BasedFlare

What is BasedFlare

BasedFlare is a managed infrastructure service offering sovereign alternatives to mainstream cloud providers like Cloudflare. Operated by BASED ON WHAT LLC, a Wyoming-registered company founded in May 2023, it provides DNS management, global CDN caching, web application firewall (WAF), Layer 7 DDoS mitigation, and optional managed video livestreaming (RTMP ingest with LLHLS outputs). The service was built by founder Thomas Lynch, a software developer with a background in operating public forums and defending them against deplatforming and coordinated takedowns.

As of 2026-05-30, BasedFlare markets itself around themes of digital sovereignty, open-source transparency, and resistance to censorship. Its flagship open-source project, haproxy-protection, is publicly available under an (A)GPL license and bundles configurations, tooling, and a control panel for running reverse proxy clusters with Layer 7 filtering.

How no-KYC is it?

BasedFlare does not advertise identity verification as part of its signup process. The service collects standard account information-username, email, password, and IP address-according to its published privacy policy, but does not reference government ID, document upload, or enhanced due diligence procedures. This places it in the "Soft KYC" or minimal-KYC category: an email address is required, but not legal identity.

The provider's positioning toward privacy-conscious and censorship-resistant use cases suggests a deliberate choice to minimize friction for users seeking alternatives to deplatforming. However, the terms of service explicitly state compliance with "all US government agencies," which creates a conditional privacy guarantee that users in high-risk categories should weigh carefully.

Privacy & security

BasedFlare's privacy policy outlines collection of username, email, password, IP address, and platform interaction records. The company states it does not share or sell personal information to third parties, and mentions encryption and "secure storage practices" without specifying technical standards. Users may request data access, deletion, or correction.

The service emphasizes transparency through open-source licensing of backend components, allowing public audit of code for "hidden tricks, spying, or telemetry." This is a meaningful differentiator from proprietary competitors. The control panel supports HTTPS certificate generation, geo-targeted DNS with health checks, network ACLs (IP/ASN whitelisting and blacklisting), and a Geo Firewall for geographic access control.

Security features include Layer 7 DDoS mitigation with optional proof-of-work or CAPTCHA challenge modes, attack reporting with real-time and historical data, and bot filtering. The DNS infrastructure advertises sub-second global propagation and 60-second TTL support.

Payments, fees & limits

BasedFlare offers three service tiers. The Starter plan runs $20/month and covers 3 domains, 1 origin, and 10TB traffic with CDN caching, DDoS protection, and DNS management. The Pro plan is $199/month for 10 domains, 5 origins, and 50TB traffic, adding origin load balancing. Enterprise pricing is custom, with features including managed video livestreaming, exclusive points of presence, phone support, and "censorship resistant options."

A free trial is available upon direct contact. The company accepts cryptocurrency payments-Bitcoin and Monero are referenced in directory listings and third-party profiles, though the official site does not prominently detail payment methods on public-facing pages. The external source AlternativeTo lists pricing "from $10 per month," which conflicts with the official $20/month Starter rate; the official site pricing is treated as authoritative.

User experience & support

The service operates through a web-based control panel (cp.basedflare.com) where customers manage domains, DNS records, certificates, and protection settings. The dashboard is described as "streamlined" for configuring blacklists, whitelists, and bot filtering in a single location.

Support channels include email (contact@ceoofbased.com), a phone hotline (+1 307-461-4336), and a contact form. Enterprise customers receive phone support; lower tiers rely on email. A separate status page (basedstatus.online) tracks operational health. One scheduled maintenance window was noted: approximately 90 minutes of control panel downtime and 5 minutes of CDN hard restarts on October 8th (year unspecified in crawl) for backend routing upgrades.

The service lacks a .onion address or Tor gateway, operating exclusively on clearnet. No mobile application is mentioned.

Who it's for

BasedFlare suits website operators who prioritize infrastructure independence and are dissatisfied with mainstream cloud providers' content policies or man-in-the-middle TLS termination practices. The LowEndTalk community specifically highlights BasedFlare's promise of "no MiTM (aka TLS termination)," distinguishing it from Cloudflare and most competing WAF/CDN providers.

The pricing structure targets small websites and hobbyists at the low end, with mid-tier plans for small-to-medium businesses and custom enterprise engagements for high-traffic or politically sensitive properties. Users requiring genuine anonymity should note the email requirement, US jurisdiction, and compliance disclaimer in the terms of service.