Send a Message That Disappears After One View
A one-time secret is a note that ceases to exist the moment it is read. You write it, we hand you a link, and the first person to open that link is the last — the encrypted copy is deleted on view. Because encryption happens in your browser and the key stays in the link itself, not even our server can read what you wrote while it waits.
The actual tool runs in our ad-free secure workspace — nothing on this page processes your file.
Open Share a One-Time Secret →What this tool does
- Creates a burn-after-reading message: one view, then the stored ciphertext is destroyed.
- Encrypts the message locally in your browser before it is stored anywhere.
- Keeps the decryption key in the URL fragment, which browsers never transmit — the server holds ciphertext it cannot open.
- Adds an optional time limit, so an unread secret still self-destructs after your deadline.
- Shows the recipient a clear 'this will not be shown again' warning before revealing the content.
- Optionally requires a passphrase in addition to the link, for two-factor delivery.
Your privacy on this tool
Stays on your device
- Your message is encrypted on your device with a freshly generated random key.
- That key is embedded in the link's fragment (after the #) and never sent to any server.
- The recipient's browser downloads the ciphertext and decrypts it locally.
Reaches our server
- The server stores only the encrypted ciphertext and the view/expiry rules (single view, optional time limit).
- It never receives the decryption key, which exists only in the URL fragment.
- On first view — or at expiry, whichever comes first — the ciphertext is deleted.
How to use it
- Go to the tool at /app/secure-secret.
- Write the message and select one-time view (add a time limit as a backstop if you like).
- Optionally set a passphrase the recipient must enter — useful if the link travels through email.
- Generate the link and send it however you normally reach that person.
- Ask them to confirm once they have read it; after that, the link is permanently dead.
Common uses
- Telling someone a safe combination, door code, or alarm PIN that should not persist in chat history.
- Sending a one-off password reset to a family member who locked themselves out.
- Sharing salary or offer details with a candidate without leaving a paper trail in either inbox.
- Passing a colleague a temporary credential during an incident, knowing it evaporates after use.
- Leaving instructions for a house sitter that include codes you will rotate afterward anyway.
Supported formats
- Text up to 64 KB — codes, passwords, PINs, short private notes
Works in every modern browser; recipients need nothing but the link and a current browser.
Limitations & security notes
Limitations
- Link scanners are the classic failure mode: corporate email filters and chat preview bots may open the link automatically and burn the secret before the human arrives. Add a passphrase or a time buffer when sending through scanned channels.
- One view means one view — if the recipient's connection drops mid-read or they close the tab too fast, the secret is still gone and must be resent.
- Nothing stops the viewer from copying or screenshotting the content; 'disappearing' describes our copy, not theirs.
- Text only, up to 64 KB — no attachments.
- SecretPNG is in beta and has not been independently audited.
Security notes
- A consumed link is information: if your recipient reports the secret already gone, assume interception and rotate whatever the secret protected.
- The passphrase option turns a single link into two-channel delivery — link by email, passphrase by phone — which defeats both scanners and inbox thieves.
- One-time semantics are enforced at the storage layer: after the view, the ciphertext no longer exists to be re-fetched.
- Do not use one-time secrets as your only copy of anything — they are for transmission, not storage.
- Even we cannot preview a pending secret: the key needed to decrypt it never touched our infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
- How is this different from a disappearing message in Signal or WhatsApp?
- Disappearing messages require both people to be on the same app. A one-time secret is app-neutral: you can send the link through any channel — email, SMS, Slack, a sticky note — and the burn-after-reading behavior comes from the link itself. It complements secure messengers rather than replacing them.
- What if the wrong person opens the link first?
- Then they saw the secret and the intended recipient never will — the link dies on first view regardless of who triggers it. That is also your alarm bell: a burned link tells you interception happened. Mitigate in advance with the optional passphrase, which an interceptor will not have.
- Can you recover a secret that was viewed by accident?
- No. Deletion on view removes the ciphertext, and we never had the decryption key in the first place. There is genuinely nothing on our side to restore — which is exactly the property that makes the tool trustworthy. Create a new secret and resend.
- Why did my secret burn before anyone clicked it?
- Almost always an automated link fetch: enterprise mail gateways, antivirus sandboxes, and messaging apps' preview crawlers all open URLs. Some are polite about it; some are not. Sending through a channel without previews, adding a passphrase, or using a time-based expiry instead of strict one-view all solve this.
- Does the recipient know the message was destroyed?
- Yes — before revealing the secret, the page warns that it is shown exactly once, and afterward the link resolves to a clear 'this secret no longer exists' notice. There is no ambiguity on either side about whether a secret is still live.
Related tools
Last reviewed: 2026-07-14Open Share a One-Time Secret
SecretPNG is in beta and has not been independently audited. Security status.