Rotating Proxy
A rotating proxy automatically changes the IP address it uses — either on every request or at set intervals — instead of sending everything through one fixed address. You send your traffic to a single endpoint, and behind it a pool of many IPs takes turns handling the requests.
The point is to avoid the pattern that gets automated traffic blocked. If one IP makes hundreds of requests to a site in quick succession, that is an obvious signal; if those same requests are spread across hundreds of rotating addresses, each one looks like a casual visitor making a handful of calls. Rotation is what lets a large scrape stay under the per-IP limits a site enforces.
Rotating proxies are often residential, which combines two advantages: each address looks like a real household, and no single address is used enough to stand out. Static proxies, by contrast, keep the same IP — useful when a site expects a consistent session, but far easier to throttle at scale. In practice, most large-scale collection leans on rotating residential pools precisely because they answer both problems at once: every request looks human, and none of them lean on a single address.
How it relates to scraping
Rotation is the difference between a scrape that finishes and one that gets throttled halfway. Say you are pulling 5,000 Instagram profiles: sent from one IP, that is a wall of traffic that trips limits fast, but spread across a rotating pool, each address makes only a few quiet requests. 1Scrape rotates addresses for you automatically, so a big run completes without you configuring a thing.
Frequently asked questions
How often does the IP rotate?
It depends on the setup — some pools rotate on every single request, others hold an address for a few minutes before switching. With 1Scrape it is handled automatically and tuned to the source, so you never choose or manage it.
Is a rotating proxy the same as a residential proxy?
Not quite — they describe different things. Rotating is about switching IP addresses; residential is about where those addresses come from. Many pools are both: residential IPs that also rotate. 1Scrape uses whatever keeps your run reliable, so you do not have to decide.