Bright Data by Bright Data

# Fix list: Bright Data

From Anchor Terminal's listing at https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/bright-data, the October 2026 research run, assessed 1 October 2026. Grade C, 60.1 out of 100.

This is everything the published grade says the listing lacks, the biggest possible gain to the total first. It comes from the reason given for each score, the checklist each category was scored against (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist), the provenance checks, the deductions, what we couldn't check and what the review panel asked for. A fix counts at the next check, once it's public.

For a coding agent working on Bright Data: work through the items below in the product, its docs and its public pages. Each category gives the reason for its score, with the points each checklist item earned, and the checklist itself, so the gap is the items that earned less than their points. Change the product, not the wording, and keep a note of what you changed and where it's published.

## 1. Reliability, 35 out of 100, up to 13 more on the total

Why it scored 35: No public status page found. status.brightdata.com doesn't resolve and the docs index and security overview link none (0). No readable incident history, so 5 by the rubric (5). Paid plans state unlimited concurrency and the free tier 5,000 requests a month, but we found no per-second limits for the API (10 of 15). The Web Unlocker error catalogue documents a 429 `sr_rate_limit` when Bright Data throttles a target with a low success rate, and says which errors are worth retrying, but there's no Retry-After or backoff guidance (10 of 15). The pricing page names a Premium SLA for Enterprise and claims 99.99 per cent uptime, with no SLA terms published (0). GA (10).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-reliability):

Hosted APIs, MCP servers, models and platforms.

- 20, a public status page with component history (Statuspage, Instatus, BetterStack or the vendor's own).
- 0 to 30, the incident record for the last 90 days on that page. 30 for a clean record or trivial incidents only, 20 for minor incidents only, 10 for one major outage (an hour or more of a core API down, or errors across the board), 0 for several. 5 when there's no history we could read, and the note says so.
- 15, rate limits documented with numbers.
- 15, documented 429 or overload handling (Retry-After, backoff guidance), and idempotency keys or safe-retry guidance where writes are involved.
- 10, an SLA published for any paid tier.
- 10, the surface agents use is generally available, not beta or preview.

Local packages, SDKs, frameworks and stdio MCP servers.

- 20, installs from an official package with supported runtimes stated.
- 25, a public CI and test suite, passing on the default branch.
- 0 to 25, open crash or regression issues relative to activity (25 for few and handled, 0 for many, old and unanswered).
- 15, semver discipline and breaking changes called out in a changelog.
- 15, version 1.0 or later, or declared stable.

Protocols are read from their reference implementations, the public facilitators or servers, spec stability and test vectors.

## 2. Security & auth, 57 out of 100, up to 7.5 more on the total

Why it scored 57: API keys carry one of five roles (Admin, Finance, Ops, Limit, User), can be given an expiry, and are revoked or refreshed in the control panel, and the hosted MCP also takes OAuth 2.1 with PKCE and one `mcp` scope (30). The README's default hosted setup puts the key in the URL as `?token=`, a documented option, so less 10 (20). User-role keys can't change configuration, tools load by group, and read tools carry readOnlyHint, but browser tools can fill forms and click with no confirmation step (14 of 20). Every tool returns third-party page content, and we found no prompt-injection guidance in the README, the OAuth page or the security overview (0 of 15). The MCP `session_stats` tool reports calls in a session. We didn't find a per-request log for operators (5 of 15). ISO 27001, 27017 and 27018, SOC 2 Type II under NDA, a public SOC 3, a managed private bug bounty and security fixes in the MCP changelog. No security.txt per the 26 September check (18 of 20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-security):

- 0 to 30, the credential model. 30 for OAuth 2.1 with scopes, or scoped and revocable keys with rotation. 20 for plain revocable API keys. 10 for one all-powerful key. 10 off when a secret can travel in a URL query string as a documented option.
- 0 to 20, read-only or least-privilege modes, and confirmation or approval for destructive actions.
- 0 to 15, prompt-injection posture where the tool returns untrusted content (documented mitigations or guidance). A tool that returns no untrusted content gets 10.
- 0 to 15, audit logs or per-call visibility for the operator.
- 0 to 20, a security programme. security.txt or a disclosure policy, a bug bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001, advisories handled in public.

Models are read for retention, whether API data trains models (and whether that's off by default), zero-retention options and certifications. Frameworks for telemetry defaults, approval hooks, guardrails and sandboxing.

