Overview
WAF dominates; active-defence layers remain selectively deployed
| Value | |
|---|---|
| WAF | 93.1% |
| Antibot | 20.1% |
| CAPTCHA | 22.5% |
| JavaScript | 42.3% |
| Rate Limiting | 13% |
| TLS | 17.8% |
WAF adoption is near-universal across South America — a CDN-default artifact rather than a deliberate choice. The active-defence layers that require operator configuration — antibot, rate limiting, TLS filtering — remain selectively deployed, concentrated in the region's larger commercial platforms rather than distributed across the web broadly.
Mean recommended tier: 2.7 — between Easy and Moderate
| Mean recommended tier | |
|---|---|
| All sites | 2.7 |
The regional mean sits between tier 2 (headless browser) and tier 3 (fingerprint management), pulled above 2 by the share of sites requiring more advanced evasion. Brazil accounts for the majority of the regional sample and has the strongest influence on this figure; smaller Andean and southern-cone markets broadly follow the same pattern, reflecting shared platform infrastructure across the continent.
Brazil leads the region — but most South American sites cluster close together
| Mean barriers per site | |
|---|---|
| Argentina | 2.08 |
| Bolivia | 2.07 |
| Brazil | 2.09 |
| Chile | 2.08 |
| Colombia | 2.13 |
| Ecuador | 2.07 |
| Falkland Islands | 1.90 |
| Guyana | 2.10 |
| Paraguay | 2.10 |
| Peru | 2.11 |
| Suriname | 2.11 |
| Uruguay | 2.08 |
| Venezuela | 2.13 |
The colour scale across the continent spans a narrower range than the regional mean might suggest — most South American markets cluster close together in barrier count. Brazil, as the dominant market by sample size, exerts the strongest pull on the regional figure. Smaller Andean and southern-cone markets broadly track within the same band, reflecting shared hosting and CDN infrastructure rather than distinct national defensive postures.
More than half of South American sites are accessible at tier 2 or below
| % of sites | |
|---|---|
| 1 - Simple | 18.3% |
| 2 - Easy | 34.7% |
| 3 - Moderate | 20.3% |
| 4 - Complex | 16.7% |
| 5 - Advanced | 9.9% |
On recommended infrastructure settings — whichever of HTTP-only or headless browser demands more — over half of South American sites resolve at tier 2 or below, meaning a plain HTTP request or basic headless browser covers the majority. The tier 3–5 tail reflects the region's larger commercial platforms — primarily in Brazil — that have deployed more active access controls.
Barrier Adoption
WAF dominates; antibot and rate limiting are selectively deployed
| Value | |
|---|---|
| WAF | 93.1% |
| Antibot | 20.1% |
| CAPTCHA | 22.5% |
| JavaScript | 42.3% |
| Rate Limiting | 13% |
| TLS | 17.8% |
| robots.txt | 83.7% |
| Blocks AI | 13.9% |
WAF coverage reaches 93% and robots.txt publication 84% — both near-universal, delivered passively through CDN and hosting defaults. JavaScript challenge adoption at 42% also reflects CDN configuration rather than deliberate active defence. Antibot (20%) and rate limiting (13%) remain selective deployments, concentrated in the region's larger commercial platforms. AI crawler blocking at 14% is driven primarily by Brazil's publishing and media sector.
Country Detail
Brazil's sample size dominates the region; smaller markets track closely behind
| WAF | Antibot | CAPTCHA | JavaScript | Rate Limit | TLS | robots.txt | Blocks AI | Tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | 92.9% | 19.8% | 22.2% | 46.9% | 12.7% | 17.9% | 83.8% | 13.4% | Tier 2 |
| Bolivia | 92.9% | 19.2% | 22.1% | 47.5% | 12.6% | 17.4% | 83.5% | 14.1% | Tier 2 |
| Brazil | 92.6% | 20.3% | 22.9% | 46.9% | 12.9% | 17.6% | 80.6% | 12.3% | Tier 2 |
| Chile | 92.8% | 19.6% | 23.4% | 47.4% | 12.4% | 17.1% | 83% | 13.8% | Tier 2 |
| Colombia | 93.1% | 21.3% | 22.5% | 47% | 13.5% | 19.4% | 84.2% | 14.5% | Tier 2 |
| Ecuador | 93.2% | 20.5% | 20.9% | 46.8% | 12.3% | 17.6% | 84.1% | 13.5% | Tier 2 |
| Falkland Islands | 95.3% | 13.3% | 17.5% | 41% | 9% | 16.1% | 91.9% | 15.2% | Tier 1 |
| French Guiana | 93.8% | — | — | — | — | — | 84.1% | 14.5% | Tier 1 |
| Guyana | 92.8% | 19.8% | 23.9% | 44.8% | 13.8% | 18.5% | 85.1% | 14.4% | Tier 2 |
| Paraguay | 92.6% | 20.6% | 23.8% | 46.4% | 12.9% | 17.8% | 83.5% | 13.6% | Tier 2 |
| Peru | 92.9% | 21% | 23% | 46.8% | 13.6% | 18% | 83.3% | 13.9% | Tier 2 |
| Suriname | 94% | 20.2% | 22.8% | 45.9% | 13.8% | 17.4% | 85.6% | 14.9% | Tier 2 |
| Uruguay | 92.8% | 20.2% | 21.9% | 46.5% | 12.9% | 18.1% | 83.2% | 14.1% | Tier 2 |
| Venezuela | 93.6% | 21% | 22.9% | 46.7% | 14.3% | 18.7% | 83.2% | 13.3% | Tier 2 |
Each row is one country; each column is one access barrier or policy metric. Colour intensity reflects adoption rate — darker means higher. The Tier column shows the median recommended Zyte tier for sites in that country: green circles indicate tier 1 (HTTP-only access typically sufficient), blue circles tier 2 (headless browser generally required).