What is VPN & proxy protection and how does it work?

Why Use VPN & Proxy Protection?

Merchants commonly use VPN & Proxy Protection to:

Reduce unwanted or suspicious traffic
Monitor anonymous visitors
Limit access from location-masking services
Identify potentially risky storefront activity

How It Works

When a visitor accesses your storefront, HUE Fraud Filter analyzes network signals that may indicate the use of:

VPN services
Proxy networks
Privacy-focused browsers
Anonymous connections

The detection is based on network signals and probabilities rather than a simple database lookup.
Because of this, legitimate shoppers using workplace VPNs, public Wi-Fi, privacy browsers, or mobile carrier networks may sometimes appear similar to visitors masking their location.

Available Actions

Block Them

Detected visitors will be blocked from accessing the storefront and will see your configured blocked page.

Best for:

Stores experiencing high levels of suspicious traffic
Strict access control requirements

Watch Only

Detected visitors are not blocked.
Instead, HUE Fraud Filter records the activity so you can review how many visitors would have been affected before enabling blocking.

This is the recommended starting option for most stores.

Understanding Watch Only Mode

When Watch Only is enabled:

Visitors are not blocked
Visitors can continue browsing normally
Detection events are logged for review
Activity can be analyzed before enforcing restrictions

This helps reduce the risk of blocking legitimate customers.

Recent VPN & Proxy Activity

The VPN & Proxy Protection page displays recent statistics, including:

Visitors detected
Visitors blocked
Visitors monitored in Watch Only mode

These insights help you understand how the protection is performing.

Best Practice

We recommend starting with Watch Only mode for several days to understand visitor patterns before enabling blocking.
This allows you to review detection activity and minimize the chance of affecting legitimate shoppers.

Hope you've got some value from this article. Let us know your feedback 🙂Did we miss something? No worries! Just email our team at ✌️We are excited to hear your thoughts.

Updated on: 05/10/2026

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