## 3. Payments & pricing, 40 out of 100, up to 7.5 more on the total

Why it scored 40: No x402, MPP or L402. Issue #126 asks for x402 and is open (0). Web Unlocker and SERP at $1.50 per 1,000 successful requests, $1.30 on Scale, published without a login (20). 5,000 requests a month, 'No credit card required' (20). A person has to sign up and create a key in the control panel (0).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-payments):

The published rubric, also on the [x402 page](https://www.anchorterminal.com/x402/).

- 40, a machine payment protocol (x402, MPP or L402) on the tool's own endpoints. 10 to 30 when it covers only some endpoints or only goes through a third party, and the note says which.
- 20, per-call or per-unit pricing published without a login. 10 for public plan-only pricing, 0 for "contact sales" or prices behind a login.
- 20, a free tier or trial that doesn't need a card.
- 20, autonomous onboarding, meaning an agent can get access without a person signing up in a browser (keyless use, x402, a programmatic key API).

Payment platforms and agent wallets rarely charge for their own API over a machine protocol, so the first line has steps for them, and the highest one that applies counts. 40 when x402, MPP or L402 runs on all their own endpoints, 30 when it runs on part of their own API, 25 when their merchants can accept one, 20 for running a facilitator, 15 for paying as a buyer, and 0 when the only protocol is their own. Merchant acceptance sits above a facilitator because the platform's own customers can charge agents through it, while a facilitator settles for sellers who wire up the protocol themselves. The counter-argument (a facilitator does more for the protocol as a whole) has a point. Each note says which step applied.

Open-source software you run yourself is scored on its hosted or paid option if it has one. A free, self-hosted package with nothing to buy gets 20, 20 and 20 for the last three lines, and 0 to 40 for the first only if it ships a payment protocol.

## 4. Schema & documentation, 74 out of 100, up to 4.2 more on the total

Why it scored 74: No OpenAPI file found for the API. The MCP server has zod schemas on every tool, so partial credit (15 of 25). llms.txt at docs.brightdata.com with Markdown pages (10). MCP descriptions say what each tool returns, and the dataset tools say when to use them instead of the one-record web_data_* tools (14 of 20). Typed inputs with enums such as engine google, bing or yandex (12 of 15). Per-product error catalogues for Web Unlocker, Browser API and scrapers, and curl examples (13 of 15). Release notes, last entry 14 June 2026, and an MCP CHANGELOG with a gap between 2.6.0 and 2.10.0 (10 of 15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-schema):

APIs and MCP servers.

- 25, a machine-readable contract (a public OpenAPI file or similar; for MCP, typed JSON Schema inputs on every tool).
- 10, llms.txt or Markdown docs served for agents.
- 0 to 20, descriptions that say what a tool is for, when to use it and when not to, read from the tool definitions in the source or the API reference.
- 0 to 15, typed inputs with enums, constraints and required fields, and no free-form JSON blobs.
- 0 to 15, examples and documented error responses.
- 15, versioning and a public changelog.

Models are read from the API reference, the OpenAPI file, llms.txt, the structured-output and tool-use docs and the model cards. Frameworks from docs a model can follow, typed interfaces, examples and the API reference.

## 5. Transparency & trust, 62 out of 100, up to 3.3 more on the total

Made of editorial 43, provenance 80.

Why it scored 62: The API is closed under the Bright Data licence, and the MCP server is MIT, so we gave 20 between the closed and open bands (20 of 30). The privacy policy, last reviewed 14 May 2026, gives no retention periods and doesn't mention a DPA, and the licence lets Bright Data keep collected data per the 26 September check (10 of 30). Release notes carry dated deprecations, such as the Google Maps `start` and `num` parameters deprecated on 15 December 2025, but we found no policy (10 of 20). No subprocessor list. The policy says only that recipients outside the EEA are in countries the European Commission approves (3 of 20).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-transparency):

- 0 to 30, source availability and licence clarity. 30 for open source under an OSI licence, 15 for closed with clear terms, 0 for unclear terms.
- 0 to 30, data handling and retention statements that agree with each other (privacy policy, DPA, retention periods, subprocessors).
- 0 to 20, a deprecation policy or notices with dates.
- 0 to 20, telemetry disclosed with an opt-out (local software), or subprocessors and data locations disclosed (hosted).

The other half of Transparency and trust is the provenance score, computed from checked facts (below). The category score is the mean of the two.

