A sticky session is a proxy setting that keeps routing your requests through the same exit IP address for a set period or until you change the session ID, instead of assigning a new IP on every request. That continuity lets multi-step tasks such as logins, carts and checkouts run without the site seeing your IP change mid-session.

Providers typically let customers configure the sticky session duration, after which the session either expires and rotates automatically or can be manually refreshed. This is the direct counterpart to per-request rotation: rotation minimizes any one IP's exposure, while sticky sessions preserve the continuity a stateful task needs.

Sticky session durations vary by provider, from a few minutes up to 24 hours on some networks.

How Sticky Sessions Work

Many rotating-proxy gateways create a sticky session from a session ID you add to the proxy username:

  • Requests that reuse the same session ID leave through the same exit IP.
  • The IP stays assigned until the session length you chose runs out. On some networks it also ends if the session sits idle.
  • Changing the session ID forces a new IP. This lets you run several sticky sessions in parallel, each on its own IP.

Limitations of Sticky Sessions

  • Sending many requests through one IP makes it easier for a target to rate-limit or block that IP.
  • If the IP goes offline before the session ends, many gateways swap in a new IP automatically. That can break a task halfway, so build in retries.
  • When the session window closes, the IP changes, which can interrupt work still in progress.
  • One IP limits how much can run in parallel, so heavy jobs are usually spread across several sessions.