General Questions#
Q: What is PrivateFlare in simple terms?#
A: It’s like Cloudflare, but on your own equipment. You install our software on your VPS servers (nodes), and all traffic passes through them — protecting your main server. We do not see or store your traffic.
Q: What plans are available?#
A: Plans are determined by the number of simultaneously active domains (slots):
- 100 domains — $15/mo
- 300 domains — $30/mo
- Unlimited — $135/mo
The number of nodes (servers) is unlimited on any plan. Billing is charged daily at 1/30 of the plan cost.
Q: How do I change my plan?#
A: Contact support (on-site chat or Telegram) with your login and desired plan. The plan is updated instantly.
Q: Is there a trial period?#
A: Yes, after registration and account activation, a free 2-week trial period is automatically available.
Q: Is the payment one-time or monthly?#
A: Monthly. It is charged in equal daily installments: 1/30 of the plan cost each day. Top up your balance in advance to avoid interruptions.
Q: What is the minimum payment?#
A: We recommend topping up from $10. Payment is accepted in USDT, processing takes 5–15 minutes.
Installation and Connection#
Q: Which operating systems are supported?#
A: Rocky 8–9, CentOS 8–9, Debian 10–12, Ubuntu 20–24. Clean images only! No control panels (cPanel, Plesk), pre-installed LAMP/LEMP, or anything else.
Q: Warnings appear during installation — is this normal?#
A: Yes. Warnings during installation are expected. The important thing is that the installation completes successfully.
Q: Installation completed, but the node doesn’t appear in the panel#
A: Wait 1–2 minutes. If it still doesn’t appear — check that the installation actually completed successfully (no errors at the end of the output). You can safely re-run the installation command.
Q: What happens if I run the node connection command twice?#
A: Nothing bad. The node will be re-initialized.
Q: Error bash: line 1: error: command not found during installation#
A: Try adding the -k flag to curl: curl -k -s https://repo.privateflare.com/install | bash -s .... This bypasses SSL certificate issues on some systems.
Q: Node installed on a VPS with sudo, not as root#
A: Run sudo su and then repeat the installation command as root.
Q: How do I update the client version on a node?#
A: Re-run the installation command — it will automatically update the client to the latest version.
Q: What does the yellow node version color mean in the panel?#
A: The node version differs from the latest available version. This is usually not critical — the node works normally. To update, reconnect the node.
Q: Node stopped working / went offline#
A: Check:
- Is the VPS accessible via SSH
- Has the hosting provider blocked the VPS for abuse (check your email)
- Try rebooting the VPS
- Reconnect the node (re-run the installation)
Domains and SSL#
Q: Domain added, but status is offline#
A: DNS has not updated yet. Updates can take from 5 minutes to several hours. Verify that the A record at your registrar points to the node’s IP: ping your-domain.com.
Q: Certificate is not generating#
A: Check using the guide:
- DNS must point to the node’s IP
- The node must be online
- Check
http://your-domain/.well-known/acme-challenge/ping— it should respond - Generation usually takes 1–2 minutes, sometimes longer
Q: Do subdomains work?#
A: Yes. Add them as regular domains: sub.domain.com. Don’t forget to create an A record for the subdomain at your registrar.
Q: Error TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS#
A: A classic issue: double HTTP→HTTPS redirect. The solution depends on the setup:
- Without Cloudflare: disable forced HTTPS in the backend (tracker) settings, leave it only in PrivateFlare
- With Cloudflare (CF→PF→backend): disable Force HTTPS in both PrivateFlare and the tracker. On Cloudflare, use SSL mode Flexible
Q: Error 520 / backend marked as unavailable#
A: The node cannot reach the backend. Check:
- The backend is directly accessible by IP
- The backend IP is correctly specified in the domain settings
- There is no firewall on the backend blocking the node’s IP
Q: Domain shows 404#
A: Make sure that:
- The domain (or mask) is correctly configured on the backend
- The certificate has been generated (SSL = ON in the panel)
- The backend responds to requests for the specified domain/mask
Working with Cloudflare#
Q: Can I use it together with CloudFlare?#
A: Yes, the CF→PF→backend setup is used by many clients. Settings:
- In Cloudflare: add the domain, set the backend to PrivateFlare node IP
- In Cloudflare: SSL mode = Flexible
- In PrivateFlare: disable Force HTTPS
- On the backend (tracker): disable forced HTTPS
Q: Domain behind Cloudflare shows as offline in monitoring#
A: Cloudflare may be blocking our checker. The domain works fine otherwise. If notifications are bothersome — disable monitoring for that domain.
