KYC & Customer Vetting Policy

Why we verify customers

Proxy networks are infrastructure. Like any infrastructure, they can be used for legitimate work or for harm. Without a customer vetting process, our network would drift toward being anonymous infrastructure — and we would lose the customers who choose us because we take vetting seriously.

Vetting also protects our other customers. When a bad actor gets onto the network, they degrade the shared reputation of our IP pools — leading to more blocks, worse performance, and higher costs for the legitimate businesses who rely on us.

Baseline checks and enhanced verification

Not every account requires the same level of vetting. Our process operates in two layers:

Baseline checks. Every account is evaluated against automated risk signals at registration. Baseline checks are silent to the customer — most accounts pass and proceed directly to service activation.

Enhanced identity verification. Some accounts require an additional identity verification step before service is activated. This layer applies to accounts whose profile exhibits signals warranting a closer look, or where our compliance obligations require it.

We do not publish the specific signal thresholds or the exact criteria for when enhanced verification is triggered. Publishing them would create an instruction manual for bad actors — which would defeat the purpose of having a vetting process in the first place.

What we can share:

• Our system is signal-based, not identity-based. No single attribute — a specific email domain, country, or use case — is enough on its own to require enhanced verification.
• Enhanced verification is not a rejection. It is a step in the process. Customers who go through it and complete it successfully continue as normal accounts.
• The system runs continuously, not only at registration. An account may enter enhanced verification later based on evolving usage patterns.

What we evaluate

Our anti-fraud system evaluates signals across four broad categories:

Email and account patterns. Email reputation, registration source, account creation patterns, and behavioural consistency with what a legitimate business would exhibit.

IP and geographic signals. Source IP risk scoring, geographic context, and known threat indicators — including whether the registration itself appears to be coming from infrastructure associated with fraud.

Duplicate account detection. Cross-referencing accounts to detect attempts to circumvent prior terminations or evade scrutiny by creating multiple accounts.

Usage behaviour analysis. Patterns in how an account uses the service in the first hours and days. Legitimate businesses and bad actors typically have very different usage signatures — this remains one of the most reliable signals.

Enhanced verification methodology

When enhanced verification is required, we use MetaMap — an established B2B identity verification provider used by financial institutions and regulated marketplaces — to perform:

1. Government ID verification. The customer submits a photo of a valid government-issued ID.
2. Liveness check. The customer completes a brief video selfie to confirm they are a real person, present at the moment of verification.
3. Document authenticity validation. MetaMap validates the ID document against known authenticity markers.

Verification typically completes within minutes for straightforward cases. More complex reviews may take longer.

What happens after verification

If verification succeeds: The account is activated and the customer proceeds normally. No further restrictions are placed on the account solely because verification occurred.

If verification is not completed successfully — either because it fails or because the customer declines to proceed:

• The customer is informed of the outcome.
• The account is not activated as a standard account.
• Any payment already made is subject to our Refund Policy (see Terms of Service, Section 6.3).
• Customers who believe the outcome was mistaken may contact us to discuss (see “Appeals” below).

If we identify apparent fraud or attempted impersonation: We may retain relevant records for our own protection and to prevent circumvention. Customers acting fraudulently may be permanently barred from future service.

Data retention and use

• We retain verification records only for the period required by applicable law and by our own security needs.
• Verification data is not used for any purpose other than fraud prevention and legal compliance.
• Verification data is not shared with third parties except (a) as required by law, or (b) with the identity verification provider (MetaMap) for the purpose of performing the verification itself.
• Customers may request deletion of their verification records once the retention period expires. Contact privacy@privateproxy.me.

For full details of how we handle personal data, see our Privacy Policy.

Appeals

If your account outcome was affected by our verification process and you believe this was in error, contact appeals@privateproxy.me  with your account email and any supporting context (business registration, use case description, references).

We review appeals individually. We aim to respond within {fill in: X business days — confirm with support team}, but we do not commit to a specific outcome — appeal reviews may confirm the original decision or reverse it, depending on the facts.

Transparency commitments

• We will not materially change the scope of our vetting process without disclosing the change on this page.
• We will not retain verification data longer than required by law and our own security needs.
• We will not share verification data with any third party except as required by law or for the verification itself.
• If our identity verification provider changes, we will update this policy accordingly.
• We will not use verification data for marketing, product analytics, or any purpose other than fraud prevention and legal compliance.

Contact

Questions about our verification process: privacy@privateproxy.me

If your account is currently under enhanced verification and you have questions about the process itself: contact@privateproxy.me