Provenance checks not met in full (half of this category, computed from checked facts):

- Status page: not found (0 of 10)
- security.txt: not found (0 of 10)

## 6. Agent ergonomics, 82 out of 100, up to 2.9 more on the total

Why it scored 82: Five base tools by default out of 69 per the README, with `groups=` and `tools=` on the hosted URL or GROUPS and TOOLS locally (25). Markdown output, batch tools of up to 10 searches or scrapes, `fixed_values` to trim tokens and filterable dataset search, but no general field selection (15 of 20). Error codes with a retry-or-fix classification (17 of 20). Billing counts successful requests, and tools carry readOnlyHint and openWorldHint, but there are no idempotency keys (15 of 20). One required secret and auto-created zones. We didn't confirm official SDKs in two languages (10 of 15).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-ergonomics):

- 0 to 25, context cost. For MCP, the number and size of the tool definitions (25 for ten or fewer compact tools, 15 for 11 to 30, 5 for more than 30, plus up to 10 back for toolsets, dynamic loading or read-only subsets). For APIs, whether responses can be sized (field selection, limits, summaries).
- 20, pagination, filtering and output-size controls.
- 20, actionable, documented error responses, codes and messages an agent can recover from.
- 20, idempotency or safe retries, and for MCP the `readOnlyHint` and `destructiveHint` annotations.
- 15, sensible defaults, few required parameters, and official SDKs in at least two languages.

Models are read for tool use, structured output, prompt caching, context length, batch and SDKs. Frameworks for how much code and how many defaults a tool-calling agent with MCP needs.

## 7. Maintenance & community, 84 out of 100, up to 1.4 more on the total

Why it scored 84: MCP v2.11.3 on 2026-09-15 (30). v2.11.1 on 27 July, v2.11.2 on 11 September and v2.11.3 on 15 September (20). 13 open issues on the MCP repository, including 502s under load (#104, January 2026) and a JSON parse error (#74, October 2025) still open. We couldn't see reply dates (12 of 25). io.github.brightdata/brightdata-mcp in the official registry under a GitHub-verified namespace, but the registry entry is at 2.9.4 against 2.11.3 on npm (12 of 15). Tests run in CI on every push to main (10).

The checklist (https://www.anchorterminal.com/benchmark/#checklist-maintenance):

- 0 to 30, time since the last release, or the last published model or API change for a closed service. 30 within 30 days, 20 within 90, 10 within 180, 0 older.
- 20, at least three releases or dated changelog entries in the last 90 days.
- 0 to 25, responsiveness. Issues and pull requests answered on GitHub (the open issues and how recent the replies are). For closed services, a public changelog and a support or community channel that answers, 0 to 15.
- 15, presence in the official MCP registry under a verified namespace (MCP servers), or current official SDKs (APIs and models).
- 10, package health, current dependencies and CI.

Models are read for deprecation notice periods and model churn rather than release counts.

## What we couldn't check

What we couldn't read counted as absent. Publishing it on a page a plain HTTP fetch can read (not only in a browser) lets the next check count it.

- unchecked: whether Bright Data publishes per-second API rate limits anywhere outside the SERP rate-limit page, which we didn't read.
- unchecked: official SDKs in two languages.
- Whether the licence clause letting Bright Data retain collected data still reads as the 26 September check found; we didn't re-read the licence today.
- Whether a status page exists inside the control panel; none is public.

## Weaknesses

- No public status page or incident history
- The default hosted MCP URL carries the key as `?token=`
- No prompt-injection guidance for scraped content
- No retention periods, DPA or subprocessor list in the privacy policy
- MCP registry entry lags npm by two minor versions

## What costs an agent a turn today

The notes we give agents before they call it. Each one is a workaround an agent shouldn't need.

- Connect with OAuth or keep the `?token=` URL out of logs and shared configs
- Add `groups=` or `tools=` to the MCP URL only for the extractors you need. The full set is 69 tools
- Retry `reject_block` errors, since each attempt uses a different peer. Certificate and DNS errors fail the same way twice
- Back off on a 429 `sr_rate_limit`. Bright Data throttles a target whose success rate drops
- Use the batch tools for up to 10 searches or scrapes in one call

## What the review panel asked for

- define a billable success on the pricing page
- clear reuse terms

## When it's done

Send what changed and where it's published as a dispute (https://www.anchorterminal.com/builders/#disputes, or `POST https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/contact` with `"kind": "dispute"`). Disputes are answered in public, and the listing is checked again by the same checklist. Paying for an audit or a listing claim changes nothing here.