# Where our residential and mobile IPs come from

> Where CrawlRelay's residential and mobile IPs come from: partner networks, what our upstream provider confirms, what we cannot verify, and the 2026 takedowns.

- URL: https://crawlrelay.com/sourcing/
- Last updated: 2026-10-13
- Publisher: CrawlRelay (https://crawlrelay.com)

A proxy is only as clean as the devices behind it. This page states what we buy, what our upstream provider confirms, and the things no reseller can check by itself.

**Quick answer — Where do CrawlRelay's residential IPs come from?**

We resell residential and mobile IPs from established upstream partner networks. Our upstream provider confirms that device owners opt in and can opt out, and that its supply does not come from seized or disrupted networks such as NetNut or IPIDEA. **CrawlRelay** runs no device network of its own, does not publish partner names, and sells the bandwidth per GB from $0.50/GB. This page also lists what no reseller can verify. Paid in crypto, with no KYC.

## Sourcing at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Supply | Established partner networks (names not published) |
| Provider confirmation | Device owners opt in and can opt out; no supply from seized or disrupted networks such as NetNut or IPIDEA |
| Residential exits | Household internet connections |
| Mobile exits | 4G/5G carrier connections in a shared rotating pool |
| Own device network | None: CrawlRelay does not recruit devices or ship an SDK |
| Blocked targets | Banking, government and payment-portal sites, plus SMTP (email-sending) ports 25, 465 and 587 |
| Abuse reports | abuse@crawlrelay.com — Abuse reports are reviewed by a person, and confirmed abuse leads to suspension |

## Does CrawlRelay recruit devices itself?

No. CrawlRelay ships no app, no SDK and no browser extension that turns devices into exits. The networks we buy from handle the relationship with device owners. What CrawlRelay adds on top is the gateway and its username syntax, accounts and sub-users, the crypto checkout, documentation, support, target blocking and abuse handling. We keep partner names private and publish what our upstream provider confirms instead.

## What does our upstream provider confirm?

We resell residential and mobile IPs from established upstream partner networks. Our upstream provider confirms that device owners opt in and can opt out, and that its supply does not come from seized or disrupted networks such as NetNut or IPIDEA.

These are the provider's confirmations, not checks we run on each device. On our own gateway, these targets are blocked on every plan: Banking, government and payment-portal sites, plus SMTP (email-sending) ports 25, 465 and 587. Abuse reports about traffic from a CrawlRelay account are handled by us; reports about an IP range go to the partner concerned.

## What can CrawlRelay not verify?

Any reseller that says it has audited every exit is overstating. We cannot see inside the devices behind partner IPs, so these questions stay open for us as for others:

- whether every device owner read and understood the terms they accepted;
- whether an IP was part of a botnet or another proxy pool before it joined a partner network;
- whether a partner buys part of its own supply elsewhere;
- how each geolocation database places a given IP.

What we can do is limit the harm: block sensitive categories on every plan, act on abuse reports, suspend abusive accounts, and forward reports about an IP range to the partner concerned.

## What did the 2026 takedowns change?

- **IPIDEA, January 2026.** Google's Threat Intelligence Group announced action against the IPIDEA network on 28 January 2026. It reported that more than 550 threat groups used IPIDEA exit nodes in a single seven-day period and linked 13 brands and four SDKs to the operators.
- **NetNut, July 2026.** On 2 July 2026, the FBI and IRS-CI seized NetNut's domains, according to KrebsOnSecurity, in an action Google tied to the Popa botnet of "at least 2 million devices"; Google saw 316 threat clusters using suspected NetNut exits in one week of June. It also wrote that many residential proxy brands were white-labeling that network.

The lesson for buyers is that sourcing is now a due-diligence question, not a footnote. A seizure takes domains and servers; the infected devices can resurface in other pools. Ask every provider how its supply is built.

