Common policies
The following policies are commonly used to secure HTTP traffic.
Refer to the HTTP policies page for a comprehensive list of other selectors, operators, and actions.
Block attempts to reach sites by hostname or URL paths. Different approaches may be required based on how a site is organized.
Block all subdomains that use a host.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Host | matches regex | .*example\.com | Block |
Block a section of a site without blocking the entire site. For example, you can block a specific subreddit, such as reddit.com/r/gaming, without blocking reddit.com.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| URL | matches regex | /r/gaming | Block |
Block content categories which go against your organization’s acceptable use policy.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Content categories | in | Adult Themes, Gambling | Block |
To minimize the risk of shadow IT, some organizations choose to limit their users' access to certain web-based tools and applications. For example, the following policy blocks AI assistants:
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application | in | Microsoft Copilot, ChatGPT, Google Gemini | Block |
Configure access on a per user or group basis by adding identity-based conditions to your policies.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Logic | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | in | Salesforce | And | Block |
| User Group Names | in | Contractors |
Certain client applications, such as Zoom or Apple services, rely on certificate pinning. The TLS inspection performed by Cloudflare Gateway will cause errors when users visit those applications. To avoid this behavior, you must add a Do Not Inspect HTTP policy.
Gateway evaluates Do Not Inspect policies first. We recommend moving your Do Not Inspect policies to the top of the list to reduce confusion.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application | in | Do Not Inspect | Do Not Inspect |
Require devices to have certain software installed or other configuration attributes. For instructions on setting up a device posture check, refer to Enforce device posture.
Perform an OS version check to ensure users are running at least a minimum version.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Passed Device Posture Checks | in | Minimum OS version | Allow |
Perform a file check to ensure users have a certain file on their system.
Since the file path will be different for each operating system, you can configure a file check for each system and use the Or logical operator to only require one of the checks to pass.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Logic | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passed Device Posture Checks | in | macOS File Check | Or | Allow |
| Passed Device Posture Checks | in | Linux File Check |
Require users to re-authenticate after a certain amount of time has elapsed.
If you are using the Browser Isolation add-on, refer to our list of common Isolate policies.
When accessing origin servers with certificates not signed by a public certificate authority, you must bypass TLS decryption.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domain | in | internal.site.com | Do Not Inspect |
Block the upload or download of files based on their type.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Logic | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upload File Type | in | Microsoft Office Word Document (docx) | And | Block |
| Download File Type | in | PDF (pdf) |
For more information on supported file types, refer to Download and Upload File Types.
To enable Gateway inspection for Google Drive traffic, you must add a Cloudflare certificate to Google Drive.
Block file uploads to Google Drive.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Logic | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | in | Google Drive | And | Block |
| Upload Mime Type | matches regex | .* |
Block file downloads from Google Drive.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Logic | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | in | Google Drive | And | Block |
| URL Path & Query | matches regex | .*(e=download|export).* |
Block file downloads from Gmail.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Logic | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host | is | mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com | And | Block |
| URL Path & Query | is | /attachment/u/0 |
Browser Isolation users can isolate interactions with ChatGPT.
| Selector | Operator | Value | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application | in | ChatGPT | Isolate |
In Configure policy settings, you can customize restrictions for ChatGPT. For example, to prevent your users from inputting sensitive information, you can select Disable copy / paste and Disable file uploads.