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Web Unblocker

Unblock protected sites with one API call

The Browserless web unblocker handles CAPTCHAs and bot detection in a real browser, on sites you are authorized to automate, then returns the page content, cookies, a screenshot, or a live session your own code keeps driving.

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content The fully rendered HTML after anti-bot measures are handled

cookies Every cookie the site set during the session

screenshot A base64-encoded full-page JPEG of the unblocked page, at quality 50

browserWSEndpoint A live browser session for Puppeteer or Playwright

What is a web unblocker?

A web unblocker gets automated requests past bot detection and CAPTCHA challenges so you can retrieve a page the way a regular visitor sees it. It combines a real browser environment, IP reputation through proxies, and challenge handling in one step.

Browserless ships its web unblocker as the /unblock REST API: one POST request with a target URL, and you choose whether to get back rendered HTML, cookies, a screenshot, or a live browser session to continue automating from the unblocked state.

Use it on sites you own or are otherwise authorized to automate, and stay within each target’s terms of service and applicable law.

One POST request to unblock a page

Send the target URL and the fields you want back. Residential proxies are built in and strongly recommended for hard targets.

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://production-sfo.browserless.io/unblock?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN&proxy=residential' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{
  "url": "https://example-protected-site.com/",
  "content": true,
  "cookies": false,
  "screenshot": false,
  "browserWSEndpoint": false
}'

The response contains the fully rendered page HTML. See the unblock API docs for every parameter.

What you get with the Browserless web unblocker

The unblock API runs on the same infrastructure, token, and billing as everything else on Browserless.

Get back exactly what you ask for
Request the rendered HTML with content, the session's cookies with cookies, a screenshot with screenshot, or all three. Set a field to false and Browserless skips the work, so execution stays as light as the job allows.
Keep automating from the unblocked state
Set browserWSEndpoint: true with a ttl and the response includes a live WebSocket endpoint. Connect Puppeteer or Playwright to it and continue the session from the already-unblocked browser.
Proxies come built in
Add proxy=residential (6 units/MB) or proxy=datacenter (2 units/MB) to the request, with proxyCountry targeting. Proxy usage draws on the same units as the rest of your account, so there is nothing separate to integrate.
One exit IP for the whole session
Unblock requests pin a single proxy exit IP by default. Anti-bot systems like Akamai and DataDome bind their sensors and cookies to the egress IP, so holding one IP avoids re-triggering the block mid-session.
Handles the common blockers
Built to get past bot detection systems like DataDome, passive CAPTCHAs, and Cloudflare Turnstile and JavaScript challenges. It works from a real browser, not header tricks.
An escalation path when sites push back
For enforced CAPTCHAs and the hardest targets, step up to the Browser Automation Protocol: call page.solve() and BAP detects and solves reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare, and other challenge types with built-in stealth.

Browserless vs. Oxylabs Web Unblocker and Bright Data Web Unlocker

Oxylabs and Bright Data are proxy companies, and their unblockers are standalone products. Browserless builds unblocking into the browser infrastructure you already automate with.

175M+

Docker pulls

8 years

in production

99.9%

uptime commitment

Standalone unblocker products

  • Sold by proxy companies as a standalone product, separate from the browser automation stack you already run
  • Usually proxy-shaped: send a request through it, get HTML back
  • Its own integration surface to wire up and keep current
  • The unblocked page arrives outside the tool you automate with

An unblock API on browser infrastructure

  • One POST request on the same token, endpoints, and billing as the rest of Browserless
  • Returns content, cookies, screenshots, or a live browser session you keep driving
  • Built-in residential and datacenter proxies, selected per request
  • Escalates within one platform: stealth routes, unblock, then BAP CAPTCHA solving

Part of a layered bot detection strategy

Unblocking is one layer of the Browserless bot detection stack. Escalate only as far as the target requires.

Start with stealth routes
Fingerprint-level evasion at the connection URL: /stealth routes make automated browsers look like real users. For many sites this is all you need.
Unblock when libraries get flagged
When sites detect the automation library itself, the unblock API takes a minimal approach that works with the browser's native interfaces and leaves no library traces, then hands you the result or the live session.
Solve what still challenges you
When a site is unblocked but still presents an enforced CAPTCHA, BAP's page.solve() and the solveCaptchas connection flag handle reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare, and other challenge types.

Web unblocker FAQs

Security & compliance

SOC 2Type IIGDPRCompliantHIPAACompliantDPAAvailable
See the Trust Center

Stop losing scrapes to bot detection

Start with 1,000 free units, no credit card required. Send your first unblock request in minutes, and keep the same platform as your targets get harder.

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