Short answer: Privnote's privacy policy describes a sound design. The decryption key exists only in the link, and the policy says nobody at Privnote can read a note. You can't confirm that independently, because Privnote publishes no source code and doesn't name its cipher. The documented risk for Privnote users has been lookalike sites, so check that the address bar says privnote.com before you type anything.
We make Evergist, which does a similar job. This post sticks to what Privnote's own pages say, plus two Krebs on Security reports on clone sites. We read all of them on September 30, 2026.
What does Privnote do?
Privnote is a free site for notes that delete themselves after one read. You write a note, get a link, and send the link yourself. Its about page says it needs no password or registration.
From its FAQ and privacy policy:
- By default a note is removed when it is first retrieved.
- Under "Show options" you can pick a time interval instead. The note then stays until that time, however many times it is opened.
- You can ask for an email when the note is read, and attach a reference to tell notes apart.
- Unread notes are deleted after 30 days.
- To take a note back, open the link yourself. The recipient then sees that it was already read.
Privnote is a service of ikatu. The policy lists the legal entity as Gletin S.A. in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Does Privnote encrypt notes?
Its policy says yes, and says the key never reaches the server. The wording:
The link is generated in the user's browser and at no time is sent as such to Privnote.
And on who can read a note:
Since only the link binds the decryption key to the note's content and since Privnote does not have the link, at no time is any note held in any readable format state at Privnote. This assures that nobody (including Privnote's administrators) can read a note.
The policy adds that someone who got into the database "would be unable to read the notes since their contents are encrypted and can't be decrypted without the links which Privnote never has a hold of."
That is the same model the better tools in this category use. The browser encrypts, the server stores ciphertext, and the key travels in the link.
Can Privnote's operators read my note?
Per the policy, no. As a matter of proof, you are taking their word for it.
| Claim | Status | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Key exists only in the link | Stated by Privnote | Privacy policy, section 2 |
| Administrators can't read notes | Stated by Privnote | Privacy policy, section 2 |
| IP addresses aren't logged | Stated by Privnote | Privacy policy, section 3 |
| Which cipher and key size | Not published | We found no documentation |
| Source code | Not public | We found no repository |
| Third-party cookies for advertising | Stated by Privnote | Privacy policy, section 7 |
Two details in that table deserve a sentence each.
The policy says Privnote uses "non-functional cookies" that are "placed by third parties" and "used for commercial and promotional purposes". That tells you advertising partners have some presence on the site. It doesn't say they can see notes, and we aren't claiming they do.
The policy's "last modified" date is May 25, 2018. The service may have changed since then without the text changing.
Privnote may be exactly as private as it says. The evidence is a policy, and you can't check a policy from the outside. Any browser-based tool also asks you to trust the JavaScript it serves on the day you visit. That applies to Privnote, and it applies to us.
Is Privnote open source?
No. We found no public repository and no published description of the encryption scheme. If you need to read the code or run your own server, PrivateBin, Yopass, and Enclosed are open source. Private note sharing compared goes through them. Onetime Secret is open source too, but it encrypts on the server, which our Onetime Secret comparison covers.
How do I tell the real Privnote from a clone?
Type privnote.com yourself or use a bookmark. Don't pick it from search results.
This is the one Privnote risk with public reporting behind it, and it isn't Privnote's doing. In June 2020, Krebs on Security reported that a site at privnotes.com, one letter off, copied Privnote's look and altered notes. Any bitcoin address in a note was swapped for a different one when the note was opened from another IP address. Privnote's owners told Krebs the clone sent notes unencrypted and opened them even when the key after # was replaced with arbitrary characters.
In April 2024, a second report described a network of such sites, among them privnote.co, privatenote.io, and tornote.io. They also replaced cryptocurrency addresses, and they reached people by ranking in search results for "privnote".
Those domains may have changed hands since. The pattern still applies. A clone works as advertised, so nothing looks wrong until money goes to the wrong wallet. And because a one-time note is gone after it's read, the sender can't look at it again to compare.
What should I check in any note service?
These apply to Privnote, to Evergist, and to anything else.
- The domain. Read the address bar. Bookmark the site.
- Where the key lives. A link with a long random part after
#suggests the browser holds the key. A link that is only an ID means the server can decrypt. - Whether the scheme is published. Cipher, key derivation, and what the server stores.
- What else loads on the page. Open developer tools and look at the Network tab for ad and analytics hosts.
- Whether you can verify it. Public source, or a way to decrypt a note with code the vendor didn't write.
- The limits. One view and a short expiry for credentials. A password sent through a different channel for anything that matters.
URL fragment encryption keys explained covers the second item in detail, and How to share a password or API key securely has the sending routine.
Where Evergist fits
Evergist is one option, and it has limits of its own.
It encrypts in the browser with AES-256-GCM and keeps the 256-bit key in the URL fragment. We publish the full encryption scheme, the exact record the server stores, and a Python script that decrypts a note without our code. The site sets no cookies and loads nothing from third parties. There is a CLI and a local MCP server for scripts and AI agents.
Now the limits. The source isn't public yet, so you can't self-host it. It holds text only, up to 512 KiB, for 30 days at most. It has no email read notifications. It is younger than Privnote by many years. And like Privnote, it serves the JavaScript that does the encrypting, so you trust the page you load unless you use the CLI.
Questions
Is Privnote safe?
Its stated design is safe for one-off notes: browser-side encryption, key only in the link, deletion on first read. The design is described in a policy and can't be checked against source code. The larger practical risk is landing on a lookalike domain.
Does Privnote use ads or tracking cookies?
Its privacy policy says it uses non-functional cookies placed by third parties for commercial and promotional purposes, and that for European citizens these don't store personal data. It also says Privnote doesn't log IP addresses.