## Seven questions to ask any proxy provider

| Question | Why it matters | CrawlRelay's answer |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Is there a written sourcing statement? | Vague answers are the norm in white-label chains | This page |
| How do device owners join and leave? | Consent is what separates a network from a botnet | Our upstream provider confirms owners opt in and can opt out; not inspected per device by us |
| Any link to NetNut, IPIDEA or networks named by Google in 2026? | Supply can be seized overnight | Our upstream provider confirms no supply from seized or disrupted networks such as NetNut or IPIDEA |
| Is the price far below the market? | Proxyway links prices of $0.30/GB or less to a grey market | Floor of $0.50/GB; see the [price index](https://crawlrelay.com/data/residential-proxy-price-index-2026/) |
| Which targets are blocked? | Shows whether the provider polices its traffic | Banking, government and payment-portal sites, plus SMTP (email-sending) ports 25, 465 and 587 |
| Is there an abuse contact? | Site owners need a way to report | abuse@crawlrelay.com |
| Is there a public acceptable use policy? | Rules are what make no-KYC selling defensible | [Acceptable Use Policy](https://crawlrelay.com/acceptable-use/) |

## How are abuse reports about our IPs handled?

Send them to abuse@crawlrelay.com with the IP, the date and time with its time zone, the target and log lines. Abuse reports are reviewed by a person, and confirmed abuse leads to suspension. When the traffic came from a CrawlRelay account, we warn, suspend or terminate it under the [Acceptable Use Policy](https://crawlrelay.com/acceptable-use/). When the IP range itself is the problem, we forward the report to the partner network concerned.

## Sourcing: questions

### Who are CrawlRelay's partner networks?

We do not publish their names. We publish what our upstream provider confirms and the limits of our checks instead. For a compliance review, write to support@crawlrelay.com; we answer sourcing questions by email while keeping partner names private.

### Can CrawlRelay guarantee that no exit IP was ever part of a botnet?

No, and no reseller can. We cannot inspect the devices behind partner IPs, and devices from seized networks can reappear in other pools. We rely on our upstream provider's confirmations, target blocking at our gateway and abuse handling.

### Is CrawlRelay connected to NetNut or IPIDEA?

No. We resell residential and mobile IPs from established upstream partner networks. Our upstream provider confirms that device owners opt in and can opt out, and that its supply does not come from seized or disrupted networks such as NetNut or IPIDEA. Because IPs can move between pools after a takedown, we cannot rule out that a given address once appeared elsewhere. See the [NetNut alternative](https://crawlrelay.com/alternatives/netnut/) page for the public record.

### Why are your prices not lower?

Because below about $0.50/GB, Proxyway's 2026 market research describes a grey market, and we prefer to keep a floor: our residential tiers do not go below $0.50/GB. The [price comparison](https://crawlrelay.com/compare/residential-proxy-prices/) shows where our prices sat on 13 October 2026, next to 15 other providers.

## Sources

1. [Disrupting the largest residential proxy network](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/disrupting-largest-residential-proxy-network) — Google Threat Intelligence Group (2026-01-28)
2. [Google's continued disruption of residential proxy networks](https://cloud.google.com/blog/topics/threat-intelligence/google-continued-disruption-residential-proxy-networks) — Google Threat Intelligence Group (2026-07-02)
3. [FBI seizes NetNut proxy platform, Popa botnet](https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/07/fbi-seizes-netnut-proxy-platform-popa-botnet/) — KrebsOnSecurity (2026-07-02)
4. [Google disrupts 10 IPIDEA-related proxy providers](https://proxyway.com/news/google-disrupts-10-ipidea-related-chinese-proxy-providers) — Proxyway (2026-01-29)
5. [Proxy Market Research 2026](https://proxyway.com/research/proxy-market-research-2026) — Proxyway (2026-05-28)

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CrawlRelay: CrawlRelay is a developer-first rotating residential and 4G/5G mobile proxy service for scrapers and AI data pipelines: non-expiring pay-as-you-go traffic from $0.50/GB, paid in crypto, with no ID upload. No KYC — no ID, no selfie, no documents. Pay in crypto.