Q: Why use CF+PF together?#
A: An additional layer of protection. It’s harder for spy services to find all domains on one server. Cloudflare adds CDN and DDoS protection, while PrivateFlare adds masking and management.
Trackers and Integrations#
Q: Does it work with Keitaro?#
A: Yes. You must disable HTTPS-only in Keitaro settings. More details in the guide.
Q: Keitaro doesn’t see the domain / domain won’t connect to the server#
A: Keitaro binds domains by DNS. Until DNS updates, Keitaro won’t see the domain. Workaround: copy the URL of any working domain and replace the domain name with the desired one — everything will work.
Q: Does it work with AlterCPA?#
A: Yes, there is official support and integration. For AlterCPA configuration questions, contact AlterCPA support.
Q: Does it work with Binom Tracker?#
A: Yes, it works without additional configuration.
Q: Does it work with any web application?#
A: Yes — with any CMS, tracker, or landing page. If TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS occurs when connecting — disable forced HTTPS on the application side.
Q: Are WebSocket connections supported?#
A: Yes, WebSocket is fully supported.
Nodes and Infrastructure#
Q: How many nodes do I need?#
A: One is enough to start. For fault tolerance, we recommend having 2+ nodes — in case of problems with one, you can quickly switch DNS to another.
Q: Can I use one domain through multiple nodes?#
A: Yes. By default, a domain is accessible through all your nodes simultaneously. This is convenient for load balancing and fault tolerance.
Q: Does the node switch automatically on failure?#
A: No, there is no automatic switching — this is part of our philosophy of not interfering with client settings. However, there is a script for automatic IP replacement, as well as an API for automation.
Q: Node stopped working after installing fail2ban#
A: Disable fail2ban — it can block connections from our software and cause restarts.
Q: Can I block IP addresses at the PrivateFlare level?#
A: Yes. Go to the Security section → create an IP list, add addresses, and specify which nodes to block on.
Q: Does it work with Russian traffic (RU)?#
A: Yes. Rent a node from a hosting provider with a data center in Russia — traffic will stay within the country.
Notifications#
Q: How do I set up Telegram notifications?#
A: Launch the bot @privateflare_bot, get your chat ID. In user settings, enable Telegram and enter the chat ID. For a group chat — add the bot to the group and send /start.
Q: Telegram notifications aren’t coming through#
A: Make sure the chat ID is entered correctly. If using a group chat — the ID starts with a minus sign (e.g., -5258872639).
Miscellaneous#
Q: Account activation email isn’t arriving#
A: Check your Spam folder. If the email isn’t there — contact support, we’ll activate it manually.
Q: Which hosting providers do you recommend?#
A: A detailed overview is in the Hosting Recommendations section.
Q: Can I use PrivateFlare for a single domain?#
A: Technically yes, but the minimum plan is 100 slots for $15/mo. The service is optimized for bulk domain management.
Q: Can I export the domain list?#
A: Yes. The domains and nodes tables support export to CSV and JSON. Export respects current filters and selected columns.
Q: What does JS Challenge do?#
A: Similar to Cloudflare’s “Under Attack” mode. Every new visitor is shown a page with a confirmation button. Bots fail the check. On subsequent visits, the check is not shown.
Q: Can I use your NS servers?#
A: Yes, PrivateFlare provides its own DNS servers: ns1.privateflare.com and ns2.privateflare.com. GeoDNS is supported — different IPs for different countries. More details in the DNS Service and GeoDNS section.
Q: Can I restrict site access by country?#
A: Yes. In the domain settings (Protection tab) there is geo-filtering. You can allow access only from selected countries or block specific ones.