> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.byteful.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Proxy Authentication Types
> Understanding and choosing between different proxy authentication methods
Byteful supports multiple authentication methods to provide flexible, secure access to your proxies. Our innovative [Proxy User and IAM system](https://dashboard.byteful.com/proxy-users) lets you create and manage proxy users, track their usage, limit residential/mobile data, and link their access to specific proxies and services—all from our dashboard.
## Authentication Methods
### Proxy User Authentication
This authentication type allows you to create a Proxy User and access all available proxies using their username and password credentials.
* **Benefits**: Use consistent credentials across all your proxies
* **Recommended for**: Resellers who want to assign each customer a dedicated proxy user with access to specific services
### IP Authentication
With IP authentication, you can access your static proxies without entering username and password credentials. This method works by:
1. Creating a proxy user
2. Attaching a whitelisted IP address to that user for authentication
**Important**: Each whitelisted IP address must be unique and cannot be assigned to multiple proxy users.
IP Authentication is not available on our rotating residential/mobile data network since the username parameters are used to infer targeting and geolocation settings.
All authentication methods can be managed through our dashboard or programmatically via our API.