice for Ethical Data Collection?

IPRoyal offers 99.9% uptime, and a network of over 34M ethically-sourced IPs in over 195 countries. What sets it apart is its commitment to ethical sourcing and usage. The company ensures its proxies are sourced responsibly, with explicit consent from users, helping businesses maintain compliance with global data regulations.

Unlike some proxy services that acquire IPs through questionable means, IPRoyal obtains them through its Pawns.app, which sources IPs from real residential and mobile accounts. Individuals can sign up to contribute their ISPs to IPRoyal’s network and are compensated for doing so.

Whether conducting market research, monitoring brand presence, tracking competitors, or verifying advertisements, IPRoyal provides tools and infrastructure to gather data while promoting integrity and trust. Its user-friendly interface, scalability, and reliable network make it a valuable choice for organizations prioritizing ethical data collection practices.

How Businesses Can Use IPRoyal for Ethical Data Collection

Businesses can use IPRoyal for ethical data collection across various applications, including web scraping, to gather publicly available data for insights and decision-making. Its proxy solutions enable price monitoring and travel fare aggregation. IPRoyal is also ideal for collecting stock market data to analyze trends and make informed investment decisions. Similarly, its SEO and SERP scraping capabilities help businesses optimize search engine strategies, monitor keyword performance, and stay ahead of competitors.

IPRoyal is committed to complying with laws, privacy regulations, and its terms of service. The company stresses the importance of using proxies and scraping tools ethically and legally. If a client violates the terms, such as engaging in illegal activities or unethical scraping, IPRoyal may suspend or terminate their account and affected companies may take legal action if necessary.

IPRoyal’s proxy pool may be smaller than some top competitors, and may lack some advanced features found in those. However, its proxies perform well in terms of upload speed. This makes it a good choice for tasks that require fast data transfers.