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Every instance can reach the public internet by default. The network field limits where it can connect: set it when you create the instance, or change it any time with PATCH /v1/instances/{id}. A change applies to the running instance within seconds, with no restart, and connections it no longer allows are cut.
The response is the full instance object, with the list as stored: a bare address comes back as /32, and a range is written as its network address (203.0.113.9/24 becomes 203.0.113.0/24). A common pattern is to install dependencies with the internet open, then lock the instance down before it runs code you do not trust:
When the PATCH returns 200, the policy is in force. If it returns 503 try_again, the new policy is saved and reaches the instance within two minutes; send the same request again to confirm it.

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What a policy covers

  • Outbound connections only. Requests to the instance’s own URLs, public ports, exec, logs, and SSH keep working under any policy.
  • DNS counts as a connection. Under deny-all or a list, names do not resolve unless a resolver is on the list. Add 1.1.1.1 and 8.8.8.8 to look names up.
  • Managed services count too. The built-in model and tools are reached over the internet, so an instance under deny-all or a list cannot use them.
  • Private ranges stay blocked. Listing a private address (such as 10.0.0.0/8) has no effect: an instance can never reach private networks, other instances, or the machine it runs on.
  • Entries are IPv4 for now. Domain names and IPv6 return 400 invalid_request.
The policy stays with the instance through stop, start, restart, sleep, resize, update, backups and restores, and a fork starts with its source’s policy. It works the same on VM instances.