Off (no encryption)

Setting your encryption mode to Off (not recommended) redirects any HTTPS request to plaintext HTTP.

    flowchart LR
        accTitle: No SSL/TLS Encryption
        accDescr: With an encryption mode of Off, your application does not encrypt traffic between the visitor and Cloudflare or between Cloudflare and your server.
        A[Browser] <--Unencrypted--> B((Cloudflare))<--Unencrypted--> C[(Origin server)]

Use when

Cloudflare does not recommend setting your encryption mode to Off.

Required setup

Dashboard

To change your encryption mode in the dashboard:

1. Log in to the Cloudflare dashboard ↗ and select your account and domain.
2. Go to SSL/TLS.
3. Choose an encryption mode.

API

To adjust your encryption mode with the API, send a PATCH request with ssl as the setting name in the URI path, and the value parameter set to your desired setting (off, flexible, full, strict).

Limitations

When you set your encryption mode to Off, your application:

• Leaves your visitors and your application vulnerable to attacks ↗.
• Will be marked as “not secure” by Chrome and other browsers, reducing visitor trust.
• Will be penalized in SEO rankings ↗.

Incompatible settings

When you set your SSL/TLS encryption mode to Off, you will not see the options for Always Use HTTPS or Onion Routing.

Authenticated Origin Pull does not work when your SSL/TLS encryption mode is set to Off or Flexible.