A minimalist open-source pastebin where the server has zero knowledge of pasted data. Content is encrypted and decrypted entirely in the browser using 256-bit AES-GCM before anything touches the server, with the decryption key stored only in the URL fragment.
Reviewed by Marco Wollank
PrivateBin
privatebin.info 1 rating so far*
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Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
The zero-knowledge design is the real thing: the decryption key lives in the URL fragment, which browsers never send to the server, so even a fully cooperative server operator cannot read your paste. Supports burn-after-reading, expiration timers, and optional password protection for a second layer. The self-hosted PHP backend is straightforward to deploy. Worth noting: the server still logs access times and IP addresses for any URL, just not the content. For sharing sensitive text without trusting a third-party service, PrivateBin is the benchmark.
GitHub at a glance
PrivateBin/PrivateBin
Stars
8,446
+ 56 this week
Last commit
14d ago
healthy
Latest release
2.0.4
2mo ago
Stars, last 35d
Website at a glance
privatebin.info
B+ score 80
Solid website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 2d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
PrivateBin alternatives
PrivacyNotes Zero-knowledge notes, tasks, files, passwords and journal secured by a single 12-word recovery phrase, with no email or password required. The crypto core and database schema are published for audit. No subscription model.
paaster An end-to-end encrypted pastebin that encrypts content in the browser using XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2id before upload. The decryption key stays in the URL fragment and never reaches the server, with no opt-out: every paste is always encrypted.
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