How to password-protect a paste
Add a password to a paste, and learn when to use end-to-end encryption instead for stronger privacy.
A password keeps casual viewers out: even if someone gets the link, they can't read the paste without the password. Here's how to add one.
Write your paste
Add the text or code you want to keep private.
Set a password
Enter a password in the optional Password field. The password is hashed with Argon2 on the server, so it is never stored in plain text.
Share the link and password separately
Send the paste link through one channel and the password through another (for example, the link by email and the password by message). Only someone with both can open it.
Password vs. end-to-end encryption
A password gates access, but the content still reaches the server in a form it can read. For stronger privacy, enable end-to-end encryption: the content is encrypted in your browser and the key is stored only in the share link's fragment, so the server never sees it. Use encryption for anything truly sensitive, and treat a password as a convenient access gate rather than full protection.
For one-time secrets, you can also combine this with burn-after-read. More detail lives on the privacy page.