Frequently Asked Questions

# What is Stratos, and how does it work?

Stratos is a service that allows you and your friends to play together on many of the most popular games that require a dedicated server. Through our desktop application, you are able to easily create, manage, and switch between servers whenever you and your friends want to play something new.

# Why isn't my favorite game supported?

We are constantly working on adding support for more games. If you would like to see a game added, please let us know by emailing us or by joining our Discord!

# How can I share my server with my friends?

Sharing your server is easy with Stratos because the URL for your server will always be your username followed by .stratos.game.¹ In the desktop app, we provide a button that will allow you to copy that URL to your clipboard.

# Why can't I pick how powerful my server is?

We optimize our servers to offer a smooth experience with 5 players for any game. If you find that your server is not powerful enough, please let us know. We offer a one time, no questions asked one month refund if you are not satisfied and want to cancel your subscription.

# What if I want to run multiple servers concurrently?

Stratos currently only supports one server at a time per account. We designed Stratos for friend groups trying to simplify game night. We hope that people and groups that don't neatly fit that description find value in Stratos too! If we see a demand for this, we could add this feature. Consider letting us know on our Discord if you would like this feature.

# How many players can join a Stratos server?

We optimize our servers to offer a smooth experience with 5 players for any game. If you find that your server is not powerful enough, please let us know. We offer a one time, no questions asked one month refund if you are not satisfied and want to cancel your subscription.

You are welcome to invite more than 5 players to your server, but we cannot guarantee that the server will be able to handle it, and thus it might not be as good an experience.

# Where are the servers hosted? Can I choose a server region?

We host all our servers in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA with Hetzner. Currently, we do not offer a way to choose a server region. Please let us know if you would like to see this feature.

# How does the 7-day free trial work?

When you first sign up for Stratos, we give you 7 days of full access to see if Stratos is the right fit for you. No credit card is required up front for the trial – just create an account through the Stratos app and you’re good to go. During those 7 days, you can use Stratos exactly like a paying user: start servers, switch games, invite friends, etc. Before the trial ends, the app will remind you to add a payment method if you wish to continue. If you choose not to subscribe after 7 days, you won’t be charged anything and your account will not be able to start servers once the trial expires (unless you later subscribe). You can export your save data from Stratos at any time, regardless of subscription status. Remember, even after subscribing, we offer a money-back guarantee on your first paid month if something isn’t satisfactory

# Can I export my save data from Stratos?

Yes, you can export your save data from Stratos at any time, regardless of subscription status.

# Can I cancel my subscription?

Yes, you can cancel your subscription at any time.

# Do you have backups?

Yes, we have backups. We backup your save data constantly. You can reach out to our support email at stratos@bloominlabs.com if you need to restore your save data. We are happy to help!

# Do you have a money-back guarantee?

Yes, we offer a money-back guarantee on your first paid month if something isn’t satisfactory.

# Is this safe?

Yes. We know entrusting your games (and your machine to a new app) is a big deal. Here’s how we handle security:

• Desktop App Security: Our Windows app is in the process of being code-signed so that Windows (SmartScreen/Defender) recognizes it as trusted software. During the early phase, you might get a warning only because we’re new – not because we’re dangerous. We assure you the app contains no malware or harmful components. It’s essentially a client to communicate with our servers and manage files. We continuously monitor for any vulnerabilities.
• Data & Privacy: We store as little personal information as possible. Just your email, and your server save data on our end. We do not store payment info ourselves; that’s handled by our payment processor (Stripe) which is highly secure. We don’t sell or share your data with third parties, regardless of subscription. Check our Privacy Policy for details.
• Server Security: Your game servers run in isolated environments in the cloud. We take care of security updates on those machines. Only people with the server address (and password, if the game requires it) can join your game. We recommend treating it like any private server – only share the link with people you trust. You can change your username at any time if your link is compromised. We append a port to your URL for games that need it, and all that is still protected by our DDoS protection and network policies.
• Community Conduct: If you join our community Discord or interact with others, we ask everyone to follow our guidelines – we want a safe, inclusive community for gamers. We monitor the Discord for any violations of our guidelines.

Overall, we want you to feel at ease using Stratos. If you ever have a security concern, please contact us at our support email or Discord. Transparency and user trust are extremely important to us (we’re gamers too, and we built Stratos for ourselves as much as for you).

# Why is Windows Defender flagging the installer?

Windows Defender is flagging the installer because Stratos is a new application. If you are concerned about this, let us know. We are working on signing our installer to give users more peace of mind.

# Why does it cost that much?

Stratos offers users a subscription model unlike other hosting services. With a Stratos subscription, you can host any game in our catalog, without changing your subscription. We also offer, on average, more powerful servers than the competition. Expect that you will receive a premium experience, worthy of the price. If you are not satisfied, please let us know and we will refund your most recent subscription payment.

Great question – it’s all about value and convenience. While it’s true some traditional hosts might offer a single game server for, say, $10-15/month, that’s per game and usually with limited resources or slots. If you end up hosting 2-3 different games across a few months, those costs add up (and cheap servers often struggle with performance or charge extra for more RAM/slots, etc.). With Stratos, one subscription covers all games and we generally provide more powerful servers by default, since we optimize for performance not just bare minimum specs. If you compare to self-hosting: yes, running a server on your own PC or a spare machine is “free,” but it takes time (to configure, troubleshoot, update), electricity and wear on your hardware, struggles due to limitations (your upload speed, needing your PC online for friends to play, you playing the game at the same time as hosting). Many users find that Stratos saves them hours of setup every month and gives a smoother experience for their friends (no lag due to home network issues or computer speed issues). And remember, there’s the free trial to see if that holds true for you personally – plus a refund policy if it doesn’t. We want Stratos to earn its place in your gaming life by truly making hosting effortless.

# Can I customize server settings or use mods with Stratos?

We are expanding into this area of features. Currently, we do not support mods, but we do have a file editor for customizing your server configurations. Please let us know if you would like to see this feature, and which games you would like to see mods added for first.

# Does my Stratos server run 24/7? Can I keep it online all the time?

Yes, your Stratos server runs 24/7 as long as you don't switch your running server or stop your server manually. We do not limit the amount of time you can keep it online.

# Is there a web dashboard or mobile app to control servers?

Not yet! We have it on our roadmap to build on a web dashboard and mobile app to control servers. Please let us know if you would like to see this feature.

# Who works on this product?

Our team consists of:

• Clay (infrastructure, web)
• David (app, web)
• Kevin (infrastructure)
• Quincy (app, infrastructure)

Please contact us if you have any more questions!